As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“ ‘There is really no such thing as an atheist,’ has smugly crossed the lips of more than few of my conversation partners over the years followed by a variation of the ‘foxhole’ story. That accusation was even thrown in my face several times by Christians when I was an atheist.
A two-fold assumption is often evident when believers are evaluating the effectiveness of churches, ministries, movements, and denominations. The assumption is, first, that the Great Commission is the standard of measurement and, second, that the way to apply the standard is to count the number of people who are hearing the gospel or are being brought into worship services.
“What most bothers the public about evangelicals is that they are ‘too pushy with their beliefs.’ That is, people don’t like being witnessed to. That evangelicals care about non-Christians’ temporal problems, for which Jesus can help them, and their eternal destiny, for which Jesus offers free salvation, does not matter.” - Gene Veith
By Sam Horn. Read Part 1.
The gospel is also the record of God fulfilling His purposes and promises in four specific ways. By means of the gospel, God has fulfilled an ancient promise made to our first parents in the presence of their mortal enemy, Satan. Though this enemy bruised the heel of Jesus at the cross, the resurrection was the cosmic proclamation of Christ’s victory over our ancient foe.
Christians ought to make it their ambition to please the Lord (2 Cor 5:9). This sounds great in the abstract, but it becomes uncomfortable when it comes to evangelism. There are many approaches a church can take. The two ditches to avoid are:
By Sam Horn. Republished with permission from Baptist Bulletin © Regular Baptist Press. All rights reserved.
“The church website explains the church’s mission further. ‘Our desire is to make Moscow a Christian town,’ it reads, ’ … through genuine cultural engagement that provides Christian leadership in the arts, in business, in education, in politics, and in literature.’” - RNS
“How can we communicate the urgency of the gospel without manipulating others’ emotions or fears? How can we present the gospel in a way that is inviting without truncating the message to make it more palatable?” - Christianity Today
“I didn’t become an atheist because that’s what I wanted; I became an atheist because I believed it was the truth. So, standing on that sidewalk while trying not to think about my mom praying for me, I cursed a God I didn’t even believe existed.” - John Ellis
“According to the [Center for the Study of Global Christianity] report, atheism reached its peak in 1970, with over 165 million atheists worldwide. Since then, atheism has been steadily decreasing, with 138 million today, a number that’s expected to drop to 129 million by 2050.” - Christian Post
Discussion