Courageous Pastor

GUEST POST by Keith Seabourn of
http://www.seabourn.org/

The pastor was really courageous. After the evangelism class he taught, I chatted with him about how courageous he was. Evangelism and Giving are two subjects likely to make people uneasy. Many leaders avoid them or minimize the time.

Why?

I think that evangelism (and giving) dredges up guilt and shame. We know we should be more active in talking with others about Jesus. And we are ashamed to admit how little we proactively initiate with others.

I visited church with my son and daughter-in-love yesterday. That’s where I attended the pastor’s evangelism class. Training others in evangelism is what I’ve done all my adult life. It doesn’t make me an expert evangelism trainer, just an active participant in trying to help others experience the amazing privilege of seeing someone open the door of their lives to Jesus. Getting to see a new birth is a tremendous privilege.

I had several thoughts during the class. Here are some the things I’ve found helpful.

• Having the proper perspective: Success in evangelism is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. This simple explanation frees me to be successful because the results are God’s.
• CoJourners is one of the best approaches to evangelism I’ve used in recent years. The focus is coming alongside others on the roadtrip called life. I’ve written about my experiences here and here.
• Sharing your personal story is an excellent way to share with others. The 5clicks.com site is very helpful in preparing your story in a compelling, winsome way.
• A friend of mine uses a very intentional approach to prepare to share with someone every day. Each morning, he takes a booklet or a New Testament or a Jesus Film DVD in his hand. He prays, “Lord, this belongs to someone else. Please lead me today to its new owner.” Then he goes out for his day eagerly expecting to find someone to give the booklet or DVD.
• Don’t be afraid of a question you can’t answer. I don’t hesitate to ask someone to play basketball because I’m afraid they might ask a question I can’t answer. And if I am asked a question, saying “I don’t really know a good answer right now. How about if I think about it and get something to you tomorrow?” Then go to search.ccci.org which searches across 2,000 websites in 50 languages for the best articles to questions like “How do I know if God really exists?” or “How can a good God allow all the evil and suffering in the world today?” Go to the search engine and type in one of these questions. See, good results that you can forward to your friend.

My son wrote about another misconception voiced yesterday.

It works! It takes courage. It takes overcoming all sorts of little whispers from the one who would have us keep silent. “He’s not interested.” “Don’t interrupt her now!” “You’ll only embarrass yourself.” I hear these and more every time I’m about to take the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God.

As Nike made famous, just do it.

The Ministry Around You

Recently, I had the incredible privilege of talking to seven people in twenty-four hours about the hope and forgiveness they can find in Jesus Christ!

Each encounter is its own story, so I will try to write them individually in the next week or two. Until then, here’s an overview of the amazing twenty-four hour day.

No Fear

The next time you are fearful about sharing your faith, remember this 92-year-old woman.

Caring for the Earth … and for People

I glanced at a jade pendant dangling about two feet from my face.

“Your necklace is interesting,” I said as Lindsay tied a latex strap around my arm.

“It is a Japanese good luck charm,” Lindsay said, as she gently tapped my vein.

I found out within a few minutes that this young phlebotomist was a Buddhist.

“That’s obviously your choice,” I commented, looking at her pale skin and blue eyes. “Why did you choose Buddhism?”

“I like the way they respect all of life. That’s also why I went into this work.”

I commended her for wanting to help people and then asked, “Well, did you know that Christianity also teaches us to take care of the earth?”

No,” Lindsay admitted.

I encouraged Lindsay to go to my blog site to watch a YouTube presentation of the Good News. I wrote down the blog address on a piece of paper and then asked, “Will you take some time to investigate what Christianity really is?”

Lindsay assured me that she would.

I left the clinic rejoicing for God’s work in Lindsay’s life.

NOTE: Sending her to the right link was a little complicated, but I have improved this technique. Click here for more ideas about sharing web addresses when witnessing.

The Harvest: a Bible Study

Today, I re-read this Bible Study from John, chapter 4, that Mike prepared for a Sunday School lesson. I know you will be blessed by these thoughts from God’s Word.

Eduardo’s Wife Is Dying

Finally, Eduardo was stepping out to his car. I had been gardening and hoped he would come outside. I ran to get the Magdalena DVD waiting by the front door and rushed across the street.

“This is for your wife,” I explained. “It is in Spanish.”

“Thank you,” he smiled weakly, the gold glistening on his teeth.

Eduardo accepted the DVD and I went on to tell him the movie was about Jesus and about the different women He healed. He thanked me and I concluded our brief conversation with, “We are praying for you.”

I wrote about our neighbors, Eduardo and Luz, before. They are Jehovah’s Witnesses and do not speak English very well. About two years ago, they accepted a “Jesus” DVD from me. (I only recently learned that JWs are not allowed to accept literature, so maybe a DVD or the Who Is He? Mini-CD are the best things to offer them.)

In just over a year, three families near us have faced the loss of a loved one. First, a seven-year-old granddaughter died from a car accident. Soon after that Eugene, a man in his fifties, died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Now, Luz is dying at home and has daily hospice visits. I have been unable to communicate with Eduardo and Luz, but I have noticed her housekeeper has a Christian radio station bumper sticker on her car. I hope she has explained the Gospel to them and will also pray that Luz will be able to watch the Magdalena DVD and accept God’s free gift of life eternal or that God will miraculously heal her for His glory and to lead many of her family and JW friends to Christ!

This is also a reminder to all of us that we may not have more time to share with the people in our lives.

More help for reaching Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In His Time

“It’s you!” Angela exclaimed.

I looked at her with a puzzled look. She had just taken a sample for a blood test and I held out a tract for her like I usually do.

“I had just started working here last May when someone gave me a little booklet,” Angela explained as she took “Beginning Your Journey of Significance” from me. “Since I was new here, I did not know who gave it to me. I still have it and read it.”

“Yes, it was probably me.” I actually had been at the doctor’s office quite a few times in the past nine months, but not in the lab area. I continued, “Have you ever heard before about knowing God personally?”

Angela then told me how she was interested in church and her husband wasn’t, but he finally, reluctantly, went with her. He was interested after he discovered the church had a motorcycle “club” and got involved in the group. I learned more about her husband and asked if Gregg liked computers.

“Yes,” she replied.

I rummaged in my purse but did not have what I was looking for. “I will bring something for Gregg next week when I come back to see the doctor about the test results,” I promised.

After my doctor’s appointment the following week, I stopped off at the lab and waited for Angela to be finished with a patient.

“Hi,” she smiled.

“Here’s something for your husband,” I said, as I handed her the Who is He? mini-CD.

“Thank you so much,” Angela said, and then her next statement almost knocked me off my feet. “I’m so glad to have this for Gregg; and he will be interested in this because he just had a mild heart attack.”

God is so amazing! I am so grateful that Gregg survived his heart attack and apparently is more open to spiritual things. It could be that he was more open to receiving the mini-CD after his heart attack and now has a chance to learn more about Christ. It is such a privilege to step into the stories of people’s lives and watch God at work. I was only a bystander watching God fit different pieces together to woo Angela and Gregg to Himself.

The Sower and His Seed

I learned a lot from Joe Jack Dement. Since the excellent video on the Parable of The Sower, featured in the last post, is only on the web temporarily, I am posting some thoughts I gleaned from this 80-year-old wheat farmer. Jesus explains the seeds and the meaning behind the birds, the footpath, and the other parallels in His parable. Mr. Dement’s knowledge of wheat farming adds to our understanding of the parable.

WHEN and WHERE
Just as the farmer casts the seed away from him, we can drop a little word about Jesus, a Bible verse, or a Scriptural truth as we interact with people every day. For instance, one day last week, I ran errands to five different stores. What normally would be drudgery for me was a joy as I shared a little conversation and tracts with nine people! My perspective was sowing, not shopping, as I went about my work.

WHO
We do not choose who gets to hear God’s message. God wants everyone to hear. God promises His Word will be active in a person’s life, even if we don’t see it. The seed becomes a fruitful plant over time and under the right conditions.

According to Mr. Dement, birds gather around the farmer, waiting for the seed sown on the path. Pray for the people who are not open to God’s Word to retain even a little bit of what you have sown. You do not need to fear that “the enemy” knows you are sowing. Pray for those who need to hear what you have to share with them. They are really the ones under attack!

Shallow soil means the plant will have no resistance and will dry up and die before maturity. To grow in Christ, people need to grow in their knowledge of the Word. As much as you possibly can, help this person get into the Word and into fellowship with believers. Even so, they may still have trouble when their faith hits the bedrock in their soul, so again, prayer is needed.

The seed growing in a weedy area was competing with a huge weed and did not yield fruit. Many people, rich or poor, are worried about their things and other financial concerns. When I share my faith I may even find that the Christians that I meet have not dealt with the weeds in their life and bear very little fruit for God. I suspect a lot of Americans are in the weedy category. Perhaps God will use the current economic woes to bring more people to follow him wholly.

I was very fascinated with the seed planted in good soil. One seed resulted in twelve plants, each with its own head of seed. I could not help but think of Jesus’s twelve disciples with their disciples. Farmer Dement said that 85% is a good, and a typical, yield. What if EACH Christian could leave a legacy of 85 mature Christians who are also telling others about Christ?

WHAT, HOW, and WHY
I named this blog The Sower because I envision that my Christian readers will be encouraged to speak about Christ frequently and everywhere. Thank you for visiting and please come back for more stories and answers to your questions to help you share your faith.

The Word Association

One day last spring, my daughter slid the door open and stuck her head in the van. “Can Leon have a ride home, Mom?”

“Sure, Sweetheart,” I replied.

My daughter introduced me to Leon, a freshman she knew from riding the school bus.

After we were underway, Jennifer said to Leon, “My mom and dad work for Campus Crusade for Christ.”

“Oh…” Leon said. “Halloween!”

“Wow!” I thought. “Where did he make that connection?” I had to chuckle when I learned it was because of the tracts I hand out every year for Trick-or-Treaters.

Last year, I learned to plan ahead and buy the tracts I will need in plenty of time.

This year, thanks to Leon, I’ve decided to get more of the Who Is He? Mini-CDs for the many teens who come to our door. I know many of the tracts may go unread, but I suspect the mini-CD will rouse their curiosity.

Go to The Sower: Tools and Tips for more Halloween suggestions.

The Moral Choice

“Are you reading the Bible?” I asked as I sat at the kitchen table with a friend of our son’s, Aadesh.

“Yes,” he replied. Aadesh had asked for a Bible earlier this summer after I had told him that the Bible had a lot to say about financial principles.

“What are you reading?”

“Romans,” he replied.

Wow! I thought. What a deep book of the Bible to start in!

Aadesh explained that some other people had recommended Romans as a good place to start with to learn what God says about finances.

He was very interested and seemed to agree with me as I explained how Jesus’ resurrection validated His claims to be God. I had never talked to Aadesh before about his spiritual background and was not surprised to learn he comes from a strong Hindu background.

Aadesh is leaving for Oxford in a few months and feels he needs to make a decision about his faith now because he knows he will face moral and ethical decisions as a neurosurgeon. I was really impressed with his humility in recognizing this need. He was willing to take a book from me called Choosing Your Faith by Mark Mittelberg which I had purchased with him in mind.

Our conversation went very well, but I later realized, because of his background, Aadesh views Jesus as one god among many. He is exploring which god to choose and I was really not on the same wavelength as he was. In the future, I will need to write to him about Jesus’ claims to be the only way to God.

Today, I am sending him a narrative version of The Roman Road and am trusting God to speak to Aadesh through His living Word.