The Evangelist…

After I had preached on Sunday morning a man swaggered up to me. He looked mid forties, stocky and like his nose had been broken more times than he could remember. I was talking to a member of the church and he joined our conversation.
“So, does anybody do any witnessin aroun here?” he asked.
It felt [...]

What Compels You?

In 2 Cor 5 Paul writes that “It is Christ’s love that compels us” to be his ambassadors of reconciliation. It seems that Paul is suggesting that mission and evangelism ought to be a response to our own experience of the love of God.
I couldn’t agree more, but I also know its not always the [...]

One Way?

Is God present in other world religions and can people be ’saved’ outside of Christ?
This is a pretty humungous question and one that will test whether anyone is actually reading the things I write! if you like some rigourous theology then read on…
Recently I read Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World a very [...]

Starting Points?

I have borrowed this thought from W. David Phillips
Martin Lloyd Jones, in his book Authentic Christianity which is from his Studies in Acts Series, makes the following statement:
I am convinced that the trouble with the world today is that it does not believe in God.  And much of our evangelism goes wrong because it starts [...]

The Orange People (unsuccessfully) Evangelise the Watermelon People

There is a new mission agency on the block and their stuff is excellent!
Although GIA (Global Interaction) sounds like an insurance company they are actually the rebadged and revamped ABMS (Australian Baptist Mission Society). Its not often a rebranding comes off so well, but I have to say I am really [...]

More Non Rocket Science Insights

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been doing some reflecting on this whole thing we call evangelism, what it is, how to do it more naturally and what it actually means to ‘evangelise’.
But I want to offer my very very simple thought on the most common reason I believe we struggle to speak of Jesus [...]

I’m SURE you are an evangelist…

I understand that people sometimes feel ill at ease sharing their faith, but my guess is that we are actually all evangelists in some aspects of our lives.
No really!
A few years ago we discovered VOIP telephones, (voice over internet protocol) and were amazed at how much money we saved. Our phone bill dropped from $90.00 [...]

Words are… OK!

There is a saying attributed to St Francis which goes like this: “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary use words”.
It has become something of a mantra for many in the current Christian world, but as I observe it I occasionally wonder if it hasn’t also served as something of an excuse.
These days I [...]

Fear What?

I remember reading some time ago that only 5% of those in churches are actually gifted as evangelists. (Do you ever wonder who works this stuff out?!)
At first I accepted this information as ‘fact’. Even though I didn’t know the research methodology, the figures seemed to ring true. Very few people claim to have [...]

The Gap

I believe there is a gap between what we think mission and evangelism is and what they are in reality.
Often there is this notion of ‘attempting great things for God’, ‘leading many people to Christ’, or ‘taking the city for Jesus’. I’m sure you have heard these phrases if you have been around church for [...]