She stood at least 50-feet away and listened. She listened for quite some time before she moved forward. What prompted her to come forward was my offer to those in the area of free bibles, in English or Spanish. She sat down on a bench just a couple feet away from me and immediately opened her new Bible. And there she sat, listening. I continued to ask people to come … [Read more...]
Jehovah Jireh and a Road Trip to Iowa
יְהוָ֣ה ׀ יִרְאֶ֑ה - YHWH Yireh - Jehovah Jireh - A symbolic name for Mount Moriah - The Lord Provides. No names are mentioned in this article. It is an intentional omission. The people the Lord used to make this testimony possible are humble people and would likely be embarrassed if I mentioned them by name. The date was December 9, 2015. I was driving home from the Los … [Read more...]
Friendship Evangelism: Be Honest
Word Study: παρρησίᾳ (parrēsia)
Definition παρρησίᾳ (parrēsia) – 1. Freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech; openly, frankly, i.e. without concealment; without ambiguity or circumlocution; without the use of figures and comparisons. 2. Free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance. 3. The deportment by which one becomes conspicuous or secures publicity. A French philosopher, … [Read more...]
Dear Christian: Open Your Mouth
Penned at 35,000', while en route to Philadelphia, for the Herald Society Conference. "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). The story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch begins with an angel of the Lord telling Philip to head south to the main road, between Jerusalem and Gaza. Philip … [Read more...]
Friendship Evangelism: How American Evangelicals Get Away with Discrimination
I provide a definition for "Friendship Evangelism," here. I explain why I believe "Friendship Evangelism," as it is most commonly practiced, is neither friendship nor evangelism, here. I explain why I believe random or planned acts of kindness, without the proclamation of the gospel, are not evangelistic endeavors, here. And I provide an example of how proponents of "Friendship … [Read more...]
24 Thoughts About College Campus Ministry
This morning, between studying Greek and working on sermons, I shared some thoughts on Twitter regarding College Campus Ministry. Some were shared from the perspective of an observer, and others were shared from the prospective of how I engage in ministry on college campuses. I hope you will be both challenged and edified by what I shared. Here are the tweets. 1. Y can almost … [Read more...]