Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

evangelism

Religious Demographics of the Twin Cities

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Shortly after my family moved to Minneapolis a few years ago, my wife and I went on a morning bus tour of the city that John Mayer led. Incredibly fascinating.

citySo I was eager to read the latest edition of his religious demographics of the Twin Cities:

John A. Mayer. Cityview Report: Twin Cities. 16th ed. Minneapolis: City Vision, 2015.

How well do you know Minneapolis? Mayer shares this list of 47 statements to pique your interest (p. 8): [Read more…] about Religious Demographics of the Twin Cities

Alleviating Poverty

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Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor—and Yourself. 2nd ed. Chicago: Moody, 2012. 272 pp.

From David Platt’s foreword:

[T]his book is virtually required reading for everyone in our church who is intentionally engaging the poor here and around the world. I cannot recommend it highly enough for anyone who is passionate about spreading and showing the love of Christ to the “least of these.” [Read more…] about Alleviating Poverty

Am I Really a Christian?

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This is probably the best all-around book to give to someone who is struggling with “assurance of salvation”:

Mike McKinley. Am I Really a Christian? The Most Important Question You’re Not Asking. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011.

(See Brian Hedges’s review and my previous blog post on Mike’s first book, Church Planting Is for Wimps.)

The book’s website has several videos. In this one Mike answers the question, “Can someone believe the gospel but not really be repentant?”

 

 

How to Manipulate People to Make (Fake) Professions of Faith

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Jack Hyles, “The Invitation Time,” chapter 27 in The Hyles Church Manual (Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of the Lord, 1968), 279–82 (numbering added; this chapter reprints most of ch. 7 in Hyles’s Let’s Build an Evangelistic Church):

After observing for nearly twenty-two years the preaching of hundreds of preachers across America, I have come to the conclusion that many of us need intensive help in the conducting of a public invitation. Many wonderful gospel messages can be rendered ineffective by a weak invitation.

On the other hand, many average preachers can be rewarded greatly with the use of an effective, pungent, public invitation. Though in many places a public invitation is seldom used and even considered out of date, it is still true that the greatest soul-winning churches utilize an effective, spiritual, Spirit-filled, powerful invitation as their greatest means of evangelism. May we look at a few practical pointers concerning the invitation.

1. Starting the Invitation

  1. Do not reveal the closing of the sermon. When the sermon reaches a high point or a climax, then would be a good time to close abruptly. Even if the sermon is not completed, sometimes God may lead one to close prematurely in order to start the invitation from a high spiritual plane. This also prevents the unsaved from “digging in,” so to speak, before the invitation is given. [Read more…] about How to Manipulate People to Make (Fake) Professions of Faith

Every Life Has a Story

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This is a Chick-fil-A training video for their employees.

Dan Cathy, president and Chief Operation Officer at Chick-fil-A, writes this about the video:

“Every life has a story . . . if we only bother to read it.”

A video we created to remind us that everyone we interact with is a chance to create a remarkable experience.

How much more does this way of viewing people apply to Christ-followers?

Is there any basis for hope that those who do not hear of Christ in this life will be saved?

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Christopher W. Morgan, “Inclusivisms and Exclusivisms,” in Faith Comes by Hearing: A Response to Inclusivism (ed. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson; Downers Grove: IVP, 2008), 18, 26, 36:

The Traditional Classification

  1. Exclusivism: Jesus is the only Savior of the world, and one must believe God’s special revelation culminating in the gospel of Christ to be saved.
  2. Inclusivism: Jesus is the only Savior of the world, but one does not have to believe the gospel to be saved.
  3. Pluralism: All paths are valid and lead to God.

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Figure 1. What about those who have never heard the gospel? [Read more…] about Is there any basis for hope that those who do not hear of Christ in this life will be saved?

Evangelize by Loving Christians

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J. Mack Stiles, Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living and Speaking the Gospel (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010), 103–9:

Loving Other Christians and Evangelism

On the eve of his death Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34). This is by far the most important command for healthy evangelism. We are to love the church. . . .

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35). . . .

[T]his love must be seen by the world, not just felt by believers. . . .

How odd, one might say, that the best way to demonstrate that Jesus is from the Father and that we are his followers is not through method or technique or apologetics. It’s through loving, unified community among believers. . . . [Read more…] about Evangelize by Loving Christians

The Reason for God DVD

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Jenni and I recently watched The Reason for God: Conversations on Faith and Life (Zondervan, November 2010).

It’s a stimulating two-hour DVD with six sessions (and a corresponding discussion guide ):

  1. Isn’t the Bible a Myth? Hasn’t Science Disproved Christianity?
  2. How Can You Say There Is Only One Way to God? What About Other Religions?
  3. What Gives You the Right to Tell Me How to Live My Life? Why Are There So Many Rules?
  4. Why Does God Allow Suffering? Why Is There So Much Evil in the World?
  5. Why Is the Church Responsible for So Much Injustice? Why Are Christians Such Hypocrites?
  6. How Can God Be Full of Love and Wrath at the Same Time? How Can God Send Good People to Hell?

Keller models how to discuss Christianity with non-Christians. The DVD corresponds, of course, to Keller’s New York Times bestseller The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Dutton, 2008).

D. A. Carson, “Editorial,” Themelios 34 (2009): 157:

In the world of Christian apologetics, I know no one more gifted in this Popperian form of argumentation than Tim Keller. Witness his The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Dutton, 2008). Keller manages to construct his opponents’ arguments in such a way that they are more powerful and devastating than when the opponents themselves construct them. And then he effectively takes them apart. No one feels abused, precisely because he has treated their stances more ably than they can themselves.

Related:

  1. Keller’s The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith. Cf. my review. See also the excellent corresponding DVD: The Prodigal God: Finding Your Place at the Table (Zondervan, 2009).
  2. Keller’s Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. Cf. my review.
  3. Keller’s Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything (Zondervan, 2010). 90-minute DVD. Eight Sessions with a corresponding discussion guide.
  4. Keller’s latest book: Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just.