Evangelism – Page 4 – Gregory Scott Blog

The Error Of The Trendy

Perhaps you heard the news. The word is Rob Bell has gone off the reservation and gone public as a Universalist.

Supposedly, the evidence of this self-outing is found in Bell’s new book, Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.

The book will not be officially released until later this month, but HarperCollins’s description of the book and Bell’s promotional video seem to warrant the accusations. I’m still hoping both are merely an attempt at provocative marketing.

I have not read the book. I have seen some of Bell’s video teachings and liked what I saw. If the accusations are true, my guess is that in his desire to reach those outside the church, Bell stretched so far he let go of the truths which had set him out after the lost in the first place. Continue reading “The Error Of The Trendy”

Why You Should Care About The College Campus

I spent the last two evenings on a college campus. My church had an outreach on a major university in our city. We had free food and gave raffle tickets to those who came. They got an additional raffle ticket for every guest they brought the second night.

The second night (last night) our church’s worship team provided live music, followed by a dynamic speaker who preached the Gospel in a very relevant, non-religious message that really hit home. After the message, we raffled off an iPad.

On both nights we met the students, began building relationships with them and encouraged them to get in a Bible study with our campus minister. What we were doing was very strategic and very Kingdom.

First, 95% of all people who become Christians do so by the age of 25. So, we are fishing where the fish are. My wife and I give monthly financial support to a number of campus ministers around the country. We do so because we want to get the most bang for our buck in seeing lives changed and the kingdom of God grow, which leads to point #2.

Second, nearly all of tomorrow’s leaders are on the college campus today. Whether it be leaders in business, government, the arts, media or professional athletics, most of them come through the college system. We want to reach them before their worldviews are set in stone and their hearts are too hard to receive the Gospel.

Third, the international students who are on American campuses are likely to become leaders in their own countries. Good luck trying to reach them with the Gospel once they become the king or prime minster of the country. We reach them now.

In short, we believe if we can change the campus we will change the world.

If you are a Kingdom person, a world-changer for King Jesus, consider the college campus. GS

The Best Apologetic

For the last couple weeks I and another attorney in my office have been working on a religious discrimination case. Our clients worked for a company run by members of a religion (many would say a cult) who required our clients submit to their religion’s training and teaching as a condition to advancement in the company.

I’ve been reading a lot about the religion, not so much what others say about it but what their religious texts say. In the midst of that study I discovered this religion has an opinion about Jesus. Its founder said Jesus was a pedophile and that Jesus’ death on the cross was not a basis for salvation.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while you know that in August the wife and I were on a Black Sea cruise that took us from Istanbul to Ephesus and ultimately to Athens. While in Ephesus we had a private tour guide, who was Muslim. We spent two days with her, and in the course of getting to know each other it came up quite naturally that we were Christians.

At one point, she mentioned that Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet. She then said, “Well we all worship the same God anyway. Don’t you believe that?” I then explained to her genuine surprise that Christians cannot believe that because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the only way to God and that to believe in Him meant to believe He was who He said He was.

As a Christian, you can spend a lot of time studying comparative religions in preparation for sharing the Gospel with non-Christians, but the best apologetic ultimately is Jesus. Most religions have some contention about who Jesus is. Some will say Jesus was a good teacher, others a prophet, some a liar, and apparently one contends He was a pedophile.

This is where Jesus kept the focus during His ministry. After asking Peter who the people were saying He was, Jesus asked Peter the ultimate question, “But who do you say that I am?” (Luke 9:20). It’s the question everyone will ultimately have to answer, and it’s a good question to ask now. GS

Practical Evangelism Tips From The Parthenon

When the Apostle Paul arrived in Athens, he probably didn’t know what to expect. Yet, it wasn’t too long before he had led an Athenian Supreme Court justice to the Lord and others as well. (Acts 17:34).

If you are a Christian, here’s four things you can learn from Paul’s success in Athens that will make you more effective in sharing the Gospel. (Acts 17:16-34).

1. Be Observant. Paul was observant. He observed the Athenians’ culture and religious practices. (Acts 17:16, 22). This gave him a place to start when he began sharing the gospel with them.

2. Be Relevant. Paul was relevant. When speaking to these Greeks, Paul quoted from Greek poets: Epimenides ( v. 28 — “…in Him we live and move and exist….”) and Aratus (v. 28–“For we also are His offspring.“). Paul was well-read and knew the Greek culture. Consequently, he was able to connect with his audience and draw them in.

3. Be Provocative. This doesn’t mean to be rude, but you shouldn’t be shy about challenging belief systems and provoking people to reexamine their faulty worldviews. Paul told the Athenian Supreme Court he knew the God they worshipped in ignorance (v. 23) and that God did not dwell in their temples (v. 24). He said this with one of the most famous temples in the world–the Parthenon, the temple of the Greek goddess Athena–just a few hundred yards away. Pretty provocative.

4. Be Attuned. To your audience, that is. When standing before the Areopagus, Paul knew he was speaking to judges, so he talked to them about judgment (“…He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world…”) and evidence (“…having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead”), two things–judgment and evidence–judges know something about. (Acts 17:31).

Do you do these things? I’m interested in your comments on any experiences you might have had. GS