Download or read book Symposium on Evangelism JCR Vol 07 No 02 written by R. J. Rushdoony and published by Chalcedon Foundation. This book was released on with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What’s wrong with Reformed evangelism? Something certainly appears to be wrong. When we look at the growth of Arminian Baptist churches and compare this growth with the various Reformed Baptist and Presbyterian denominations, the numbers are very discouraging. When J. Gresham Machen left the old Presbyterian Church of the USA, he believed that his newly formed Presbyterian Church of America would grow rapidly as a result of its commitment to biblical inerrancy and the fundamentals of the faith. Instead, it suffered a split the next year (June 1937), and the two new denominations, the Bible Presbyterians and Orthodox Presbyterians, have not grown much in membership since 1937. Much the same has been true of the various Dutch-based Reformed denominations. They grow only if the birth rate increases, and the death rate decreases within the respective groups. As I noted (at age 21), the Dutch churches seem to have substituted procreation for a Board of Home Missions. (I wasn’t tactful in my youth, the way I am today.) So what’s the problem? As you might expect, there is more than one problem. There is a whole pile of problems, such as: 1) not systematic evangelism programs; 2) imitation Arminian evangelism programs; 3) ineffective evangelism programs; 4) a message geared to confrontation, not conquest; 5) the humanism of our era; 6) lack of capital; 7) lack of confidence; 8) lack of past successes to serve as precedents; 9) seminaries that don’t emphasize evangelism; 10) too much concern for the rigors of theological speculation, and not enough for the demands of applied theology; 11) an inability to recognize and emphasize the strong points of the Reformed heritage (relevance, concrete answers for social problems, scholarship, organization; 12) fatalism regarding stagnation and defeat; 13) ignorance of the warfare between Christianity and humanism; 14) compromised apologetic methodology (rationalism); 15) a constricted view of the Kingdom of God; 16) incompetence in the area of communication; 17) a failure to tithe. One of the criticisms that has been aimed at the Christian reconstructionist movement is that it has not been concerned with evangelism. An odd charge, coming from pastors who have never demonstrated that they have had any grasp of evangelism techniques, given their tiny churches and invisibility in their communities. The Christian reconstruction movement is less than a decade old. It has little capital. Yet despite its youth and its lack of capital, it has been influential enough to become a force in American thought and culture. When Newsweek identified the source of the “religious right’s” ideas, it listed Chalcedon, and only Chalcedon (Feb. 2, 1981, p. 60). But this is not “evangelism” in the eyes of the critics. This doesn’t count. So what does count? Not sheer numbers, certainly; the critics cannot point to their own success using this criterion. What is the nature of legitimate evangelism? The latest issue of The Journal of Christian Reconstruction addresses itself to this important question. But more than this: it offers specific, affordable suggestions to struggling congregations about how they can grow, become more influential, and count for something within their communities. We need both a theory of evangelism and a practical program for evangelism. The “Symposium on Evangelism” offers both. There has been an enormous waste in virtually all popular programs of evangelism. They have not been cost-effective. They have not targeted their audiences properly. They have not been geared to repeated contacts. They have not been structured in terms of long-range objectives—objectives stretching out two or more generations. The evangelism programs popular (if that word can even be used) in Reformed circles have generally been warmed-over versions of Arminian evangelism. These techniques have not worked for Reformed churches, yet the pastors have not been willing to scrap them and rethink the whole question. Is there a distinctively Reformed evangelism? Are its techniques fundamentally different from those employed by Arminian churches? Is there a distinctively Christian reconstructionist evangelism—a type of evangelism unavailable to the majority of Arminian denominations and congregations? The answer to all three questions is the same: Yes. The Journal provides the evidence. Far from being unconcerned with evangelism, the Chalcedon movement is vitally concerned with evangelism. It is a small movement at present, and it needs capital. How can it expect to become a world-wide force for social change if it neglects evangelism? How can its perspective spread to the decision-makers of this age, except by evangelism? Everyone needs evangelism; the Arminians, the introspective Reformed groups, the traditional conservatives, the Roman Catholics, the universities, the heathen seats of power, the media, the Iron Curtain nations, and all points in between. But the average pastor faces more immediate problems. He has to build up his struggling congregation. He needs to take the first steps. That’s why we have devoted an issue of the Journal to evangelism. What distinguishes the Chalcedon movement’s view of evangelism from the rival varieties that are common today, is the scope of evangelism. We are convinced that no evangelism program can hope to succeed unless it is driven by a vision of universal conquest. The three strongest political forces in the world today are Marxism, militant Islam, and modern science. All three are predestinarian. All three are officially optimistic. All three believe that they possess the key which will unlock the door of history. All three believe that they have access to the true law structure which will give them power over the world. All three see themselves as agents of historical and social change. All three see the whole world as their proper and required domain. Until Christians can match them, doctrine for doctrine, vision for vision, we will sit on the sidelines of history, cheering for no one in particular. Waiting for the “game” to end so that we can go home. That’s what most Christians are doing now. This produces an ineffective evangelism. It produces a socially irrelevant witness. It produces the kind of witness the Roman emperors would have preferred to see the early church proclaim. The “emperors” of our day can live with this sort of witness, too. It is time to change both our strategy and our tactics.—Gary North

Download or read book Symposium on Evangelism written by Gary North and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Revival written by James Henry MacDonald and published by . This book was released on 1905 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Biblical Evangelism Today written by Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Committee on Local Evangelism and published by . This book was released on 1954 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Evangelism written by J. Mack Stiles and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2014-04-16 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christians often struggle to know where to start when it comes to telling others about God, Jesus, sin, and salvation. In this short book, J. Mack Stiles challenges us to view evangelism as something we do together instead of something we do alone, helping churches cultivate a culture of evangelism that goes beyond simply creating new programs or adopting the latest method. The seventh volume in the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series, this book will help Christians joyfully embrace evangelism as a way of life as it equips them to share their faith with those who don't yet know Jesus. Part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series.

Download or read book Evangelism in the Sunday School written by Methodist Episcopal Church, South. General Board of Christian Education. Department of the Local Church and published by . This book was released on 1931 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Setting the Agenda written by Church of England Board of Mission and published by Church House Publishing. This book was released on 1999 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of ACE'99 - the first major Church of England conference on evangelism - was to discover what has been learnt during the Decade of Evangelism and to empower and envision the churches for evangelism in the 3rd millennium. This report is an attempt to disseminate to the wider church the contributions and findings from ACE'99, in order for the church to reflect and analyze what htey have learnt from the Decade of Evangelism and to help them develop their evangelism in the future.

Download or read book A Workshop Of Evangelism written by Bercelin Louiny and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-08-13 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We often assume that evangelism is for evangelists, pastors, or church leaders, but according to the Bible it is an every Christian responsibility. For this truth, "A workshop of Evangelism" is written to help anyone who desires to take a step forward in the field of evangelism. So, if this is your longing, take hold of one, don't let it go, and God will bless you tremendously.

Download or read book Papers Presented at the Symposium on Power Evangelism written by Fuller Theological Seminary. School of World Mission. Symposium on Power Evangelism and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Questioning Evangelism Second Edition written by Randy Newman and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2017-04-25 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You don't need to memorize evangelical formulas or answers. You just have to be willing to ask. There was something different about the way Jesus communicated with the lost: He didn't force answers upon people, He asked questions. So why don't we? Following Christ's lead, Randy Newman has been using a questioning style of evangelism for decades. In this provocative book, he provides practical insights to help Christians engage others in meaningful spiritual conversations. He challenges us to examine how we think about people, their questions, and our crucial message. This second edition includes a new preface reflecting on the popularity of this perennial best seller and what its success has taught Newman about the effectiveness of this extraordinary method. "Distilled out of over twenty years of personal evangelism, this book reflects both a deep grasp of biblical theology and a penetrating compassion for people--and finds a way forward in wise, probing questions. How very much like the Master Himself!" --D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School "Questioning Evangelism steps outside the boundaries of evangelism as usual and tackles the tougher issues of our modern day." --Mitch Glaser, Chosen People Ministries

Download or read book History Essays Orations and Other Documents of the Sixth General Conference of the Evangelical Alliance written by Evangelical Alliance. Conference and published by . This book was released on 1874 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Evangelism in the Church School written by Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Board of Education and published by . This book was released on 1935 with total page 23 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Proceedings of the Geneva Conference of the Evangelical Alliance Held in September 1861 written by Evangelical Alliance. Conference and published by . This book was released on 1862 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind written by Mark A. Noll and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2022-03-15 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Christianity Today Book of the Year Award (1995) “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” So begins this award-winning intellectual history and critique of the evangelical movement by one of evangelicalism’s most respected historians. Unsparing in his indictment, Mark Noll asks why the largest single group of religious Americans—who enjoy increasing wealth, status, and political influence—have contributed so little to rigorous intellectual scholarship. While nourishing believers in the simple truths of the gospel, why have so many evangelicals failed to sustain a serious intellectual life and abandoned the universities, the arts, and other realms of “high” culture? Over twenty-five years since its original publication, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind has turned out to be prescient and perennially relevant. In a new preface, Noll lays out his ongoing personal frustrations with this situation, and in a new afterword he assesses the state of the scandal—showing how white evangelicals’ embrace of Trumpism, their deepening distrust of science, and their frequent forays into conspiratorial thinking have coexisted with surprisingly robust scholarship from many with strong evangelical connections.

Download or read book Evangelism in the Annual Conference written by Evangelical United Brethren Church. Commission on Evangelism and published by . This book was released on 1947* with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book All Together in One Place written by Harold D. Hunter and published by Burns & Oates. This book was released on 1993 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The global pentecostal/charismatic movement, as it launches into the twenty-first century, outdistances current attempts at classification and clarification. Although scholarly theologizing has not been the hallmark of the movement, the current surge of pentecostal/charismatic scholars confounds the accepted antithesis between expressive narrative and reflective theology. Brighton '91, which featured Jurgen Moltmann and the Archbishop of Canterbury, was a symposium unprecedented in the range of participating scholars drawn from six continents. They gave voice to new insights for handling racism, sexism, socioeconomic oppression, and the environment, thus modelling a legitimate post-modern agenda.

Download or read book Evangelism in the 1960 s written by and published by . This book was released on 1959 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: