Blog

A recent study of five-hundred adult converts in Great Britain revealed an interesting finding. Sixty-nine percent of these adults described their Christian conversion as a gradual event. Only twenty percent described their experience as dramatic or radical. What does this tell us about evangelism? The researchers concluded that this gradual process is the way most adults discover God. The average time taken was about four years. In that time, the gospel message was repeatedly shared and affirmed by others. Someone was constantly present, talking, and…

Evangelism is like reading a good novel. Good novels absorb us in their plots, characters, and action. Major and minor themes unravel as we turn each page. Scenes build on top of each other. We resist the temptation to skip to the end because we don’t want to miss the thrill of the adventure. Our lives read like a novel. Each day, a portion of the plot slowly unfolds. Major characters mark us in special ways while minor figures disappear. Multiple story lines compete for our…

Once upon a time I worked in construction. The years between college and my current career was spent outside on a ladder, walking a scaffold, holding a hammer. This wasn’t a glamorous job. I endured the summer heat and the winter’s cold installing aluminum siding (before vinyl became the standard), shingling roofs, and hanging gutters. There was one advantage to this job, I was an insider to Jerry and Mike. Jerry was my crew leader. He was a young Air Force vet struggling to support…

The answer to this question may surprise you. What was one of Jesus’ strategies for evangelism? He did it over dinner. “The primary venue for evangelism in Jesus’ life was the meal,” writes Eugene Peterson. Why meals? Meals are natural and relational places for insiders to begin faith conversations. Jesu set the example by regularly eating with “sinners.” In fact, he had a reputation as a heavy-eater: “The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard,…

Jesus was a master conversationalist. Whether you were rich or poor, male or female, a Roman Centurion or a Jewish Pharisee, Jesus talked with you. Insiders follow the way of Jesus, becoming masters at starting faith conversations. Conversations are one of the great pleasures of life. The dictionary defines conversation as “good talk practiced as an art.” There’s an artful way of asking questions, listening intently, and affirming another. Jesus creatively engaged people through talking, fostering dialogues rather than only monologues. Good conversations are life-giving…

As we sat on my deck talking, Jim’s comment caught my attention: “What’s really important to me is to live a margined life.” The term puzzled me. “What’s a margined life?” I asked. “A margined life is having enough margin in my schedule to be available for people when they’re available. I want people to feel they’re welcomed and not interruptions.” “Wow!” I thought to myself, “I’m a long way from this type of life.” Time is a precious commodity for me. I find myself…

“My business is circumference,” wrote the poet Emily Dickinson. How can a nineteenth-century poet act as an insider? Using a geometric measure, Dickinson creates an analogy to show how her poetry encompasses — draws a circle — around life’s experiences. This circumference was the picture for her poetry. This is fascinating since Dickinson was a bit of a recluse who seldom left her home and upstairs writing room. Her circumference was small, but it was rich. Here’s the insider connection to this analogy. Like this…

A new neighbor moved in across the street from my parent’s home. Stopping his lawnmower, my dad walked across the street to meet him. Repeated street crossings produced an amicable friendship and then the discovery was made. The new neighbor was a widower and had lung cancer. My dad began to help him do odd jobs around his home and my mom took over meals. Over time they had several gospel conversations. Mom and dad invited him to their home Bible study and then to…