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The 3 Worst Evangelists I’ve Ever Met


There are a lot of different ways to share the gospel. Every believer who shares his or her faith each has their different style. Most of us have a different style depending on who we are talking to or the specific situation we find ourself in. I share the gospel differently in a one on one conversation than I do when I am preaching from a pulpit. You would likely share differently with someone you know personally than you  would with a stranger. Differences in sharing the gospel are valid and should be celebrated. There are many great ways to share the gospel but there are also some poor ways. Here are a few that I have seen.

The “Hope Nazi’

Most of my readers have watched Seinfeld (I won’t tell) at least once. One of the colorful characters in the show was a man known as the Soup Nazi. When ordering soup from his restaurant, Jerry and the gang had to be very particular in how they walked, talked and paid for their lunch. If they made one mistake the soup was jerked from their hand and with a menacing growl the Soup Nazi would  spout “No soup for you!”.

Some believers have become Hope Nazi’s. When dealing with an unbelieving world these believers focus on the negative and lack grace.

“Oh, you are gay, a democrat, have had an abortion, wear stripes with plaid…? You are going to hell! No hope for you!”

I think the people I have met that are jerking hope from the reach of the fallen world would do well to remember that you get more flies with honey.

I absolutely believe that sin must be confronted and that stripes and plaid are not equally yoked, but rather than focusing on hell lets offer them what Jesus offered them… hope!

I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t want a better life. Jesus offers a life more abundant and full than we can ever imagine (John 10:10). That is what we should lead with.

People are already inclined to think negatively about themselves. Most are trying to fill a void in their life with something… anything that will bring them even temporary happiness. Show them the Hope and the Joy they have been searching for. Show them Jesus!

Mr. & Mrs. Guilttrip (and their cousins the Boycotts) 

You know the type. These are the people  who think they are making a positive impact on a lost world by chewing out the sales clerk who says “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas”.  Or they have attack ads posted on the bumper of their SUV.

The GuiIttrip’s probably couldn’t tell you what they were for, but they can tell you in an 1000 words in the “Readers Voice” section of the newspaper what they are against.

Who would want a God that causes his people to act in such a way?

Lil’ Miss “Guess what… I’m Better Than You” 

Lil’ Miss is self righteous. She has her life together. She makes wise decisions. She home schools her kids. Lil’ Miss won’t even admit that her bodily functions have an oder to them! She does everything right! She is like Jesus Jr, and guess what… your not!

This is probably where most of us battle with ourselves.  Sometimes when we have been Christ followers for a while we forget what we were like prior to His grace flooding our lives.

Let’s all take a step back and remember.

Have you ran into any of these people lately? Is one of them looking back at you in the mirror each morning? Did I miss one that you would like to mention? Share in the comment section!

 

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Why So Much Evil?

How many times have you heard a statement like, ” If there really is a God and He is a good God, how can there be so much evil in the world?”

Check out the video below. In it apologist Ravi Zacharias gives his viewpoint on the age-old question.

How Can a Good God Allow Evil? Does Life Have Meaning? – Dr. Ravi Zacharias 

I first saw this on ChurchLeaders.com

Tell me what you think?

 
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Posted by on May 10, 2012 in Theology, Uncategorized

 

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I’m Back…

After more than a year away from blogging, I am back.

I have changed churches and cities and now feel rooted enough to begin blogging again.

New content will be coming shortly but until then please fill free to look at some of the older posts. The posts from 2010 are up but none of the pictures and graphics that once accompanied them are up. I will do my best to update them as I can.

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2012 in Uncategorized

 

Are People Born Homosexual?

I read an article this week about the pastor of a Georgia “mega church” announcing that he is gay. ( see article here http://www.wsbtv.com/news/25568419/detail.html ) In the article Pastor Jim Swilley stated, “I know a lot of straight people think it is a choice. It is not,”. He went on to say that he has known of his homosexuality since he was a boy. Is it true that homosexuals have no choice in the matter? Are people born gay? Is that really the question we should be asking?

We all know the scripture makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin. (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1: 24-27) But what of the assertion that homosexuality is a natural condition for some.

The question of nature versus nurture is a moot point. The Bible is clear that we are all slaves to what is known as a SIN NATURE. It is natural for people to sin. (see Genesis 3 and Romans 5 to learn how we inherited this sin nature)

Romans 7:25
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Homosexuals may, in reality,  be naturally inclined to homosexuality. That does not alter the fact that God views homosexuality as sin and hates it. God by His very nature is holy and can not abide sin.

I realize, that for those who want to remain in their sin, that this will be received with indignation, however, there is a great hope for those who do seek to leave their sin behind.

Since we have established that homosexuality is sin, lets broaden the horizon to include all sin. The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of Gods perfect standard (Romans 3:23). However, God has made a path for each of us to regain perfection in the eyes of God through Jesus (Romans 5). The Bible teaches that we can become new in the eyes of God.    ”  2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” What a wonderful gift!

Shifting gears back to Pastor Swilley, I don’t doubt that he has felt a natural inclination to sin in this way. I personally have had a natural inclination towards alcohol abuse, heterosexual immorality, gluttony, and pride. These are all lifestyle sins and God considers my sin the same as Mr. Swilley. However, God has also called Mr. Swilley, myself , and every one of us to forsake what is natural to us in order to pursue what God has purposed for us.

 Romans 12:1-2
 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 Feel free to pass this along.

I hope that you will leave me a comment regarding how you feel about this post.

 Also Please rate this post on the five-star system.

 
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Posted by on November 4, 2010 in Uncategorized

 

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You Too Can Be A Rescue Worker!

What would you do in order to save the life of a loved one?

Check out this post from Gregg Stier of Dare2Share Ministries.

http://www.dare2share.org/students/you-are-the-phoenix-2-rescue-capsule/

 
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Posted by on October 18, 2010 in Uncategorized

 

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Obeying God Leads To The Blessings Of God

This past year has been referred to by my wife and I as “the year of the stand”. We have had to make several hard decisions this year in all areas of our life (faith, family, ministry).  We believe that each of these decisions are squarely within the will of God, however standing firm in those decisions has been tough at times. 

One of the decisions involving our ministry that was very difficult for us was the decision to leave the youth camp we have been rooted in since 1998 and I had been on staff with for 5 years. I felt God leading me away from this camp. I obeyed despite the facts that it was not my preference and that I would likely offend people who I care deeply for.

This week at camp the speaker led a break out session for adults each morning. One of those sessions dealt with obedience. Take a look at his points, I found each one to be evident this week.

Obeying God Doesn’t Always Make Sense As I mentioned before, changing from a camp that I help to build over the years to a camp that I had little control of, went against my natural instincts.

Obeying God Makes You Look A Little Weird Leaving a camp because of a principle belief not shared by many of my friends made me look a bit strange. To be fair, weirdness is kinda my thing.

Obeying God Leads To The Blessings Of God This is the biggie. As a result of our obedience, God blessed. We brought 50 students and 9 adults to camp. 19 of those students received Christ as their Savior. That is amazing!  I believe God is not finished blessing. The faithful excitement within our group is unlike anything I have seen in all my years of youth ministry. If we continue down this path, God is going to use our group to do big things within the Kingdom. I can’t wait!

Partial Obedience Equals Total Disobedience I believe with all that I am, that if I had not been so stubborn in my obedience to God on this issue, that God would not have chosen to bless us in the way that he has.

I encourage any of you reading this to be bold in your obedience to God. He is faithful to bless our obedience.

Please leave a comment if you like and rate this post on the five-star system. Thanks for reading.

 
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Posted by on July 13, 2010 in Uncategorized, Youth Ministry

 

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The Summer Juggling Act

To my faithful readers, I apologize for having not blogged in a month.  As you may know, the summer is the busiest time  of my year.  June was devoured by our 6th grade day camp and our youth choir trip to Orlando. July will be consumed by youth camp and planning for next years youth camp. August will be filled with a much-needed vacation, some day trips with the students and a big back to school event. Thanks for understanding if the posts are few and far between.

 
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Posted by on July 1, 2010 in Uncategorized

 

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The Evolution Of My Backbone

The last year or so I have found myself in positions to make decisions that aren’t easy. Though all decisions have consequences, many of the decisions I have had to make recently have potentially altered the path of our families life in a permanent way. My wife and I have only half jokingly referred to this year as the year of the stand. I find myself having to take a stand for what I believe, foe what I know to be true and for what I want for my family. For the most part I believe that I have made good decisions in this season of my life, but I know that these decisions have been looked at critically by some of my friends, family and peers. This post will not focus on the decisions I have made or the circumstances that birthed them. This post is a reflection back on my “evolution” as a decision maker.

My Stiff Necked Stage

When I was a younger man (18-26ish) I took a stand on every issue that crossed my path. I was a new believer at this time as well.  My spiritual gift of discernment and the arrogance of my youth mixed like oil and water and on top of that I had not learned to control my tongue well at all. The result was a headstrong “I am always right” guy.   I even used to tell people (sort of jokingly) ” I thought I was wrong once… but I was mistaken!” I was dogmatic in my stances and ready for a debate at every turn. My attitude was prideful, my tongue was barbed, and my decisions, while usually  technically correct, were far from righteous!

My Jellyfish Stage

As I got a little maturity under my belt, I began to soften on my stances. I rightly realized that grace is a beautiful thing  and that mercy and peace were important parts of Gods DNA. I knew that being dogmatic was a waste of time and that my formerly sharp rhetoric was more likely to divide than to heal. The trouble came when I found myself more likely to compromise truth than to stand on it. I had a big tent mentality.  I began to make allowances for myself and for others that were contradictory to my foundation in Christ. I had gone from taking a stand on everything to taking a stand on nothing.  I was now in the ditch on the opposite side of the road from the ditch I had just gotten out of.

My Stong But Flexible Stage

Recently, I have moved into the third stage of my backbone’s evolution. I have realized that my strength in discernment must be rooted in the never-changing Truth of God. Truth is only truth if it is always truth. Truth is uncompromising. That said, sometimes when I allow my flesh to add to or take away from the truth I have to correct myself.  I may be wrong but God’s word never is. I can compromise my own ideas, thoughts, plans and stances, but I can not compromise the TRUTH. That truth includes grace, mercy, forgiveness, and  peace as well as resolve, firmness and righteousness.

 I am now facing the consequences of the last two stages. I am reversing course on somethings and taking stands in areas that I never had before. The result is a painful transition that I hope is temporary but fear is permanent. The only thing that makes it bearable is the fact that I know that now more than ever I am resting in my God’s will for my life. 

My backbone is not mine at all. I am the soft tissue surrounding the backbone. The Truth of God is the backbone.

 
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Posted by on June 2, 2010 in Uncategorized

 

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Gettin’ Away!

The Smith family are joining the Roberts family for our second annual beach retreat on the Alabama Coast! We have been needing some time away for a while and now it is finally here.

 This year I wont even have to bring my own body oil! It is provided by BP and is already in the water for quick application!?!

I wont be blogging for a week or so, but I’m sure you will make do without my thoughts invading your conscience. I will blog about our experience when we return.

 
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Posted by on May 15, 2010 in Uncategorized

 

Top 5 Reasons You Should Take Your Youth Pastor Fishin’.

 

The last few weeks, my posts have made the readers head hurt. I feel your pain, and now here is what my mind is on! Five reasons you should take your youth pastor fishin’!

5. He is pasty white from a long winter indoors!

4.You want to see how much like Jesus he really is by testing his ability to walk on water!

3.  He has an upcoming message on the dangers of  temptation, and plans to use fishing lures to illustrate!

2.You feel guilty that his annual salary is half what your boat cost!

1. His blogs get on your nerves and the best way to shut him up is to use him as catfish bait!

I can’t wait to get on the water as long as #1 isn’t your motivation for taking me.

 
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Posted by on May 10, 2010 in Uncategorized, Youth Ministry

 

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