My for evangelism class today was Jesus and Evangelism. First, I talked to them about his teaching on the topic. As you can imagine there are dozens of passages that address this topic. I put my focus was one three ideas from the teaching of Jesus.

1. The Harvest is Plentiful

This idea is quoted in Matthew 9:35-38. In that context Jesus sees people and has compassion on them.
The same idea is quoted in Luke 10:1-3. There Jesus is sending out his followers into the world.
In this second passage he says that he is sending them out and they are going as lambs among wolves.

Here is the simple lesson: Sometimes God uses the idea of evangelism to bring comfort to the struggling. But the flip side is also true: Sometimes God uses evangelism to add struggle to the comfortable.

2. The Lost Need Found

The focus for this lesson was on Luke 15. There Jesus is found eating with sinners. The Pharisees are angry about this behavior. Jesus tells them a parable(s).
First is the Lost Sheep – or really it is more about the searching shepherd. The emphasis is on the value of the one who is lost.
Second is the Lost coin – or is it the searching woman. The emphasis is on the value of the search.
Third is the Lost Son – or is it the welcoming father. The emphasis is on the love of the father but also the lack of love from the brother.

3. Jesus Commissions His Disciples.

My focus was on Matthew 18:18-20. Here Jesus tells us to GO. Then he tells us to make disciples or learners and not just converts. Finally he says that he is with us. His presence will guide and direct us for his purpose.

Jesus obviously taught a great deal more about evangelism, but I think we will be better followers of Christ if we can just try and live out these three.

Last week in my Personal Evangelism class at ABI I shared a lesson on the topic of evangelism in the Old Testament. Here is the simple outline of the material I taught.

1. God is the first true evangelist. I used Genesis 12:1-3. God comes to Abram and instructs him to make a change in his life and he would bless him for it. That blessing was actually the coming of Jesus as the New Testament teaches. (Galatians 3:14)

2. Even the Law required people to respond in faith. I used two stories for this truth. Moses in Deuteronomy 30:15-20 tells the people he has set before them blessings and curses, life and death. Then he asks them to choose life. Joshua in the same manner in Joshua 24:14-15 tells the people they need to choose whom they are going to serve. Evangelism is about asking people to respond positively in faith to God’s instruction.

3. God cares more about people than his messengers. I walked the class through the story of the book of Jonah. If you know the story then you know that God wanted to change Nineveh and Jonah just wanted it destroyed. God’s grace is always bigger than mans.

4. God’s messengers should never quit sharing the message. For this truth I used the story of Isaiah in chapter 6. He sees this great vision of God and then God asks who will go speak for him. Then in Isaiah 6:9-10 God says that he will keep speaking until the people quit listening and then he will just keep teaching. The interesting part is that this verse is quoted in Matthew 13:13-15 and Acts 28:26-27 and both of those are passages about the spreading of the gospel.

I believe that God laid foundations in the Old Testament for His and his people’s actions in the New Testament. These truths and passages help us to understand evangelism in the Church.

I am amazed every week by my preaching experience. I look out on the crowd and see some people on the edge of their seats while others are sleeping. Some people come out the back door and say it was the best sermon ever and others run out before I can get to the back door so they don’t have to talk to me. It seems every week that there is this bi-polar reaction to my preaching. Well, over the years I have come to a few conclusions about what it takes to get the most out of a Sunday sermon.

1. Spend time growing personally each week. It never fails that the people who get the most out of a sermon are those who are regularly reading their Bible. I simply help to explain what they are reading or connect dots in their understanding.

2. Get rest on Saturday night. Simple truth; If you are tired you are not a good listener. Although I am not sure I have ever completely understood this. Our worship time starts at 10:30 am. You can get to sleep at 1:00 am and still have time for a good nights sleep and still have breakfast before Church.

3. If you are tired, take notes. I have a sweet older lady who takes copious notes each week. I know she has been in Church for years and years and she is probably not hearing anything new. She just knows it helps her to stay engaged.

4. If you are not a note taker, then look up all the scriptures and read those. I don’t care if you use your iPhone, iPad or printed Bible. Engage the scriptures while I am talking.

5. Try to focus your thoughts on, what one thing can I apply from this sermon. Every week I have numerous points of application. I do this hoping the each person will do one thing because of what they have heard.

6. If nothing helps to keep you engaged, decide not to be a distraction. I once heard a sermon on dating after I was already married. There was not much to keep me engaged, so I sat quietly reading my Bible, taking notes and listening with one ear. I did not get up and go to the bathroom or make faces at the kid near me or take a nap or talk or play a game on my phone. Those things are very distracting and while I might not be getting much out of the sermon I realize that someone else might be and I do not want to hinder them or the preacher.

Here is the commitment I make with a congregation. I will plan and prepare the very best sermon that I can every week. I will try to keep it Biblical, interesting and useful for your life. Your promise is that you will not only attend but try to learn from what I am saying. In other words, I will do my best job of throwing the pass down field. I just need you to try and catch it for this whole thing to work.

This morning I read a blog post from another large Church pastor telling me all the things I need to do in order for my Church to grow bigger. I appreciate the words these pastors write and preach in an effort to help me. I really do have an enormous desire to see people come to the Lord and the Church I lead to grow, but I need to say some things that has been on my mind for a long time. I lead a small Church in a small town and I have done so most of my life. I think I have a few insights that you might not read anywhere else.

1. In my community growth is much, much harder than you might realize. I live in a town of 6,000 in the summer and about 3,500 in the winter. There are 28 Church in my town within a 10 minute drive. It is hard for me to even make non-Christian contacts, let alone get them to Church.

2. In my Church, I have more to do than you might have in yours. The Church I lead averages 50 people in attendance and every person is vital. Recently the person who cleans the building had shoulder surgery and guess who picked up the duty? I did. I come in on Friday and clean the building so that the place looks nice for the visitors we might get on Sunday. That is just one example; I take care of the bulletin, serving rotation, and numerous other activities that others may never do as Pastor. This fact limits some of my ministry dreams. Let me be clear, I am not complaining just stating the facts.

3. My role is more Pastor than visionary leader. I am preacher, teacher, counselor, hospital chaplain, marriage chaplain, funeral chaplain, crisis counselor and there to help you move. I spend time with people in a role that is very personal and up close. I am not casting vision to hundreds but holding the hands of just a few.

I am fearful that too many pastors are getting discouraged by large Church preachers than encouraged. I am afraid that more pastors are hurting their congregation in an effort to make it grow. I am extremely nervous that people are getting a bad impression of the Church and the Lord because we are trying to be something that we simple are not.

I am a small Church pastor and I care about people. My ministry is done in a context that is different than other people – and I am okay with that!

Recently I heard this expression used in reference to kids, not once but three times. They all went something like this; “sitting in class just doesn’t come natural for him.” “Dealing with people just does not come naturally to him.” Finally, “he just has a naturally short attention span.”

Every time I heard this phrase used a chill went up my spine. It makes me think that most people only want to do what comes naturally. Or in other words, if it comes easy to me or to them, then it is okay to do.

My problem with this thinking is simple. Most things in life that are worthwhile do not come naturally and nothing in faith comes naturally. Think about it. If we are sinful by nature then living in faith goes against all of our natural inclinations. It is easy to lie, to cheat, to steal and to do a whole plethora of other sinful activities. In fact, you might say they come very naturally to us. The real struggle in life is fighting against our nature to do what God desires.

I am convinced that doing the right thing does not come naturally or easily. Sometimes the best things we do in life will feel very unnatural.

Over on Ragamuffinsoul Carlos wrote a nice post on “The Local Church is Dying” and other myths. It is a short little read but very encouraging.

Much of the world you enjoy is run by volunteers. Someone is donating their time for that art program, sports program, music program, political program and whatever else it is that you or your kids enjoy. Someone is donating time at the library. Someone else is giving their time at the Church. All while others give their time elsewhere.

I used to think that where you gave your money was the biggest indicator of the priorities in your life. That is still very true. It is a struggle to get people to donate their money to anything. But lately, I am seeing time as the biggest indicator of your priorities. The place you give your time has the greatest level of importance in your life.

I have talked with numerous people who will give me cash or write me a check who would not give me a minute of their time. In fact, one of my biggest struggles is to get volunteers. It is much harder to get volunteers than to get money. It doesn’t matter whether it is a school event, a sports event or even a Church event. People are stingy with their time.

Where you spend your free time maybe the greatest indicator of the priorities you have placed in your life.

So my hat is off to everyone who volunteers. Thanks for your time.

Years ago when I started blogging every Monday I would have a post entitled “Mind Dump” and I would list all the random things going on in my head and in my life. Well, today is a Monday where I have a lot on my mind so I am going to list a lot of random stuff.

1. My son took a field trip last week. I joined them for part of the trip. As I stand back and watch everything I realized how much of a control freak I am at times. I get frustrated when things are poorly run.

2. I spent two hours of my life helping kids build “cookie cutter” bird feeders. Funny part, I think they were all thrown away the next day – or at least just thrown outside and never taken home. Two hours of my life I will never get back

3. I listed to everyone talking while I was on this field trip. I realized there are phrases I have never used and never plan on it. “Take a chill pill” from the mouth of a 40-year-old lacks something.

4. Dakota and I watched a hit and run Friday night. One of the most interesting moments of the last few weeks while I watched a guy hit the back corner of another car and then speed off. Two other cars went in pursuit and we saw the police finally catch the guy. Still was an almost unbelievable event.

5. Youth football season is over. I am 99% finished with everything. What a relief.

6. My boys and I have finally passed the $100 mark in our metal detector finds. $102.60 as of this moment. That is just in coins. People lose a lot of money everywhere.

7. I will never understand some people. I am reminded of this at least once a week.

8. Preaching a sermon – even a pretty good sermon – to a group of people who are tired is tough. Some weeks are just like rolling a boulder up hill.

9. I treasure every moment with my family. They are my shelter from the world.

10. The Packers won again. Always makes me happy.

Here is another post on the topic of evangelism. Here are four simple reasons that Christians need to share their faith.

1. Jesus is the only way to God. See John 14:5-6, Acts 4:12 & 1 Timothy 2:5-6. I believe this is true. As a result I need to make sure everyone comes to follow Jesus if I want them to be in heaven.

2. Jesus came down from God to bring man to God. Most people have figured out their own religion and it is usually the same. It goes like this; I need to do better and better and hopefully I will one day reach God. Then he will be happy with my efforts and let me into his heaven. Christianity is very different from what we might figure out on our own. God comes down to man because we will never be good enough to reach God on our own.

2. Christianity is based on a historical event. We believe that Jesus came and lived and died as a historical event. We would not know history without someone telling us what happened. We cannot figure out the past on our own. No one can, so we need to explain what Jesus did back then. See 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. The apostles did not just teach what they believed, they taught what they believe happened.

4. Without Jesus there is judgment. If Jesus is the only way to heaven then those who do not follow him are on a different path leading to a different place. I believe this place is a real place called hell. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells about a rich man and Lazarus. In verses 27-28 the rich man is very concerned about this brothers. He does not want them to come to this place of torment. There is this simple truth, the people in hell want us to tell other people about Jesus so that they do not end up there.

I believe there are other reasons to share our faith, but these are four big motivations…at least for me. I hope they are for my class and maybe for you.

Today I began teaching a class on Personal Evangelism at the local Bible Institute – ABI I teach every Thursday in the morning for a couple of hours. So I decided that for the next several weeks I will blog about what I am teaching there in class.

Today I started with introductions and then I dove into what I consider a definitive passage on evangelism. This is the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-9 and explanation in 19:18-23. (Go read it!) I have often referred to this as the parable of the soils, but Jesus explains that it is actually a parable about a sower. With that said, here are seven lessons on evangelism from Matthew 13.

1. The owner wants a full harvest. If you are a farmer you want to harvest as much as possible.

2. Someone must do the work of planting for the owner. Who will sow the seed of God?

3. Everyone is one type of soil. Can this ever change?

4. We are to spread the seed everywhere This farmer throws his seed in some unlikely places. It is as if he is not sure which soil will produce a harvest.

5. Not everyone will respond positively I hate this, but 25% are hard soil.

6. Not all people who respond will mature. I hate this more. 50% of the people who come to the Lord are shallow or will let life crowd out their faith.

7. A few will be very productive. I love this. One life can touch so many.

I believe that within this one parable and its explanation we have all the basics for understanding for sharing our faith. There are some tough truths but also some unbelievable results.