Evangelism in the 21st Century

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• David Schoen
• Eden Theological Seminary

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• What do you think when you hear the word
• Evangelism?

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
• Evangel eu good aggelion tiding,
  news
• gospel good news, good word, good tidings,
• gospel of Gods realm, gospel of God, gospel
  of Christ, gospel of peace
• Evangelize euaggelizio To preach, to declare
• Bring glad tidings, preach the gospel
• Evangelist euaggelistes, advocate of the
  good news, ambassador
• aggel, angel, messenger
• Evangelism - of the good news, embodiment (living
  out) of the evangel

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
• Small Group Bible Study
• John 235-51
• Matthew 2816-20
• Acts 16-11
• Jeremiah 16-9
• Acts 826-35

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism
• Walter Brueggemann
• Group Discussion
• What stood out to you as an aha?
• What challenged you?
• What questions would you ask?
• How did Brueggemann define evangelism?

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism
• Walter Brueggemann
• Evangelism is doing the texts again.
• evangelical task of the church to invite people
  into this daring drama and revolutionary
  conversation
• Evangelism is no mere survival technique.
• It is a world concern.
• Evangel is Message of Gods alternative world.
• Not just a question of good news, its what do we
  do with the good news.
• We are ultimately the tellers, the hearers and
  the livers.

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism
• Walter Brueggemann
• Audience for Evangelism
• Outsiders become Insiders
• Forgetters Made Rememberers
• Beloved Children become belief-ful adults
• Main issue for the U.S. church is to recover the
  nerve (courage and freedom) to say boldy and
  straightforwardly that the embrace of the evangel
  is pervasively transformative.

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• Small Group Discussion
• Evangelism Definitions
• What are the primary foci of definitions?
• How do they vary?
• Which definition speaks to you?
• How will you define evangelism?

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• Jesus ministry
• Gospel was about the realm of God among us
• New Testament/Apostolic/Early Church
• Evangelism is act of obedience- Go Forth.
• Focus on the world into which church was called
• Church was called as sign and instrument of Gods
  realm
• Gods reign recognized in Jesus life, death and
  resurrection
• Jesus becomes the message

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• Jesus ministry
• Gospel was about the realm of God among us
• New Testament/Apostolic/Early Church
• Evangelism is act of obedience- Go Forth.
• Focus on the world into which church was called
• Church was called as sign and instrument of Gods
  realm
• Gods reign recognized in Jesus life, death and
  resurrection
• Jesus becomes the message

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• Christendom (after Constantine)
• From apostles to Priests (Early Church to Empire)
• Church and culture are one,
• Place and birth define Christian identity
• Mission of church and kingdom was to ensure that
  every person within boundaries of the kingdom is
  part of a local congregation.
• The task and authority of priests is the
  administration of sacraments and standing in
  church and culture
• Church exists to serve the religious needs of
  members and kingdom
• Evangelism became outreach to whatever place was
  out of kingdom/culture

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• Celtic Evangelism
• In The Celtic Way of Evangelism How Christianity
  Can Reach the West . . . Again, George Hunter
  writes about the difference between what he
  describes as the evangelism approach in Roman and
  Celtic Christianity.

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• Roman Model Celtic Model
• Presentation Fellowship
• Decision Ministry and
  Conversation
• Fellowship Belief, Invitation
  to
  Commitment

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• Celtic Evangelism
• Christianity is more caught than taught! As
  Professor Robin Gill observes, belonging comes
  before believing. For this reason, evangelism is
  about helping people to belong so that they can
  believe.

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• From Priests to Pedagogues (Reformation)
• Church remained the static server of religious
  grace and power within Christian society
• Reformers did challenged and reform the priestly
  understanding of ministry to create a more
  pedagogical identity for the clergy.
• Teaching and preaching, the oversight of right
  doctrine and proper administration of the
  sacraments became the normative form of
  protestant leadership
• Proclamation and teaching became the task of
  leadership and sign of authority
• Some radical reformers and free church movements
  tried to create alternative organic communities
  based on neither the priestly or pastoral, but
  lay led leadership

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• From Pedagogues to Professional
• Enlightenment to Modernity
• Scientific competence pressured church
• Preachers became professionals The Leader
  as Counselor
• 
  The Leader as Manager
• 
  The Leader as Technician
• The Leader as Evangelist

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• From Pedagogues to Professional (Enlightenment to
  Modernity)
• Religion became positive science,
• a formula for making people and world better
• Revivals
• Great Awakening, Wesleyan, Finney, Moody,
  Sunday, Graham
• Rule of God (good) realized in personal
  experience
• Absent is idea of community
• Eschatology (hope) is based on future not present
• Social Gospel
• Rule of God realized in social order
• Rule of God (good) realized in social context
• Absent is idea of individual
• Eschatology (hope) is based in present context

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• History and Theology of Evangelism
• From Pedagogues to Professional
• Enlightenment to Modernity
• Evangelism becomes professionally and
  institutionally driven
• Church growth movement
• growth of church around the world
• a church in every new community

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• Post Modern World (A new worldview coming into
  being) currently a difficult mix
• Maintenance of Christian tradition,
• servicing churched peoples needs
• perform the religious chaplaincy of culture
• Missional movement/theology
• Return to Missio Dei of apostolic age , gospel
  and culture movement
• Return to go forth, because thats who God calls
  us to be sent Communities shaped and excited by
  missional identity, church finds identity and joy
  in mission/outreach ministries
• Gods called out, sent out people
• Ecclesiology and missiology merge, purpose of the
  church is to serve Gods mission
• Mission starts at front door, wraps around the
  world and come back
• Evangelism is central to Gods mission
• Critique of Missio Dei to much doing, not being
• Church as sign and instrument of Gods reign

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Evangelism in the 21st Century
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Logic of Evangelism

• Evangelism raises very fundamental questions
• What the essence of Christianity is concerning
• conversion, faith, and repentance
• the nature of the gospel,
• the nature of the reign of God,
• the place of the reign in the ministry of Jesus
• the nature of baptism and of Christian
  initiation,
• The relationship between the intellect and the
  emotions in Christian commitment
• the faith of the early centuries expressed in the
  modern world
• the place of Christianity in a multi-faith world

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Logic of Evangelism

• Abraham begin theological review with Ministry of
  Jesus and Gospel
• Begins with Eschatology (hope) of Jesus Message
• Jesus proclaims a Gospel of Gods Realm
• The rule of God was present and still to come to
  fulfillment
• Gods future hope is realized in the present in
  lives and in world
• Gods rule is seen and known in the life, death
  and resurrection of Jesus
• Gods realm is still to come in fulfillment

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Logic of Evangelism

• Message and Ministry of Evangelism
• Proclamation is a message of the rule of God,
• the present and still to come activity of God
  into the world
• seen and known in the life, death and
  resurrection of Jesus
• Return to the message work of the apostles which
  he said was more than proclamation
• Formation into the community of Gods reign
• Nurture of new beings
• Living in a new world where injustice is out of
  date

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Logic of Evangelism

• Abrahams Definition of Evangelism
• Evangelism is that set of intentional activities
  which is governed by the goal of initiating
  people into the kingdom (realm) of God for the
  first time.
• A recovery of apostolic teaching and spirit,
  seeing evangelism as intimately related to the
  coming reign of God.
• To be initiated into the rule of god is to
  encounter a transcendent reality that has entered
  history and to find oneself drawn up into the
  ultimate purposes of God for history and creation.

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Logic of Evangelism

• Evangelism includes but cannot be collapse into
  admittance into some religious institution,
• It is distinct from psychological and social
  formation that takes place when one embrace a
  specific cosmic or historical narrative.
• Cannot be reduced to acquisition of some creed
  or body of knowledge that is intellectually
  mastered
• More than appropriation of a particular moral
  vision
• Distinct from certain rites and ceremonies
• Goes far beyond some spiritual or emotional
  experiences, even positive
• Cannot drained into activism that seeks to change
  the world for the better

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Logic of Evangelism

• Whose involved in evangelism
• Triune God primary agent
• The church
• Evangelist
• The person evangelized
• Evangelism calls for multiple agents, it is
  never a solo performance
• It is more like farming and educating than
  raising ones arms or blowing a kiss

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Logic of Evangelism

• Abrahams definition seeks to be response to
• Revival Movement
• Proclamation with little idea of community
• Individualization of Gospel
• Eschatology (hope) is based on future not present
• Justice witness absent

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Logic of Evangelism

• Abrahams definition seeks to be response to
• Church Growth Movement
• Church growth about research not theology
• Based on homogeneous demographics
• Personal invitation instead of confrontation
• Focus on numbers and institution survival
• Focused on church membership not discipleship
• Diminishes focus on Justice

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Logic of Evangelism

• Evangelism involves
• Proclamation
• Basic instruction
• Prayer
• Ensuring that those who respond are brought to
  baptism or confirmation
• Acts of mercy, patient conversation, stern
  rebuke, mass meetings
• Sharing ones personal spiritual pilgrimage or an
  act of silence, listening
• Ministering special rites of exorcism,
  catechesis, laying on hands
• Mass media or small groups

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Logic of Evangelism

• Evangelism involves
• Proclamation
• Basic instruction
• Prayer
• Ensuring that those who respond are brought to
  baptism or confirmation
• Acts of mercy, patient conversation, stern
  rebuke, mass meetings
• Sharing ones personal spiritual pilgrimage or an
  act of silence, listening
• Ministering special rites of exorcism,
  catechesis, laying on hands
• Mass media or small groups

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Logic of Evangelism

• What makes the actions of evangelism is that they
  are part of a process governed by the goal of
  initiating people into the realm of God.
• Unless such acts are intimately related to a
  process of intentionally bringing people into the
  realm of God they are something other than or
  less than evangelism.

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Logic of Evangelism

• Critiques of Abrahams definition and work
• Too much like Christian Education
• Jones critique
• Realm of God confined to Church
• Evangelism can be harmful

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Logic of Evangelism

• Abrahams re-definition and work
• Evangelism is that set of intentional activities
  governed by the goal of initiating persons into
  Christian discipleship in response to the reign
  of God for the first time.
• Jones redefinition
• Evangelism is that set of loving, intentional
  activities governed by the goal of initiating
  persons into Christian discipleship in response
  to the reign of God.

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Evangelism Definitions

• One beggar telling another beggar where there is
  food.
• Evangelical task of the church to invite people
  into this daring drama and revolutionary
  conversation.
• Evangelism is helping people belong so that they
  can believe.
• Evangelism is that set of intentional activities
  governed by the goal of initiating persons into
  Christian discipleship in response to the reign
  of God for the first time.
• Evangelism is that set of loving, intentional
  activities governed by the goal of initiating
  persons into Christian discipleship in response
  to the reign of God.

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Evangelism in the 21st Century

• How do you respond to the evangelism definitions?
  
• What is your definitionof evangelism for your
  ministry and discipleship?