Advantages and Disadvantages

[ITS]

Reflecting on the course material, what advantages and disadvantages currently exist for evangelism in your culture?

[captainnerd]

One advantage I see is that the younger generations are searching for depth in their lives. Despite the heaping portion of criticism I see thrust upon the post-modern generation, in them (us) I find a desire for depth in their understanding of things, including spiritual matters. The post-modern generation is hungry for meaning, understanding, and for knowing the purpose of their existence.

When I taught at an alternative high school for very troubled teens, where most of the students had either served time in jail or were headed for jail if they didn?t change their ways, I was continually amazed by how even the most ignorant of them was earnestly searching for depth and meaning in their own lives. Many of my students (ages 16-21) struggled with third-grade level math, spelling, and reading, but almost all of them loved to listen to me talk about God and the Bible. Despite the school?s strict forbidding of such discussion, my students repeatedly asked me to shut the classroom door so I could answer their questions about God. It was common for one or more of my students to stay after class so they could talk with me at length about God. In my students, I learned firsthand the postmodern generation?s hunger for depth. I see this as an open doorway for ministry.

Another advantage I see for our times is the fact that people are beginning to come to terms with the fact that if we are going to stay competitive in a global economy as a nation, then we must individually be students throughout our lives. The face of employment is undergoing radical changes in our country. As workers and business owners we have to adapt constantly to an ever-changing employment market. Thirty years ago the average worker spent his entire life working for one company. Today, workers change jobs, on average, every three years ? the nature of the birthing of a global economy. This opens the doorway for us to begin offering educational classes (including classes that explore the tenets of Christianity) to our communities.

If we can move beyond the traditional methods of evangelism and begin looking for opportunities to teach the people in our communities about God, I believe we?ll see a drastic spike in the number of people we, as a body, are reaching on behalf of Christ. I believe it?s time for us Baptists to update our 1970s approaches to evangelism. It?s time for us to start teaching this depth-hungry postmodern generation about God in ways that they?re already embracing for learning about other subjects.

Luther wrested the Bible from the hands of the religious aristocracy and gave it to the people. We live in a time when people enjoy learning and searching out the truth. In my opinion, it is time for us Baptists to begin taking our seminary teaching beyond the walls of our schools and into our communities, namely because I?ve found too many modern Baptist churches demonstrating a lack of ability to provide the postmodern generation with the deep teaching for which I see it searching. And with my actions I am preparing to affect that change, if only on a minute scale. This is one advantage I don?t want to pass us by.

As far as a disadvantage, I do see the trend away from acknowledging the existence of absolute truth as probably one of the biggest challenges of our time. This also happens to be one of the reasons behind my waning affection for apologetics. However, I?m not yet convinced that the relative truth approach is going to anchor itself into American society as strongly as some are saying it will. I hold out hope for the American people because I still believe in them (us). We have proven ourselves resilient over the course of our history. We do, like any other society, tend to stray, but we have proven that we are a nation both capable and willing to correct itself.

In the past ten years (1994-2004), I have seen a change taking place in America and it seems to be gaining momentum. The political and social pendulum is swinging back toward the conservative side of the scale, clearly evidenced in the various elections that have taken place in this past 10-year period. A growing number of Americans are rejecting liberalism, the immoral actions within Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry, and the like. And, more importantly, more and more Americans seem to be showing fatigue with the relative truth camps within all aspects of society.

I don?t know whether I should classify the seeming postmodern trend toward relative truth as an advantage or disadvantage to our evangelism efforts because I don?t know where we?re headed. I believe we?re ultimately going to steer away from the relative truth approach as a nation. There will certainly be some hold-out groups on the fringe that will continue to toot their horn for relative truth, but I think the majority of Americans are going to wind up siding with absolute truth over the coming years. I believe in my fellow countrymen enough to believe that the trend toward relative truth was but a bump on the radar screen, merely a brief experimental detour that is being seen and will continue to be seen by more and more Americans as a destructive path that we don?t want to take this nation down.

One more disadvantage, then I?m bringing this to a close. That disadvantage is the difficulty of invading someone?s personal space. Surely no one would argue that it is harder than ever to breech someone?s personal space these days. We are such a busy people that we have resorted to online college degrees (praise the Lord for this option to those of us who don?t have a school nearby), e-mail, faxes, voicemail, and the Blackberry as our primary means of communication. Face-to-face communication is becoming more and more awkward and less and less frequent with each new generation. We even look for our husbands and wives over the Internet. We shop, bank, talk, and do much of our business through the computer. I?m my own worst illustration.

I manage, promote, and co-write for a band and have done so for over four years now. I have a list of hundreds of contacts through whom I do my work. They know who I am, some even recognize my voice when I call, but I?ve not physically met with one person regarding music in more than three years. The band I manage is based out of Minneapolis, more than a thousand miles away. I haven?t seen anyone from the band since my wedding nearly three years ago. Yet I?m the hub through which all information and activity flows regarding the band. The router mounted on the back of my desk is literally my portal to the world. It?s not uncommon for me to spend an average of 10-14 hours a day communicating with people here in Nashville and all over the world, but it?s very uncommon for me to ever physically meet with anyone. They?re simply too busy to give me time face-to-face. And I?m not a freak. Virtually everyone in my subdivision works out of their homes and their days are spent much the way I spend mine.

It?s no shock to anyone that it has become very difficult to punch into someone?s world. Time has become so scrutinized and managed that we have entire industries devoted to ?helping us? manage our time ? palm pilots, Blackberries, day planners, cell phones, you name it. Personally, I believe we live way too efficiently and we interact with others way too efficiently. As much as possible in as short of a time as possible. That is how we live and how we interact with each other. This is a definite obstacle to traditional approaches to evangelism.

How do you get someone away from the buzz of their world long enough to tell them about Jesus? That?s a question we better find a way to answer.

[Jeff H]

Reflecting on the course material, what advantages and disadvantages currently exist for evangelism in your culture?

Perhaps the greatest advantage for evangelism in existence today is the advancement of communication. The proclamation of the Gospel can be digitally reproduced and electronically transmitted almost as quickly as the Holy Spirit can empower a believer to speak - perhaps quicker - depending on the recipient. Admittedly, electronic communication assumes capability to receive as well as proclaim, an assumption one cannot make when a third world country is involved. However, proclamation of the Gospel is not limited to the poor. Television, movies and radio have been tools of Gospel proclamation for many decades. However, recent technological advancements have made communication more intimate, personal and accessible. Proclamation is no longer one-sided; miles may separate, but the dialogue can be quite relational. The world is shrinking not only by speed of travel, it is shrinking by speed of communication. Where once we could only observe one another, communication and technology have taken us to a point of participating with one another. The physical touch may be absent, but the sound of one's voice can have a dramatic effect in spreading the claims of Christ.

A clear disadvantage of this period in time is the rise of individualistic capitalism. Democracy is all too often associated with capitalism and the individualism of the West. As long as the two ideologies coincide and are fastened to the Gospel message by the health and wealth gospelers or the American Evangelical love of buildings, the rest of the world will shake its head at Christianity. As wonderful as we have it in the United States, the collectivist culture mindset of Jesus and the Gospel associated with it does not fall well with American Evangelicals or mainstream Christianity. Because of it, the message of the Gospel is discarded as hypocritical.

The amazing thing is that God works in spite of us.

[Michael J Anderson]

Reflecting on the course material, what advantages and disadvantages currently exist for evangelism in your culture?
On major advantage I see for doing evangelism in my culture (Canada) is that we now live in a pluralistic culture. Many Christians bemoan this fact, but I believe it provides great opportunities for our evangelism. Protecting everyone?s freedom to practice and propagate their own religion, and respecting each person?s choice on that matter, does not mean that we affirm religious relativism. It does provide the context in which we can freely preach our gospel and in which people can respond for the right reasons ? not because it is culturally acceptable, not because they are pressured to fit into the mainstream. In other words, I?m glad they?ve taken the Lord?s Prayer out of the school?s, because now we?re not making hypocrites by putting words into people?s mouths which they do not believe. It is high time for Christians to let go of their desire to see a secular culture behave Christianly. We are called to be a people in exile.

One disadvantage for doing evangelism in our day is that people are very wary of being proselytized. I cringe when I hear so many evangelistic strategies that on the surface exist to meet people?s needs (service talks, surveys, church theatre), but are really attempts to ?back-door? people and eventually share the gospel with them. I think people are smarter than we think and realize when they?re being manipulated into a position where we can preach to them. I think we should just continue to take a simple approach to evangelism, boldly sharing Christ with those who will listen, leaving those who are not interested until such a time and place that they do become interested. Let?s be completely up front about what we?re doing. People will appreciate our honesty and integrity.

[Michael J Anderson]

In reply to captainnerd?s ?message? (i.e. essay), I would like to respond to what he is saying about the postmodern generation. Christians often lament the fact that we live in a ?postmodern? world, as though this is the great evil of evils. This makes me ask, What would they prefer? To return to a ?modern? world, in which reason and science would supposedly lead us to progress such that we would outgrow our need for God? Hooray that the modern experiment has failed and is over! To be sure, the postmodern worldview is flawed (indeed, there is no monolithic postmodern worldview). But as captainnerd has recognized, the postmodern age provides unique opportunities to share the gospel. As he points out, the truthlessness of this age has left people hungry for something real. We have that something real to offer. One advantage I see is that the younger generations are searching for depth in their lives. Despite the heaping portion of criticism I see thrust upon the post-modern generation, in them (us) I find a desire for depth in their understanding of things, including spiritual matters. The post-modern generation is hungry for meaning, understanding, and for knowing the purpose of their existence.

When I taught at an alternative high school for very troubled teens, where most of the students had either served time in jail or were headed for jail if they didn?t change their ways, I was continually amazed by how even the most ignorant of them was earnestly searching for depth and meaning in their own lives. Many of my students (ages 16-21) struggled with third-grade level math, spelling, and reading, but almost all of them loved to listen to me talk about God and the Bible. Despite the school?s strict forbidding of such discussion, my students repeatedly asked me to shut the classroom door so I could answer their questions about God. It was common for one or more of my students to stay after class so they could talk with me at length about God. In my students, I learned firsthand the postmodern generation?s hunger for depth. I see this as an open doorway for ministry.

Another advantage I see for our times is the fact that people are beginning to come to terms with the fact that if we are going to stay competitive in a global economy as a nation, then we must individually be students throughout our lives. The face of employment is undergoing radical changes in our country. As workers and business owners we have to adapt constantly to an ever-changing employment market. Thirty years ago the average worker spent his entire life working for one company. Today, workers change jobs, on average, every three years ? the nature of the birthing of a global economy. This opens the doorway for us to begin offering educational classes (including classes that explore the tenets of Christianity) to our communities.

If we can move beyond the traditional methods of evangelism and begin looking for opportunities to teach the people in our communities about God, I believe we?ll see a drastic spike in the number of people we, as a body, are reaching on behalf of Christ. I believe it?s time for us Baptists to update our 1970s approaches to evangelism. It?s time for us to start teaching this depth-hungry postmodern generation about God in ways that they?re already embracing for learning about other subjects.

Luther wrested the Bible from the hands of the religious aristocracy and gave it to the people. We live in a time when people enjoy learning and searching out the truth. In my opinion, it is time for us Baptists to begin taking our seminary teaching beyond the walls of our schools and into our communities, namely because I?ve found too many modern Baptist churches demonstrating a lack of ability to provide the postmodern generation with the deep teaching for which I see it searching. And with my actions I am preparing to affect that change, if only on a minute scale. This is one advantage I don?t want to pass us by.

As far as a disadvantage, I do see the trend away from acknowledging the existence of absolute truth as probably one of the biggest challenges of our time. This also happens to be one of the reasons behind my waning affection for apologetics. However, I?m not yet convinced that the relative truth approach is going to anchor itself into American society as strongly as some are saying it will. I hold out hope for the American people because I still believe in them (us). We have proven ourselves resilient over the course of our history. We do, like any other society, tend to stray, but we have proven that we are a nation both capable and willing to correct itself.

In the past ten years (1994-2004), I have seen a change taking place in America and it seems to be gaining momentum. The political and social pendulum is swinging back toward the conservative side of the scale, clearly evidenced in the various elections that have taken place in this past 10-year period. A growing number of Americans are rejecting liberalism, the immoral actions within Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry, and the like. And, more importantly, more and more Americans seem to be showing fatigue with the relative truth camps within all aspects of society.

I don?t know whether I should classify the seeming postmodern trend toward relative truth as an advantage or disadvantage to our evangelism efforts because I don?t know where we?re headed. I believe we?re ultimately going to steer away from the relative truth approach as a nation. There will certainly be some hold-out groups on the fringe that will continue to toot their horn for relative truth, but I think the majority of Americans are going to wind up siding with absolute truth over the coming years. I believe in my fellow countrymen enough to believe that the trend toward relative truth was but a bump on the radar screen, merely a brief experimental detour that is being seen and will continue to be seen by more and more Americans as a destructive path that we don?t want to take this nation down.

One more disadvantage, then I?m bringing this to a close. That disadvantage is the difficulty of invading someone?s personal space. Surely no one would argue that it is harder than ever to breech someone?s personal space these days. We are such a busy people that we have resorted to online college degrees (praise the Lord for this option to those of us who don?t have a school nearby), e-mail, faxes, voicemail, and the Blackberry as our primary means of communication. Face-to-face communication is becoming more and more awkward and less and less frequent with each new generation. We even look for our husbands and wives over the Internet. We shop, bank, talk, and do much of our business through the computer. I?m my own worst illustration.

I manage, promote, and co-write for a band and have done so for over four years now. I have a list of hundreds of contacts through whom I do my work. They know who I am, some even recognize my voice when I call, but I?ve not physically met with one person regarding music in more than three years. The band I manage is based out of Minneapolis, more than a thousand miles away. I haven?t seen anyone from the band since my wedding nearly three years ago. Yet I?m the hub through which all information and activity flows regarding the band. The router mounted on the back of my desk is literally my portal to the world. It?s not uncommon for me to spend an average of 10-14 hours a day communicating with people here in Nashville and all over the world, but it?s very uncommon for me to ever physically meet with anyone. They?re simply too busy to give me time face-to-face. And I?m not a freak. Virtually everyone in my subdivision works out of their homes and their days are spent much the way I spend mine.

It?s no shock to anyone that it has become very difficult to punch into someone?s world. Time has become so scrutinized and managed that we have entire industries devoted to ?helping us? manage our time ? palm pilots, Blackberries, day planners, cell phones, you name it. Personally, I believe we live way too efficiently and we interact with others way too efficiently. As much as possible in as short of a time as possible. That is how we live and how we interact with each other. This is a definite obstacle to traditional approaches to evangelism.

How do you get someone away from the buzz of their world long enough to tell them about Jesus? That?s a question we better find a way to answer.

[Brandt]

Our current culture is quite pluralistic. However, if I may add, the church is becoming quite pluralistic as well. And that is the disadvantage. We cannot share the "good news" if the good news is not clearly defined. There would be no "good news" if there weren't "bad news" - the news we see all around us. In an effort to be more pluralistic and understanding, Christians often are guilty of trying to "redeem" our culture while forgetting the Redeemer. Movies are watched that contravene biblical principles of thinking about "whatever is pure, lovely, etc." Gratuitous violence and pornography are excused if it gives us a way to relate to our world. Our world does not only need relationship. It needs redemption. Relationship without redemption is a mockery of people's plight without a Saviour. In being non-pluralistic (in values, in beliefs, in every way) we as Christians need to seek the Spirit in being in the world and not of it.
A band that plays in a secular arena while not being ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ or being His followers, is much more effective than a band that plays the CCM circuit while soft-pedalling the gospel. Anyway, that's my rant. (Hello everybody! :P )

The advantage to evangelism these days is that yes, people ARE hungry. We have something that will fill the void. We deal with all the same issues and struggles issues (singleness, job seeking, death, taxes, temptation) but we have an ANSWER. To what question? Well, that's up to the world. The Holy Spirit uncovers the questions in everyone's heart that can potentially lead to a conversation that leads to a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. We may have the privilige of being someone's resting place on a journey towards Christ. We may have the privilige of bringing someone to meet Christ for the first time. People are hungry. Are we living pure, ready, Holy Spirit- dependant lives?

[Anton]

A keen advantage that continues to exist is that of society's turn for the worse. (I know that this sounds quite morbid). The spiritual emptiness is so stark! The is reflected in child abuse, the abuse of , lack of good moral censorship on prime-time tv, children's exposure to on tv and videogames, our bulging prisons, etc. The need for evangelism is at a high, and it is my prayer that followers of Christ, filled with love for their Savior as well as their fellow man, will jump to every opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ!

A sad disadvantage lies in the awareness that people who are not followers of Christ are "in the know about Christians and their scheme." By and large, Christians have scraped away even the very bottom of the proverbial evangelism barrel. We have overused the "strategies" and "gimmicks" in our effort to tell people about Christ's love. We need to take a fresh look at the message of the Gospel, take a keen look at the heart of the bearer of this Good News, and very importantly, the issues and hardship being faced by our fellow man. Our neighbors are neck-deep in social and spiritual trouble: we need to help them now. Let us show them our love firstly, then win them into the Kindom of God.

Another disadvantage lies in the increasing individualism and "solitary" style of living of the masses. Technology continues to play a major role in this case. I strongly detest cell-phones. Have you seen the most recent ones? I think if it were possible some people would marry their cell phones! What can a person not do with his/her cell phone? We can fax, take pictures, write letters, talk, listen to music, tell time, beam ourselves across town, skateboard, etc. As people become more acquainted with gadgets our efforts to intelligently engage them in the Gospel message will become more difficult.

I choose to not whine about the internet at this time.

[Anton]

Our current culture is quite pluralistic. However, if I may add, the church is becoming quite pluralistic as well. And that is the disadvantage. We cannot share the "good news" if the good news is not clearly defined. There would be no "good news" if there weren't "bad news" - the news we see all around us. In an effort to be more pluralistic and understanding, Christians often are guilty of trying to "redeem" our culture while forgetting the Redeemer. Movies are watched that contravene biblical principles of thinking about "whatever is pure, lovely, etc." Gratuitous violence and pornography are excused if it gives us a way to relate to our world. Our world does not only need relationship. It needs redemption. Relationship without redemption is a mockery of people's plight without a Saviour. In being non-pluralistic (in values, in beliefs, in every way) we as Christians need to seek the Spirit in being in the world and not of it.
A band that plays in a secular arena while not being ashamed of the name of Jesus Christ or being His followers, is much more effective than a band that plays the CCM circuit while soft-pedalling the gospel. Anyway, that's my rant. (Hello everybody! :P )

The advantage to evangelism these days is that yes, people ARE hungry. We have something that will fill the void. We deal with all the same issues and struggles issues (singleness, job seeking, death, taxes, temptation) but we have an ANSWER. To what question? Well, that's up to the world. The Holy Spirit uncovers the questions in everyone's heart that can potentially lead to a conversation that leads to a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. We may have the privilige of being someone's resting place on a journey towards Christ. We may have the privilige of bringing someone to meet Christ for the first time. People are hungry. Are we living pure, ready, Holy Spirit- dependant lives?

I like some of the things that our brother Brandt has to say in his response. However, the comment that "the church is becoming quite pluralistic" is a bit baffling to me. I wish that he had elaborated on that statement. I also questioned the "bad news" comment regarding what "we see around us". I strongly believe that the really bad news is that people we know and love are dying without faith in Jesus Christ and that they are streamlined for hell. I would like to believe that is what Brandt is saying. It seems as if my fellow Christian, Brandt, is a bit dissatisfied with the manner in which Christians live in the 21st century. Yes, we should all be concerned with the way some Christians misrepresent Christ in their "witness". I am also assuming that Brandt is attempting to say that those who need to be "evangelized" are at a disadvantage because of the poor testimonies of Christians. Therefore in order for effective evangelism to take place Christians must pull up their spiritual bootstrap and live in obedience to the Word. I concur.

Another comment made by Brandt that does not rest well with me is "people are hungry". I am assuming that our brother is saying that people need God and that THEY know that they need God. I tend to dissagre with this premise. From my Christian perspective it is obvious that those without Christ desperately are in need of a Savior. I do not believe that non-Christians think themselves as hungry for spiritual food. They will not acknowledge that they are hungry. To think of them as "hungry" is to empower any Tommy Evangelist to approach them with that mindset: to dish out to them spiritual food of any sort. This approach leaves them feeling sick and overwhelmed. I have found that non-Christians are not hungry for spiritual food. I do know that without Christ that they will be separated from God forever. This mindset helps me in my witness of walk and words. In a loving, gentle manner I should inform people of the biblical, historical Christ as Savior and Lord, with the view to persuading them to come to Him personally.

[jrdods]

I think that the biggest advantages are less antagonism to the notion of God in postmodern culture, the advent of mass media, the presence of under-evangelized ethnic groups in our country, and disintegration in faith in humanity to independently chart its own course. The disadvantages are a lack of belief in absolute truth, distraction of wealth, loss of morality, loss of biblical literacy and contempt for claims of exclusivity. I think, however, that there more reasons for optimism than there is for pessimism.

[jrdods]

A keen advantage that continues to exist is that of society's turn for the worse. (I know that this sounds quite morbid). The spiritual emptiness is so stark! The is reflected in child abuse, the abuse of , lack of good moral censorship on prime-time tv, children's exposure to on tv and videogames, our bulging prisons, etc. The need for evangelism is at a high, and it is my prayer that followers of Christ, filled with love for their Savior as well as their fellow man, will jump to every opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ!

A sad disadvantage lies in the awareness that people who are not followers of Christ are "in the know about Christians and their scheme." By and large, Christians have scraped away even the very bottom of the proverbial evangelism barrel. We have overused the "strategies" and "gimmicks" in our effort to tell people about Christ's love. We need to take a fresh look at the message of the Gospel, take a keen look at the heart of the bearer of this Good News, and very importantly, the issues and hardship being faced by our fellow man. Our neighbors are neck-deep in social and spiritual trouble: we need to help them now. Let us show them our love firstly, then win them into the Kindom of God.

Another disadvantage lies in the increasing individualism and "solitary" style of living of the masses. Technology continues to play a major role in this case. I strongly detest cell-phones. Have you seen the most recent ones? I think if it were possible some people would marry their cell phones! What can a person not do with his/her cell phone? We can fax, take pictures, write letters, talk, listen to music, tell time, beam ourselves across town, skateboard, etc. As people become more acquainted with gadgets our efforts to intelligently engage them in the Gospel message will become more difficult.

I choose to not whine about the internet at this time.

I think that Anton is correct in most of the things that he says. I would rather look at the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. It is true that the world is evil, but where there is sin, grace abounds. It’s true that the church often uses poor methodology but they did so in Paul’s day too (Phil 1). I believe that there are many thousands, even millions who are ripe to be harvested into the Kingdom, we only need to open our eyes. There are advantages, in contemporary society and I think that we are living in exciting times.

[Nancy B.]

A keen advantage that continues to exist is that of society's turn for the worse. (I know that this sounds quite morbid). The spiritual emptiness is so stark! The is reflected in child abuse, the abuse of , lack of good moral censorship on prime-time tv, children's exposure to on tv and videogames, our bulging prisons, etc. The need for evangelism is at a high, and it is my prayer that followers of Christ, filled with love for their Savior as well as their fellow man, will jump to every opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus Christ!

A sad disadvantage lies in the awareness that people who are not followers of Christ are "in the know about Christians and their scheme." By and large, Christians have scraped away even the very bottom of the proverbial evangelism barrel. We have overused the "strategies" and "gimmicks" in our effort to tell people about Christ's love. We need to take a fresh look at the message of the Gospel, take a keen look at the heart of the bearer of this Good News, and very importantly, the issues and hardship being faced by our fellow man. Our neighbors are neck-deep in social and spiritual trouble: we need to help them now. Let us show them our love firstly, then win them into the Kindom of God.

Another disadvantage lies in the increasing individualism and "solitary" style of living of the masses. Technology continues to play a major role in this case. I strongly detest cell-phones. Have you seen the most recent ones? I think if it were possible some people would marry their cell phones! What can a person not do with his/her cell phone? We can fax, take pictures, write letters, talk, listen to music, tell time, beam ourselves across town, skateboard, etc. As people become more acquainted with gadgets our efforts to intelligently engage them in the Gospel message will become more difficult.

I choose to not whine about the internet at this time.

I agree that society’s moral and spiritual emptiness creates a climate in which the good news of Jesus can be effectively shared with love and concern, but would like to add to the two disadvantages mentioned. First, while it is sad that many non-Christians view Christian attempts at evangelism as “schemes, strategies and gimmicks,” resulting in skepticism and suspicion, it is also true that many attempts at evangelism, when done by the leading of the Spirit and with love and concern for people, are legitimate and do bring people to Jesus. Is it possible that what people are reacting to is their perception of the shallowness of much of our faith coupled with the little discernable difference between the lifestyles of professed Christians and non-Christians resulting in people thinking of Christianity as a mere belief system among many rather than the life-changing power of God in people’s lives? I agree that, in most cases, before people will hear what we have to say about Christ, they need to see the reality of His life and love in us. However, God does prepare people’s hearts to come to Him and He uses many different methods, some which we may not be comfortable with, but under the sovereign power of His Spirit, actually do bring people to faith in Jesus. Often it is not the activity itself, but the perceived motives of those engaging in it that smack of schemes and gimmicks. We need to make sure that whatever we do to reach people is born of the Spirit and has His hand of genuineness and supernatural life upon it.

In addition to the increasing individualism and solitary style of living today, with or without technology, making it increasingly difficult to engage people in the gospel message, I would add the frenetic pace at which people live. People need cell-phones because they are constantly on the move, constantly multi-tasking, trying to get everything done. But I believe cell-phones also point in another direction - people’s need to feel connected. People are lonely and want to be cared about, accepted and loved - that basic need does not change. We just need to ask the Lord to direct us to the best way to reach the individual people we know with Christ’s love and truth. We Christians also need to break out of our own individualistic, solitary lifestyles to take the time and effort to connect with those around us who are searching for love, acceptance and authenticity.

[dongho]

Reflecting on the course material, what advantages and disadvantages currently exist for evangelism in your culture?
I would like to discuss about Korean immigrant churches in North America. When I consider Korean culture in other country, I realize that it is a big difference between two cultures. Especially, some are born in local country, others are immigrants from Korea. Now, they have a gap among people in culture. When I meet the couple born in local, I have to use the local culture in my mind. When I see the family from Korean immigrant, I should suit my mind in Korean culture. I think that it is too hard to control each other both same times. Therefore, all immigrant churches have two kind of language worship on Sunday. Certainly, there are two preachers for English ministry and Korean ministry.
Disadvantage is that when we get in touch with people using the local language, I have to prepare the local culture story with the Bible message. Why? Because people born in local have the culture of western style, evangelists have to prepare the message with the western mind. I realized that they who grew up with the parent from Korea have a mixed culture. Thus, they know the time to use the Korean culture. Moreover, I found that when they have some concerns, they choose a profitable culture. Otherwise, they do not use both cultures. I think that sometimes, it is good for them. However, they do loose the identity of their origin.
Advantage is that they try to understand both cultures. Even through they study in the local school; they have to live in parent from Korea. It means that they know what the Korean cultures are. Usually, they meet the people from Korea at the community places. Therefore, they know how to make a conversation with people from Korea. It is good advantage for their career. When they learn the Bible in Korean church, they also understand Korean culture in the bible study.
In conclusion, we need to make the new material of the evangelism for them. We could not use the material from Korea or any local country. Now, it is good time to think of this issue with the evangelism course.