Multiply

Flashback Friday: The Three Prongs of Evangelism

Frank

Originally posted last December, I’m reposting now inspired by recent posts over at The High Calling discussing David Platt’s new book ‘Follow Me‘ and thoughts on teaching vs grace by both James Nored at the Missional Outreach Network and K Rex Butts at Kingdom Seeking. I encourage you to check out those posts and let me know what you think as they relate to what I write about below.

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The Great Commission can be divided into two parts: “make disciples” and “teaching everything [Jesus] commanded.” In other words, sharing your faith and discipling– the two pillars on which my fellowship of churches are built. Most definitions of evangelism can be summed up by these two acts of faith. However, focusing only on these two parts of the Great Commission leave out what I believe to be a third “prong” of evangelism.

In John 13 Jesus instructs his disciples, “A new command I give you, love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (v 34-35) If our “great” commission is to make disciples, shouldn’t we be living consistent with the primary calling card of discipleship? You could extend this thought to argue that sharing your faith and discipling another are acting out in love. Of course, concern for the eternal destiny of another should be rooted in love. And discipling without love is at best legalism, at worst abuse. But love goes beyond this as John (same author, mind you) argues later: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18) Later in the same letter John continues, “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” (v 5:3a)

Which takes us right back to the second half of the Great Commission, to teach everything Jesus commanded. But I fear when we do so, we often restrict ourselves to Jesus’ words, unintentionally neglecting his actions. In Matthew 4, setting up the famous Sermon on the Mount, Matthew introduces Jesus’ ministry writing, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4:23) We are familiar with the call to evangelism that comes later in Matthew 9: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.’” (v 36-37) Yet we easily overlook the “bridge” verse that precedes it. “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” (v 35) Between these identical verses in chapters 4 and 9 is a sampling of “the day in the life…” showing Jesus doing just that- teaching, preaching, healing; the “three prongs” of evangelism.

Preaching and teaching are explicit in the Great Commission, but healing is not. Yet it is clear in the ministry of Jesus and in the example of the earliest accounts of the Church in Acts. Extending the definition of healing to include meeting material needs, we see the Peter preaching the first sermon, the fellowship of believers being “devoted… to the apostles’ teaching” and “[giving] to anyone as he had need.” The result? “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (vs 14-36, 42, 45, 47) implying that these actions were, in fact, forms of evangelism even if it doesn’t follow our traditional view.

Preaching, teaching, healing- three prongs of evangelism. If we focus solely on preaching, we may grow in number but not in spiritual maturity. If we over emphasize teaching then we create a culture of academic and religious snobbery that does not grow. If all we concern ourselves with is the poor, then we are nothing more than a charity devoid of the Gospel. All three ingredients are crucial to the spiritual health and growth of the Church.

How has your approach to evangelism reflected either of these three prongs?

Crazy Radical Following

Frank

There was a brother in my fraternity in college who had a signature move. During a meeting, he’d set his chair in front of him, place one foot up on the chair, and lean over his knee shaking his head saying, “Bros, this guy just doesn’t get it.” Sometimes he’d affirm the positive, that someone actually did get it. And more than a dozen years later, whenever I think of someone “getting it” or not, I picture him, arms rested on his knees, serious as a heart attack.

When I first started checking out these newfangled things called “blogs” and this new website called YouTube, I encountered Paul Washer. Missionary, evangelist, status-quo shaker-upper. His videos condemning the American church (TM) floored me. And I pictured my friend saying “he gets it.”

That was several years ago, and few authors/pastors/preachers have made my eyes pop out like he has since. And then I read Crazy Love. Without catching a breath, I read Radical. And again I picture my friend saying, “they get it.” Roughly the same time, Francis Chan stepped down from leading his megachurch because it had become more about him and less about Jesus (how many Christian celebrities are willing to do that!?) and David Platt upset the whole Southern Baptist Convention by calling the Sinner’s Prayer “witchcraft“.

Trouble makers. Making the rest of us nominal Christians look bad.

Last night I was talking with a brother about how our fellowship of churches have been leapfrogged by other churches in online media, social networking, and even doctrine. This weekend I watched the live stream of the Verge Conference where Chan, Platt, and others spoke on the theme of “making disciples” and I put my foot up on a chair, leaned over my knee and told my friend that there are a lot of voices out there that get it. They are ringing a bell that we have stopped hearing because we’ve been ringing it so long.

I mentioned in my last post that I’m not able to get around to Platt’s Follow Me or Chan’s Multiply; there’s just too much on my plate right now. But that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it. I encourage you to head over to The High Calling and follow the discussion Laura Boggess is leading this week. These books might tell you what you already know, or you might disagree with them completely, but I believe the discussion needs to be had.

Three Prongs of Evangelism

Frank

The Great Commission can be divided into two parts: “make disciples” and “teaching everything [Jesus] commanded.” In other words, sharing your faith and discipling– the two pillars on which my fellowship of churches are built. Most definitions of evangelism can be summed up by these two acts of faith. However, focusing only on these two parts of the Great Commission leave out what I believe to be a third “prong” of evangelism.

In John 13 Jesus instructs his disciples, “A new command I give you, love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (v 34-35) If our “great” commission is to make disciples, shouldn’t we be living consistent with the primary calling card of discipleship? You could extend this thought to argue that sharing your faith and discipling another are acting out in love. Of course, concern for the eternal destiny of another should be rooted in love. And discipling without love is at best legalism, at worst abuse. But love goes beyond this as John (same author, mind you) argues later: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18) Later in the same letter John continues, “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” (v 5:3a)

Which takes us right back to the second half of the Great Commission, to teach everything Jesus commanded. But I fear when we do so, we often restrict ourselves to Jesus’ words, unintentionally neglecting his actions. In Matthew 4, setting up the famous Sermon on the Mount, Matthew introduces Jesus’ ministry writing, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4:23) We are familiar with the call to evangelism that comes later in Matthew 9: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.’” (v 36-37) Yet we easily overlook the “bridge” verse that precedes it. “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” (v 35) Between these identical verses in chapters 4 and 9 is a sampling of “the day in the life…” showing Jesus doing just that- teaching, preaching, healing; the “three prongs” of evangelism.

Preaching and teaching are explicit in the Great Commission, but healing is not. Yet it is clear in the ministry of Jesus and in the example of the earliest accounts of the Church in Acts. Extending the definition of healing to include meeting material needs, we see the Peter preaching the first sermon, the fellowship of believers being “devoted… to the apostles’ teaching” and “[giving] to anyone as he had need.” The result? “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (vs 14-36, 42, 45, 47) implying that these actions were, in fact, forms of evangelism even if it doesn’t follow our traditional view.

Preaching, teaching, healing- three prongs of evangelism. If we focus solely on preaching, we may grow in number but not in spiritual maturity. If we over emphasize teaching then we create a culture of academic and religious snobbery that does not grow. If all we concern ourselves with is the poor, then we are nothing more than a charity devoid of the Gospel. All three ingredients are crucial to the spiritual health and growth of the Church.

How has your approach to evangelism reflected either of these three prongs?

Reproduce Yourself

Frank

How did you get to where you are? Chances are, you have someone to thank for it. Maybe it was a favorite teacher or someone who took you under their wing. If you are successful at anything, it is unlikely you figured it all out yourself.

Somewhere along the line, participating in countless clubs and organizations through school, I learned that to propagate the values, skills, or ideals you bring to that organization, you need to replicate those in others. And if you leave an organization, you should replace yourself if you want to leave a legacy.

That is all well and good for organizational philosophies. But shouldn’t the same be true for our spirituality? You can’t come to know Jesus by yourself- “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14) When it comes to discipleship the goal shouldn’t be to replicate ourselves, instead shouldn’t we be trying to reproduce Jesus? “One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13) and later in the same letter Paul writes, “follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (11:1)

When you read the Bible and something new jumps out at you from the page, don’t you want to share it with someone? Or if you read an inspiring story or practical how-to on a blog, don’t you want to share it? (That’s what is behind the increasingly popular social media site Pintrest) Or maybe a better question would apply the Golden Rule- wouldn’t you want someone to share those things with you?

This is not a new idea. I quote Paul above, but the principle goes all the way back to the time of the Israelites wandering the desert, building monuments to God to remind them to share their stories with their children and their children’s children. More importantly, this instruction comes straight from Jesus’ own mouth: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (most of us know the Great Commission up to this point, but it continues) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Churches get in the bad habit of focusing only on the first part, emphasising growth in numbers, to the neglect of the second part. When that culture dominates a church’s membership, the result is a congregation full of immature Christians, many of whom will eventually leave much like a seed planted on rocky ground that may germinate, but will die for lack of deep roots. (Mark 4:5-6)

To get around this some churches have programs, others have anointed teachers, still others organize themselves into small/family/prayer/discipleship groups. In each of these, the responsibility of passing along spiritual knowledge is delegated to one or a select few individuals. Yet Jesus’ command above is for us all. It is each of our responsibilities to raise up and teach others to be like Jesus.

Does that sound intimidating? You are responsible for teaching someone else to be Christ-like. Where do you begin? What do you do? How do you do this? This may be a foreign idea, a ‘hard teaching’, a new concept to many of you. The truth is, a majority in the American Church are ill-equipped to take on such an important role.

So in comes Francis Chan and Mark Beuving with their book, Multiply: disciples making disciples. This isn’t a book review (yet), but an introduction. Chan has partnered with David Platt to form Crazy Radical. Just kidding. To start what they call the Multiply Movement, an effort to encourage the Church to get back to discipleship as Jesus defined it, to plant seeds of the Gospel around the world, and to pass on those teachings and experiences to others to go and do the same.

If the idea of leading another to Christ, or to raise someone up to be Christ-like, is intimidating or if you don’t know where to start. I encourage you to pick up this book, check out their online materials, watch their videos. More importantly, I encourage you to do this with someone else.

This is a theme you’re going to see more and more on this blog in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. Later this week I’m going to talk more about evangelism and later write my own book review (I have a few chapters left!). In the meantime, I pray you take these words from Paul to heart:

It was [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.(Ephesians 4:11-16, emphasis added)