Resonate

Terry Durose

Description

Originally written as a training course for Manchester City Mission evangelists, Resonate was redeveloped to help 'ordinary' Christians share their faith. This is what other have said about Resonate:Simply one of the best tools I've ever seen for equipping people in personal evangelism" Chick Yuill (Chair of Hope2008 in Greater Manchester)."..well researched and solidly biblical. It is a message of hope..." Revd. Professor Andrew Igenoza "An excellent course combining Biblical truth with down to earth experience. I am confident that resonate will enable many to effectively share Jesus" Gareth Lloyd-Jones (Pastor, Motram Evangelical Church). "This has to be best teaching I have ever heard on the subject of personal evangelism. .....inspires but also equips, taking the panic out of evangelism. Excellent! Thank you." Judith Rudd (Attendee of the resonate course)Book reviews online @ www.publishedbestsellers.com

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Pneuma Springs Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781782281306
• Langue: English

Extrait

Resonate




Terry Durose
Copyright
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
First Published 2008 by Pneuma Springs Publishing
Resonate Copyright © 2008 Terry Durose
Kindle eISBN: 9781782281214 ePub eISBN: 9781782281306 PDF eBook eISBN: 9781782281153 Paperback ISBN: 9781905809301
Pneuma Springs Publishing E: [e-mail] W: www.pneumasprings.co.uk
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Published in the United Kingdom. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher.
Contents
Introduction 1. Just what is evangelism anyway? Associations and definitions But what’s my motivation? 2. Evangelism in its three dimensional context 3. Why the Resonate approach may not work for you Love at two levels The cost of love Help! I don't love these people! 4. The Process of Evangelism Three Core Activities But is it Biblical? The life of Jesus Philip’s mission to the City of Samaria 5. Where do I start? Spiritual Journey How can we influence the journey? 6. Crossing the border: the Incarnate Christian Jesus’ Model of Mission Jesus’ Example of Incarnation Casual and Deliberate Incarnation 7. The complex matter of Compassion Identifying the need Responding with Compassion Acting Appropriately and Wisely The Compassion Paradox The Dynamic of Trust 8. Tell me the old, old story – Proclamation What does a person need to know to be saved? Five things a lost person needs to know How do we tell our friends about Christ? FAQs about sharing your faith
Appendix: Changed lives?
Introduction
Why yet another book on evangelism?
With all the tools and books available today to help churches and individual believers reach out to their friends and neighbours, do we really need another book on personal evangelism? Wouldn’t it be better to use what we know already rather than just accumulating more and more theories that never get put into practice? I suppose the fact that we have developed this course suggests that, in our opinion at least, there is room for one more.
This book is based on the Resonate course which was originally developed as an internal training programme for Manchester City Mission’s (MCM) evangelists. The idea was to provide a simple framework that could be used to develop valuable and effective evangelistic projects across the county. Because MCM are involved in a wide variety of activities from sports projects through schools work, and homeless ministries, it was important that the course would be flexible and easily adapted to different environments. This, I believe, is one of the advantages of Resonate. Although we have geared the material towards personal evangelism, the basic principles of Incarnation, Compassion and Proclamation are transferable and can be used to develop church outreach strategies, evangelistic projects, or simply as a means of sharing your faith with friends, neighbours or workmates.
Another reason for writing this book comes from the challenges and opportunities that the church faces today. In our Post – Christian society, we can no longer assume that those around us have any knowledge of God’s plan of salvation. Likewise, the hold that secular humanism appears to have over our culture means that many around us have closed their minds to the Gospel. Resonate is designed to help believers take a constructive, measured approach to both these challenges.
In recent days the church has grown increasingly aware of its potential to do good in the community. Massive events such as ‘Festival Manchester’, ‘MerseyFest’ and ‘Soul in the City’ have been recognised for the impact they have made on the community. Building on this, the report commissioned by the Jerusalem Trust on the evaluation of evangelistic events in the UK recommended that young people involved in these events be trained in “good local evangelism skills” including “conversational skills for faith sharing”. Again, the Resonate course is designed to highlight the connection between good works and good words. It is our sincere desire that this book will help prepare Christians to “make their hours of kindness count” as they get ready for what lies beyond Hope 08.
Finally, I would like to repeat that there are some excellent tools, books, courses and resources already out there for people wanting to learn how to share their faith. All have their own unique points of value. I will be recommending some of these in this book. However, in my experience, what works for one believer may not work for others. In some respects it hinges upon the personality of the believer as they endeavour to share their faith. Some believers feel comfortable with evangelism “systems” based upon memorised scripts, or lists of diagnostic questions etc. Because Resonate is not intended to be such a system, some may find themselves a little frustrated by the lack of prescriptive material in the course. Instead I have tried to raise awareness of some biblical principles that seem to be behind effective personal evangelism. Once we have truly embraced these principles, we can remain open to the leading of the Holy Spirit to find creative ways of applying them to our varying situations.
Since 2005 MCM have based their mission strategy on these principles. For us they are proven. For some of those we have served, they have proved to be utterly life changing.
Above all, it’s my hope that this material will help this generation of believers to find their evangelistic voice and to grow in confidence that they can share their faith in a way that can be heard. That’s why we’ve called the course and this book “Resonate” which, according to one dictionary means “to be received or understood”. This world needs resonant Christians who can strike a chord with the Gospel, who know what to share and how to share it, in love and in complete dependence on the Holy Spirit.
1. Just what is evangelism anyway?
Associations and definitions
It was a damp Saturday morning in Sheffield. Evangelists from all across the region had gathered for a day of evangelism training that had been set up by their denomination. There was a genuine sense of interest and expectation in the air. After the usual introductions and preliminaries I opened with the question:
What comes to your mind when you think about evangelism?
It wasn’t long before the flipchart began to fill up with answers that confirmed what experience had already taught me. Evangelism is often associated with:
*Unwelcome, intrusive techniques
*Formulaic, “one size fits all” presentations of the Gospel
*Guilt driven duty to share our faith
*Fulfilling our church’s vision
*Rejection and failure
Bearing in mind that my audience was comprised of passionately enthusiastic folk who felt some kind of calling to evangelism, it shouldn’t surprise us that for the average Christian, evangelistic outreach is a really scary prospect.
If you are one of the many believers who get a sinking feeling in their stomach when evangelism comes up at the church meeting, it may help to first explore what evangelism isn’t or at least shouldn’t be.

Evangelism is NOT:
*Any one “technique”, such as door to door outreach or open air preaching
*Cringey or embarrassing, at least when done properly
*Religious harassment or a pressurised “sales drive” for Jesus
*The Pastor’s plan for success (though some have tried to make it so)
*Just for the few highly talented folk who have memorised the entire Bible
*Just for the expert who can answer all the tricky questions

As you read this book you may, in fact, be relieved to discover an approach to evangelism that can be incorporated into our whole lifestyle and that should feel “supernaturally natural” for believers who are serious about sharing their faith.
Here are a few quotes and definitions that may help clarify what we mean by evangelism.
“Evangelism is the spontaneous overflow of a glad and free heart in Jesus Christ.”
Robert Munger
“Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread”.
D.T. Niles
“Evangelism, as the New Testament describes it, is not child’s play. Evangelism is work, often hard work. Yet it is not drudgery. It puts a person in good humour, and makes him truly human”.
Oswald C. Hoffman,

A more technical definition may read;
Evangelism is the proclamation of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ with a view to bringing about the reconciliation of the sinner to God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In practical terms we may say that evangelism is: The PROCESS of winning someone to Christ and any intentional action that moves someone to the “upper right”
Ok, I know I’m being a bit mysterious with that last one but all will be revealed in chapter five.

But what’s my motivation?
Motivation is an essential aspect of life. When we lose sight of why we should do something it’s not long before other activities take its place. Worse still we can find ourselves grudgingly going through the motions of a thing without having a heart for it. That may work for a while in the gym but it will never do when it comes to sharing our faith.
So why do evangelistic outreach? Here are a few good reasons.

1. because it is commanded!
Jesus said…
“… go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matt 28:19-20
At first this may sound a bit like grudging obedience. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. There is a world of a d