What Is the Gospel?
Let me start by stating the simplified answer to the question, “What is the gospel?” The “gospel” is an expression in Scripture that simply means “good news.” It is best to think of the gospel in three related parts. The Gospel – Jesus is the Messiah, the promised saving King described in Scripture. He came […]
Review of Justin Brierley’s ‘The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God’
Is Christian faith dying in the Western world? Have the “new atheists” succeeded in souring Christianity for thinking people? There are actually some fascinating signs of a resurgence of interest in Christianity. John Whittaker reviews Justin Brierley’s The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity […]
Renewing a Focus on Unreached Peoples
Very few laborers are going to the unreached and unharvested parts of the world. This means we must rethink why, how, and where are we sending our people. If we seek to obey what Jesus has commanded us to do, then we need to radically shift our resources to the unreached. This may mean sending […]
Preaching That Engages the Skeptic: What? (Part 2)
Skepticism about Christianity is on the rise. That’s why we need to engage the skeptic in our preaching. The skeptic isn’t just “out there”; he or she is sitting in your church. Perhaps they’re confused and hoping for solid answers. In this article, we’re going to look at what doesn’t work and what might work […]
How Beautiful Are the Feet?
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their […]
Thinking Clearly About Evangelism
It’s no secret that many American churches are struggling, particularly with a decline in church attendance. Close to home (for me at least), Churches of Christ were bleeding members prior to COVID-19, and anecdotal evidence from the past few years doesn’t seem to paint much more of a positive picture. More widely, while data can […]
Why Are There Still So Many Unreached People?
Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven over 2,000 years ago. Before he left, he empowered his disciples and asked them to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). Yet, from that time to the present, the ends of the earth […]
How Quickly Should We Share the Gospel?
How quickly should we share the gospel? It’s an important question and one that we shouldn’t take lightly. As I read and listen to people talk about evangelism, it seems most folks fall into one of two camps, which Mark McCloskey calls “the relational-incarnational approach” and “the comprehensive-incarnational approach.” Both have good reasons for their […]
