Discipleship Unveiled

This one strategy will eliminate nearly every frustration and much of the confusion when discussing the scriptures. Periodically we end up in philosophical discussions about life. When discussing or debating the merits of the Word of God, with other Christians or non-Christians, why is it difficult to get our point across?  Remember the age-old debate about who's responsible in a conversation? Is it the speaker or is it the listener? Who is responsible for a misunderstanding? There are reasons that both can contribute to any confusion. So let's talk about a solution. There is a strategy we can follow to help both parties in a conversation. It is relatively simple but does require some focus and practice and it cannot be stated enough. It is this:  Stay on topic! The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing. - Proverbs 15:2 NLT Why Were We Talking About This? Have you ever been caught up in a debate and before you knew it the topic shifted so many t...

Have you ever wanted to share the Gospel or scriptural wisdom but couldn't come up with an ice breaker to segue into your topic? A great way to do this is to open with an attention grabbing statement or question. So what kind of attention grabber is good to open with? It would depend on your topic. A good idea is to open with your conclusion. It can also be a statement or in the form of a question. Have you ever wondered why there is no evidence for evolution and yet it is the only origin philosophy taught in public schools? I think it's scary they teach evolution in public school even though there is no evidence to support it.  Your Attention Please For those of you who hold an evolutionary philosophy, I know that I now have your attention. For those who are unsure if there was a creation or an evolution or some combination of the two that explains our origins, I probably have your attention as well. I bet even a creationist would be wondering what I was goi...

Our goal in delivering the Gospel or the Word of God in any particular situation is not necessarily that we are heard, but that others are listening, curious and thinking. Let's take every opportunity to put folks in the best position we can so they can thoughtfully consider what we are sharing. When sharing your faith it's a good idea to do what you can to keep the other person engaged, curious and thoughtful. One way to do that is to let them have a place of power. Ok, now what does that mean? The place of power is simply how you position yourself and the other person when engaging in a conversation. Here are a couple of examples of the place of power. Sit or stand lower than the other person.  Open posture.  Ask questions.  Listen very closely. Recap what you understand they said and meant. Creating Opportunities To Connect The purpose of letting someone be in the place of power helps them relax and keeps their thoughts out in front of their feel...

Our body language is always speaking. People are listening... with their eyes. In the same way our emotions can get out in front of our thinking process, the body will try to speak before you think, and this can move others to the defensive. We want to avoid doing this. So when is it important to know when my body language is working against me? It's usually when we are in tough conversations with others. An example would be discussing things such as life, philosophy, politics, a misunderstanding or sharing the wisdom of God or the Gospel. The idea is to keep ourselves thinking and helping the other person to continue to be thoughtful and thinking as well. When they are faced with new ideas, especially ones that challenge their preconceived ideas, it's a good idea to help them maintain a thoughtful demeanor. Our body language can hurt or help that process. A Calm, Cool Demeanor We have discussed Conversations With Non-Christians and Conversations With Fellow Christ...

God's ways are extremely interactive. I love it and I hope you do too. We have discussed opportunities to share the Gospel with non-Christians in, A Convo With Non-Christians , but what about engaging other Christians? Be Of One Mind The Lord wants us to be one. We have a lot to talk about. Unlike non-Christians we have the entire breadth of the scriptures to connect with. We have so much in common and to figure out what those things are requires some "we time." You'll never see people on the same page unless they stragegize together. Look how many times the scriptures tell us to be of one mind. How can we do this if we barely know each other? That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Romans 15:6 NKJV Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together fo...

While we are going about our daily business we are going to have opportunity to engage fellow Christians and those who do not know the Lord. Those who are not in the Lord, or non-Christians, are inherently going to have difficulty with the things of God. The scriptural things we have available to engage non-Christians with, are limited in the sense of content that is effective. Can we talk about the scriptures to non-Christians? Sure we can. Yet, if we do not bring the Gospel to the conversation at some point, we are not setting them up for success. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise. - Proverbs 11:30 NKJV Before Understanding... Salvation Topics such as the scriptures, history, current events, religion, politics, science, etc. are fantastic mechanisms for engaging and raising curiosity but until the Gospel is offered, there is no intimate engagement of the Spirit and the unsaved person. Having read the bible or having general ...

We know that presenting the Gospel is a primary objective. So how do we do that? As discussed in the article, Deliver The Gospel , we need to know what the Gospel is. In the article, The Holy Spirit Leads we find that we plant and water but it is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction.                               So what's our strategy then for planting and watering? Curiosity! Part of being In The Cool Zone is having a healthy curiosity about the things of the Lord. We discussed in, Curiosity… The Hijacked Virtue , that we have had our curiosity taken from us. When we take it back and take it seriously we open up a whole new world that the Lord has been leading us to affect. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. ... whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. - 2 Corinthians 3:6, 16 NLT   Stirring Up Curiosity In Others Curiosity has also been stolen from t...

The Christian vocabulary doesn't often include the word, "expertise." It's common to think of developing expertise for work, games or hobbies and yet as Christians, there are also many skills that we have that can be developed and mastered. Expertise  - Definition Noun - expert skill or knowledge; expertness; know-how. Verb - to study or investigate as an expert. Expertise - Synonyms ability, competence, facility, judgment, know-how, proficiency, prowess, savvy, skill Admonitions To Actively Train Paul instructs Timothy to, "train yourself to be godly." The word "train", from Strongs G3958 , means "to exercise vigorously, in any way, either the body or the mind." We are instructed many times throughout the scriptures to develop our expertise in the Lord: Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. - Hebrews 5:14 NLT  Be transformed by ...

Question: What is your elevator pitch for the Gospel? Answer: "What's an elevator pitch?" :-/ Ok, let's start there! An elevator pitch (EP) is a quick overview of a topic that expresses a thought or idea in a quick and concise manner. The pitch only takes about 20-30 seconds. So even the tightest window of opportunity to deliver the Gospel becomes easy to do. The EP does require a little planning and practice. However, just like doing mental reps to galvanize your heart , the EP becomes a faith boost because the preparation builds confidence. Mind Tools has an excellent piece on Crafting an Elevator Pitch . This should give you a pretty thorough introduction. Thank you, Mind Tools! Review, ITCZ 101 - Deliver The Gospel to nail down exactly what the Gospel is. Then craft your pitch. Practice it and get it down to approximately 30 seconds and you have yourself a powerful witnessing tool. Preparation Meets Opportunity When an opportunity presents its...

When we are going about our day it's not too hard to get caught up in the daily events that consume our time. It's just normal life but let's not let the work of the day take away from opportunities to share the Gospel. The Abundance Of The Heart Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak. This is the foundation for being ready to deliver the gospel at a moment's notice. When the opportunity presents itself the heart, when full, must speak. A heart full of the scriptures does not fear to speak the Gospel. It craves every opportunity. Delivering The Gospel We were instructed by Jesus to be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove . Let's develop a strategy of delivering the Gospel and teaching the scriptures that can accomplish both of these goals and master it. First know what the Gospel is. The entire chapter of 1st Corinthians 15  is a great start and deserves a read through. Be sure to keep verses three and four locked and loaded for a c...