It’s Time to Learn a New Language

Posted on December 23, 2015 by coachmc

This post will likely sound strange, perhaps even heretical, coming from an evangelistic ministry, but hear me out please.  I don’t think evangelism captures the heart of God like love.  There…I’ve said it.

I wish it were different because truth be told, sharing my faith can be so much easier than loving my neighbor.  But I haven’t found Scripture to back it up.  Jesus seems to have taught that loving God and our neighbor were the two actions that met the criteria of the greatest commandment.

Does that mean evangelism is unimportant?  No!  But it means that when our evangelistic efforts aren’t rooted and fueled by love, we won’t be honoring God’s most important command to us.  Plus a loveless gospel presentation can sound harsh and uninviting to someone looking for a reason to remain far away from God.

I need His constant help to love even the lovable people in my life, let alone those that don’t fit in that group.  Yet our  message of the cross is meant as much for the unlovable as for those family and friends we care so deeply about.  Do you need help loving those around you?  Is God able to provide the help you need?

Check out what others say about the heart of God and then share with me your thoughts on this post.  Is Love all you really need?

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Ever Green’s – A New PM

Posted on May 12, 2015 by coachmc

“It is an awesome privilege to represent the living God.  And it is a compelling motive, too.”  Michael Green;  One to One

Privilege; Motive; a new PM.  There are 175 PM’s according to one source, but we’ve added one more to a list that includes, postmaster; postmortem; personal message; plus minus (for you hockey fans) and my favorite, pain management.

Where Your PM Operates

Our lives are packed with situations where our representation of Christ is displayed.  Here’s just a small list…

  1. Waiting for a plane
  2. Standing in the checkout lane
  3. Visiting an old friend
  4. Walking through the park
  5. Talking with a customer service rep

In each of these situations opportunities to communicate with people is possible, if not mandatory, and every instance or interaction is a time of representation.  What have you done, in one of the above examples or another instance you can think of, that accurately depicted your Savior to those sharing the moment with you?

 

 

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Walk Through That Door

Posted on August 13, 2014 by coachmc

Can sharing the gospel really be as easy as explaining how to walk through a door?  In the middle of my talk at a church recently, I walked out of the building after making the statement that sharing our faith is easy.  I returned in a matter of seconds with an analogy to demonstrate how simple giving the gospel can be.  Here’s the gist of what I shared.

By the simple process of walking outside and returning, I have become a ‘door walker througher.’  If you’ve never done that and would like to, please see me after the service and I’ll show you exactly how it’s done.  I may not be able to explain how the door is hung, or the manufacturing details of a door, or even which type of door is best, but I can show you how to open one and walk through it.

The Door to Faith

The Bible tells us our salvation is through the grace of God and is received by faith, which is His gift to us.  So like the door in my story, if you’ve entered into Christ by faith, after realizing that you’re sins were keeping you locked out of a relationship with God, you can share that.  Will you be able to answer every question of doctrine that someone raises?  No! And that’s ok.

Your task is not to explain the intricacies of the deep doctrines of our faith.  It is to show them the door you walked through.  The only doctrine a person needs to know and believe for salvation, is Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection makes them righteous in God’s eyes if they have biblical faith that it does.

Want to Learn More About the Doorway

Take a tour ofTraining Tips

Equip yourself with Encouragement Efforts

Let Truth be Your Guide

 

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New Kid on the Block

Posted on August 5, 2014 by coachmc

Duck and Cover TurtleStep aside duck and cover.  There’s a new practice in town; stop and talk.  Duck and cover was a phrase, popular in the 1950s, to describe the immediate actions necessary to protect yourself in the event of a nuclear explosion.  Stop and talk could be even more important.

We’ve all said, “Hi, how are you,” or something similar, as we walked toward someone at work.  Not waiting for an answer, the reply often came from behind us after our co-worker passed by.  Yesterday I tried ‘stop and talk’ instead.

It started the same way, “Hi, how are you,” but the similarity ended there.  By slowing my pace as I started the greeting, I was comfortably able to stop before passing my co-worker.  My stopping caused them to cease forward motion too and suddenly, for a few moments, we found ourselves conversing.

This is not earth shattering communication magic.  It was just caring enough about someone God has created to give them a few seconds of undivided attention, and isn’t that an attribute of the love we’re supposed to give to our neighbor?

I’m going to try and make this more of a regular practice and perhaps I’ll be able to report back on how it’s going.  How about you?  Is Stop and Talk something you could do?  Could it be something we should do?

 

 

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It’s Not as Easy as 1, 2, 3

Posted on July 31, 2014 by coachmc

Those without Christ can have so many questions and how we answer won’t always sound the same from person to person, even when the information we give is identical.  Postmodern Spirituality takes a look at these three challenging questions…

  1. Why should I trust you?
  2. Isn’t that just your reality?
  3. What good is Christianity?

Read the article, think and pray about how you’ve answered difficult questions before, and consider sharing something with us.  What God puts on your heart to share may be exactly what a fellow Christian needs to hear.

Other Ideas

 

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Why Can’t They Rejoice?

Posted on April 20, 2014 by coachmc

Happy Easter!  Our hearts are over flowing with joy because we’re convinced our Savior has indeed risen from the dead and our faith in this gives us life eternal with our Father.

In the midst of this rejoicing, while desperately wanting our family and friends to believe, we all too often find fault with them for their failure to embrace the God we love.  You’ve heard this before directed toward a non-believer;  “The truth about Christ is so obvious, why can’t you just accept it?”

How easy it is for us to forget that our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection did not come only through a careful and thoughtful study of the biblical text but rather via the gift of faith.  We too were full of doubt, and yet when God enabled us to believe the uncertainty suddenly gave way to a sureness beyond comprehension.

Have patience with your friend or loved one who still seems far from the Father.  They may be closer than you think to receiving God’s wonderful gift of faith.

Study the Bible’s definition of faith

Read again how faith becomes ours

Explore The Easter Puzzle (what Easter might look like to someone without faith)

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Books on Relational Evangelism

Posted on January 13, 2014 by coachmc

I’ve read number 1, 2, 6 & 10 on this list.  Which one(s) have you read?  What was helpful about it?  Would you recommend a different book on evangelism?

If you haven’t read any of them, here’s another list…maybe you’ve read one of these and can answer any of the questions above about it.

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Presents or Presence – The Choice is Ours

Posted on October 31, 2013 by coachmc

Getting a present you’ve always dreamed of is wonderful and many Christmas memories are filled with great gifts of the past.  Giving to others can be a wonderful tradition too.  It’s not always easy to know exactly what to give though.

This year, as you survey your Christmas gift list, consider if someone you know might be ready to receive a Christmas Presence instead of or in addition to the presents you were thinking of giving.  What is a Christmas Presence?

It’s someone you have near you throughout the the holiday season and beyond.  You and I call him Christ, but to many of our friends, he is just a myth or worse.  He certainly isn’t on the list of what many people want.  But if you know him, maybe telling someone about the Presence you have could be the best gift they’ll ever receive.

To help, I’ve written a special seasonal story, The Best Christmas Presence Ever.  I encourage you to read it for yourself and then ask God who you could share it with.  Maybe everyone on your gift list needs to hear this story or maybe just one or two close friends.  That’s what makes it exciting.

God is at work in the lives of men and women, drawing them toward faith in Christ.  Perhaps one of them is a family member or friend of yours.  If you’ve already received the best Christmas Presence ever, maybe it’s time to share the story with someone else.

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Support Shorts: Look Who’s on Facebook

Posted on October 29, 2013 by coachmc

That’s right…Share the Savior is on Facebook, but not just once.  We have two pages with more in the works.  Here’s the rundown…

  1. Share the Savior – Our ministry’s primary page on Facebook is designed to be an encouraging and equipping tool for Christians.
  2. Your Free Book and More - This page exists to provide free resources explaining the gospel to people who don’t consider themselves Christians, and to engage in dialogue with anyone investigating the Christian faith.

Each of these three pages has one thing in common when it comes to supporting us…they  don’t necessarily cost any money.  ‘Liking’ these pages on Facebook, sharing them with friends, and leaving comments on the posts that interest you are all wonderful ways of supporting us because they tell other people about our ministry.

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Simpson-ology: It’s Party Time

Posted on October 27, 2013 by coachmc

Almost everyone loves a party and the Bible is pretty clear what happens when someone far from God turns to him in faith and puts trust in Christ’s death for the forgiveness of their sins.  It’s party time for sure.

Just like a shepherd in the days of Christ would search for one lost sheep and rejoice when it was found, Jesus said that “…there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:1-7

I think Michael Simpson in Permission Evangelism sums it up very nicely when he says,  “If all of heaven rejoices at the salvation of one soul, shouldn’t we want to join the party?”

Read a summary of Permission Evangelism

Check out the book’s standing on our Suggested Reading List

Read more of our Comments on Quotes

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