When I was a kid, Dad paid me to read biographies of missionaries. He believed doing so would both inform and inspire my faith. I remember reading about Adoniram Judson, David Livingstone, and George Mueller in Moody Publisher’s Golden Oldies … Continue reading Born to Give
The rise of the nones, and the corresponding fall of Christian affiliation, is arguably the most important trend in 21st-century American religion. According to the General Social Survey, between 1972 and 2018, the religiously unaffiliated grew from 5.1% of the … Continue reading The Doubters’ Club | Book Review
The mission Jesus gave the Church extends to “all nations” (Matthew 28:19), meaning ethno-linguistic people groups, not countries. In the modern period, missions involved going from the West (Christendom) to the Rest (the Majority World). Today, however, the nations are … Continue reading Effective Intercultural Evangelism | Book Review
What is the relationship between evangelism and compassion in the Church’s mission? Historically, Pentecostals prioritized evangelism. Pentecostal missionaries believed the Spirit called and empowered them to proclaim the gospel and plant indigenous churches in cultures where Christ was not known. … Continue reading The Missionary Spirit | Book Review
The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) includes three elements: authority, mission, and presence. The authority and presence are Christ’s, but the mission is Christians’. Christ commands us to “make disciples of all nations,” incorporating them into the Church through baptism and … Continue reading Change the Map
“[Black] dignity has lingered in a state of confusion for generations in this country as we’ve faced constant harassment, false theologies, white supremacy, syncretistic evangelicalism, and civic oppression,” writes Dr. Eric Mason. Consequently, the task of such apologetics is to … Continue reading The Nature and Necessity of Urban Apologetics | Influence Podcast
“In 2020,” according to Barna Group’s Five Changing Contexts for Digital Evangelism report, “churches around the world woke up to the extraordinary, urgent need to embrace digital platforms in fresh ways in order to engage with—and sustain—their congregations during the … Continue reading How to Do Evangelism Online | Influence Podcast
When I became a pastor in 1990, seeker was the term of art for a nonbeliever. Churches such as Willow Creek and Saddleback had popularized the term as part of their attractional ministry model. Rather than emphasizing that a person … Continue reading Apatheism | Book Review
A 2019 survey by Barna Group reported the startling statistic that 47% of Millennial Christians think evangelizing others is wrong. Craig Springer cites this statistic in the introduction to his new book, How to Revive Evangelism, and writes, “In the … Continue reading Evangelism for the Next Generation | Influence Podcast
“Forty-seven percent of Millennial Christians believe sharing their faith with others is wrong.” Not Millennials generally, but Millennial Christians specifically. And not difficult or inconvenient, but just plain wrong. Craig Springer cites this statistic at the outset of How to … Continue reading How to Revive Evangelism | Book Review
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