Chris: wuddup
2:13 PM me: yooo
not much
just talked to a jehovah witness
Chris: hope they didnt change ur mind
o_O
me: hahahaahha
me: she didnt really say anything.. just gave me some magazines but she said she'll come back
2:15 PM why is it that when someone knock on your door holding a bible, you can almost be sure that they are not presbyterian christian?
2:16 PM Chris: iunno my friend
western cultural influence
2:17 PM me: my point is, why are we so conservative in winning souls while we are the ones who should be most sure that we are preaching the truth?
2:18 PM Chris: relating to my point, i think it isn't our most effective form of witness because of the stigma attached to the door to door evangelism
2:19 PM people are already instill with a negative connotation about what youre doing
not saying it cant work
i just think thats why its generaly not practiced
i think they do it in the midwest a lot though
2:20 PM me: hm.. so when people are not doing this because of the stigma, they are actually saying "I am not doing this because people will think that I am weird and that I want something from them"
Chris: i think itd be analogous to trying to witness during rush-hour traffic
people just aernt as open to it in that setting
not saying ur afraid to do so
2:21 PM haha give it a shot!
me: hm...
but we don't really do it in any other way either..
Chris: thats true
2:22 PM well we just sent a team to mexico?
but yeah. theres always more to be done
2:23 PM me: well i think sending a team to somewhere far away but not really talking to people about God right here is a little... backwards..
Chris: or...we should be doing more
2:24 PM me: yeah...
Chris: haha good job jaeson ma
:-)
me: eh....
2:25 PM what do you think about this
i propose that being afraid to talk about Christ to people we know = being ashamed of the gospel
because we are afraid that talking about that would jeoperdize our relationship with that person
2:28 PM Chris: hm
i wont disagree with that
but i think there are caveats to it too
goes back to ur heart motive
i dont think its...as clearcut as you define it
2:29 PM cuz that can lead to a legalistic mentality 'i need to share christ with this person today'
obviously im playing one extreme vs another
but i think u make a valid point
but discernment is big too
as a teacher, u cant share ur faith
or else u get fired
2:30 PM is that a matter of being asahmed or using better judgment
(i like these kinda discussions)
2:31 PM me: Its like what sherry shin shared at women's retreat... too bad you couldnt be there
2:32 PM but basically i think that there is a difference between preaching the gospel in a context that you are not supposed to, and being open about your faith so that people will come to you and ask about your faith
(me too)
2:51 PM Chris: good point!
but coming to ask about ur faith
2:52 PM me: yay!
Chris: is different than feeling of guilt for not sharing with friend
that word
'ashamed'
phew
me: yeah.. and im not saying we should.. but i guess if you feel guilty, that means something in you is pushing you do it, and you should do it?
.....
Woah that's kinda long.. but the vision I have for gcf next year would definitely involve a lot more of evangelizing. When we look at the model of the early church, we see people with boldness, people who are ready to suffer for the sake of preaching God's word. Here in America we are so caught up in being comfortable and giving everyone a good impression that we think telling others the truth is offensive. It's like when your boss his pants are unzipped. Well, you should probably tell him then because although he might be embarrassed at first, eventually he would be thankful for your honesty... I don't know if that makes sense, but I just think that if we don't identify our believes to those around us, we're not living like a believer. I am not saying that we should stuff the gospel down everyone's throat either - that would just make people run away from you. Just like how my mom used to force me to read the Bible as a kid which made me avoid reading the Bible for the longest time. But identifying yourself and being not ashamed of your belief is different. and its hard to achieve. I don't want to sound righteous writing this, because I am definitely not doing this enough either. So this is mainly me preaching to myself. I don't know who reads this anyways. ha!
Woah that's kinda long.. but the vision I have for gcf next year would definitely involve a lot more of evangelizing. When we look at the model of the early church, we see people with boldness, people who are ready to suffer for the sake of preaching God's word. Here in America we are so caught up in being comfortable and giving everyone a good impression that we think telling others the truth is offensive. It's like when your boss his pants are unzipped. Well, you should probably tell him then because although he might be embarrassed at first, eventually he would be thankful for your honesty... I don't know if that makes sense, but I just think that if we don't identify our believes to those around us, we're not living like a believer. I am not saying that we should stuff the gospel down everyone's throat either - that would just make people run away from you. Just like how my mom used to force me to read the Bible as a kid which made me avoid reading the Bible for the longest time. But identifying yourself and being not ashamed of your belief is different. and its hard to achieve. I don't want to sound righteous writing this, because I am definitely not doing this enough either. So this is mainly me preaching to myself. I don't know who reads this anyways. ha!
:0)
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