Tag: Sharing

Share the God You Know

simply share the god you know blogI want to talk a little bit about evangelism and apologetics. And, I want to take a bit of a different slant than normal.

Normally, we think of apologetics as seeking to convince someone of the reality of God. And, in many ways, this form of apologetics has a huge number of benefits and is really effective, especially in our modern world. It also has some drawbacks, but it is still an important area of thought in Christianity.

If we are honest, though, many of us would love to convince people of the reality of God, and their need of God, but we just don’t feel comfortable having those conversations. Maybe we feel like we’re not “smart enough,” don’t know the lines of reasoning or it’s just not our personality.

So, when it comes to apologetics and evangelism, many of us feel like that’s something for the “professionals” – the pastors, the theologians or Ravi Zacharias.

But today, I want to encourage you, because you can be part of sharing God to others, whether or not you know any apologetic argument at all. Because, in today’s postmodern world, you don’t need to talk about God. Rather, you can actually introduce people to God.

Tony Kriz puts it this way: “For the most part, we talk about God… Most people speak as if God is just an ideology: a set of concepts, arguments, guidelines and categories. God is presented as something that people need to be convinced of, as opposed to someone they can be introduced to.”

And, here is the beautiful thing: God is a person. So, if you know God, you can introduce people to Him. You can share about what He is like in your life. You can share about the difference He has made in your life. You don’t need to know every philosophical or rational argument about God. You can simply share the God you know.

My point with this short little post isn’t that apologetics or good reasoning isn’t needed. It is, and it’s incredibly valuable, deep and rich. It gives us confidence for our beliefs. And, it helps immensely with our questions and doubts.

But, my main point is that you don’t need to know every argument for God to start to share Him with people. God isn’t just a concept to know, but a person to share. And, you can do this if you know Him.

So, my challenge is to share the God you know – the God who is changing your life, the God who is active, the God who is real. Share what He is doing in your life and then, as more questions come up, that’s fine. Because, there are lots of great resources for why we believe what we believe.

But, don’t be intimidated by the idea that you need to know everything to start sharing. Because, if you know God personally, you can introduce Him to others. Right here, right now.

 

by Andrew Mills

Sharing Jesus

sharingjesus.pngThis past November, I had an odd experience that left me, well, wanting to be a bit more courageous.
I was driving in my neighbourhood, about a block from my house, and an elderly gentleman with a walker was raking leaves. I noticed him, so I stopped, got out and asked if he needed some help. I said I had a half-hour to help clean up his yard.
While it was difficult to understand him, he made it clear that he was fine. He said he had “lots of time.” So I said, “Okay” and went to wish him well, but, before I left, he gave me a small card and spoke to me about the importance of Jesus Christ. In essence, he sought to share Jesus with me. I graciously thanked him and then continued on my way.
I bring this all up because it really got me to thinking… Do I have that kind of courage to share Jesus like that?
Now, while I obviously think that the best way to share Jesus is in the context of relationship (in which people invite that discussion), and I also probably won’t adopt or promote his personal method of sharing Jesus, the point for me lingered… Do I have that kind of courage to share Jesus with my family, friends and neighbours? What might it look like for me to be a bit more courageous in sharing my faith or a bit more bold when the Holy Spirit leads me?
I’m not talking about bulldozing or manipulating people, or trying to insert Jesus into conversations in weird places. What I’m talking about is not listening to fear when opportunities come to share Jesus and to take a step instead. Because I think we stop sharing when there are clear opportunities to. We worry what someone will think, we worry what their response will be and we listen to fear. What if we simply tried to share in humble, simple and approachable ways?
So, all of this is just meant to be a simple encouragement. When you feel moved to share Jesus, why not try it? Why not step out?
I had stopped to see if this elderly man needed help and it turns out he helped me seek to be a bit more courageous. Because Jesus is worth sharing.
by Andrew Mills

Living Out Christmas

livingoutchristmas.pngChristmas is one of my favourite times of the year. I’m not going to lie – we get our decorations up pretty early and leave them up pretty late. The truth is, I just love this time of year. Some aren’t as into it, but I am.

I bring this up for a very specific reason…This time of the year is a great time to actually show God’s love in real, practical and tangible ways that don’t come off as weird. You can actually reach out to your family, friends and neighbours in real ways without it seeming odd.

1. You can invite neighbours over for a Christmas party

2. You can make cookies and drop them off

3. You can give small and meaningful gifts to co-workers

4. You can actually invite people to a Christmas Eve service

These are all simple and pretty straightforward things to do, and I mention them because I believe that Christmas is a time of action. The reason we gather together as Christians at Christmas is because God acted. The reason we give gifts to one another is because God acted. The reason we have hope in this season is because God acted.

Again, I bring this all up to remind you of something pretty simple… If God acted on His love for the world, so should we.

So, what might it look like to love those in your world? What might it look like to tangibly remind people that they matter? What might be a way you could surprise someone with an example of their value? The message of Christmas is that God surprised us with His actions, giving us something we weren’t expecting. What might that look like in your life?

I know we all live in different contexts and places, but one thing each of us can do is to show love in those different contexts and places.

So, invite people over for a party, drop by cookies, share a gift, write a note, do something. Remember, we are here today becauseGod did something, so let’s follow His lead this Christmas.

by Andrew Mills

Sharing Your Story…

1077691_68991810I believe that as Christians we want to be able to share Jesus with other people. This is natural and a good thing. Whenever anything good happens in our lives we want to share it with those that we care for. The trouble is that when it comes to sharing Jesus with others many of us have no idea how to do it in ways that don’t seem forced, aggressive, or insensitive. We want to share the grace of Jesus, with the same posture and spirit as Jesus – but in general I don’t think we know how.

When we think of sharing Jesus we think of going up to people cold, of artificially steering conversations towards him, or of handing out tracts or something. So since we don’t know what to do, we don’t end up doing much of anything.

And so many of us have a desire to share what Jesus has done in our lives, but no idea how to do that with our lives. In fact, because I think so many have shared about Jesus poorly, many of us are fearful of saying anything about Jesus at all. But if Jesus has honestly transformed our lives ~ freed us from greed, apathy, anger, and given us hope, life, and love ~ we should be able to share that with our friends, family, and neighbors.

The question is how?

That’s precisely the question I want to examine on Sunday. How do we share Jesus, not in an arrogant, or insensitive way but a natural and even beautiful way?

Well on Sunday we are going to look at one story that can really demonstrate to us how we can share the life and love of Jesus without repelling people from Jesus. How we can invite people to experience and understand the beauty of who Jesus is without some of the baggage often associated with ‘evangelism’.

But before we get there let me ask you a question. How did you come to know and believe in Jesus Christ? What was it that impacted you into considering a relationship with Jesus?

I’ll make a bet – it had something to do with someone sharing their story.

And as we’ll find out on Sunday, sometimes that’s all you have to do.

by Andrew Mills

Pocket Jesus

Untitled-1For a long time people thought of “evangelism” as bringing Jesus with them to people who needed Jesus. It was almost as if we have Jesus in our back pocket and our goal was to bring him out in conversation with people. The goal was to bring Jesus into conversations, relationships, or places where he currently wasn’t. We were “storming the gates the hell”, “bringing salvation to the heathens”, or “taking the world for Jesus”. Perhaps you’ve heard or even used a phrase like that.

If you notice something though, the focus of every one of those statements is on our activity and not Jesus’. We bring Jesus, we make converts, and we storm the gates of hell all in the name of “evangelism”. I call this type of evangelism “pocket Jesus evangelism”  because it’s based on us carrying Jesus with us and sharing him however and wherever we can.

And while the idea of sharing Jesus with others is beautiful and absolutely necessary, the idea that we bring Jesus to places he isn’t leads to ugly evangelism. Perhaps you have seen or even experienced this yourself where well-meaning people seem more intent on forcing Jesus than sharing Jesus. Where conversations seem forced, unnatural, aggressive, and somehow off repel people from Jesus rather than draw them in. The reason this type of evangelism can so easily become ugly is because it’s built on a shaky foundation and faulty theology.

The faulty bit of theology is pretty clear when you think about it: you don’t bring Jesus anywhere, because he’s already everywhere.

Here is the point, as Christians Jesus absolutely does reside within us, but Jesus is not limited to us. To limit the world changing, life transforming, and Kingdom expanding work of the Father, Son, and Spirit to the work of Christians and the church is not only bad theology but just plain wrong. God is the primary actor in changing the world, we simply get to partner with him in what he is already doing. The world is being changed by the Father’s initiative, the Son’s sacrifice, and the power of the Spirit and we get to join in what God is doing.

The point is this, we, as Christians, do not take Jesus to a God-absent world. God is already active in the world and we get to join him in what he is doing. The very first act of Jesus Christ was to move into the neighborhood, and he’s been doing it ever since (John 1). If Jesus moved into an obscure, poverty riddled, Jewish family in the first century I’m pretty sure he’s already active on your street.

So then does evangelism still matter? Absolutely! The only difference is the focus shifts. Rather than forcing Jesus into conversations I watch for how he is active in conversations and follow his lead. Rather than trying to push Jesus into a relationship I see how he is guiding that relationship and listen to his direction.

The point is that no longer am I trying to “convert” anyone. What I am doing is joining in the work of Jesus who is already active in seeking and saving the whole world. I’m trusting that the Father, Son, and Spirit are the ones who save and “convert” people, I just want to do my part.

So my question is where do you see Jesus active in your friendships? Is someone open to forgiveness more than usual? Is Jesus directing you to spend more time with someone who seems to be growing? Who can you show love to, that is receptive or needing of grace?

The point is simple: I’m no longer taking Jesus with me asking him to join me in what I’m doing; I’m looking for what he is already doing and seeking to partner with him there.

by Andrew Mills

Special Speaker on Sunday for Mother’s Day…My Mom

408018_10200936532202423_1368427763_nSunday is a special Sunday, it’s Mother’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate all the moms in our lives.

Since I’m not a mom, last year I had my wonderful wife share. It was her first time ever speaking a message at a church, and she did a terrific job. But I also know it stressed her out, and she said once was enough. In fact, she said she had new respect for what I do each week after having to do it for one week!

So I was praying and wondering if I should share, or have someone else share when all of a sudden I had a brilliant idea. Who better to share on Mother’s day…than my mom. So that’s right, my mom, Marion Mills will be sharing on Sunday.

I’m so excited for her to share. Many of you might not know this but my mom is extremely accomplished and a great speaker. She’s spoken at countless retreats, and conferences. She is amazingly talented in her work with mental health, and also in her work with changing global poverty and disability. She is the international chair of cbm, an amazing organization committed to changing lives all over the world. She has been an executive at World Vision, done tremendous ministry locally and globally, and raised three fantastic boys (if I do say so myself!).

So on Sunday we are going to be opening it up for my mom to share. And so if you can join us please do because trust me it will be worth it.

P.S. Also don’t forget to give your mom a gift this Sunday, that means me especially as she is speaking for me!

by Andrew Mills

Sharing Your Story like a Shepherd

On Sunday we explored a story with surprise, beauty, and challenge. We explored a story of shepherds.

We read in Luke 2 of how God announced to the shepherds, through his angels, about Jesus. And about how these unqualified, unsure, and untrained outcasts shared Jesus. You see the thing about shepherds in this context is that they weren’t very respected. In fact, later on people would place shepherds in the same class as thieves and robbers. And in a court of law shepherds’ testimony didn’t count.

Yet God here chooses these people who aren’t respected, often distrusted, and of not great repute to share his story. The shepherds in Luke 2 “tell everyone” in the town about Jesus (Luke 2:17). They don’t focus on the angels, they focus on Jesus and share him with anyone who would listen. The Bible says because of their witness, testimony, their personal story that people were astonished. That people pondered who Jesus was. People started to focus on Jesus because some regular people shared their personal stories of interaction with Jesus.

So what does this mean for us? It’s simple: go and share your story too.

You don’t need to be trained, you don’t need another Bible study on evangelism, you don’t need a specific “gifting” – to share your story about Jesus in your life. This passage in Luke shows us that what matters isn’t training (the shepherds had none), reputation (shepherds didn’t have that either), or even ability (I doubt they were very eloquent). What matters is a  willingness to share your personal story of encounter with Jesus. And because they were willing they caused people’s focus to turn to Jesus. And isn’t this what we want in this season? Don’t we want people to be looking for Jesus? If we do, it starts with us. It starts with us being willing to share our stories.

So my challenge is this: share your personal story about Jesus with someone this week. It doesn’t have to be deep, fantastical, intellectual, qualified, or eloquent. It needs to be personal, honest, and true. That’s what the shepherds do and God uses it to draw people to him. And I think this Christmas…he wants to use you…

Sermon Notes

Big Idea: Jesus wants to use you to share his story with family, friends, and neighbors

Take Aways…

  • Great motives lead to meaning in gift giving and living
  • Jesus chooses the unqualified, and unimportant to share his story and his arrival. He also chooses us.
  • Sharing out personal experiences with Jesus cause people to ponder and consider him
  • If shepherds can share about Jesus, we can share about Jesus
  • To have a story to share is simple…run to Jesus

Adult / Group Discussion Questions: What surprised you in the sermon? What was new? What was different? Do you feel qualified to share your story? Does being qualified matter to God? What has God done in your life that you can share? How have you found Jesus in your life? What has he changed? Who can you share that change with?

Discussion Questions for Young Families: Spend time with your family and share with them your story of how you found Jesus and what change he has made in your life.

Challenge for this Week:

Share your story with a friend…

by Andrew Mills

The Problem with “Evangelism”

I want to share with you the problem of “evangelism”. The problem with it – is the word itself. The word gives off this idea of qualification, professionalism, and deep training that is needed to become an “evangelist”. When I think of an “evangelist” I think of people so confident that they have no problem sharing Jesus with random strangers on the street. That these are the people that lead their grocery store clerk to Jesus, when I can barely hold an awkward 55 second conversation. In essence, when I hear the world “evangelism” or “evangelist” I think of something I’m not good at and won’t be good at. In essence, it reminds me of my failed attempts to communicate the beauty of Jesus to other people.

But this is the problem with the word because it gives us an impression of something that isn’t even biblical. Biblically should we be sharing our faith with others? Yes absolutely!! But do we need to be professionals at it? Do we need to attend training seminars about sharing the “4 Spiritual Laws”? Do we need to have a specific gifting that a spiritual gifts test reveals?…The answer is unequivocally no.

The Biblical answer as we’ll find out on Sunday is that everyone is called to be an “evangelist” right here and right now. Meaning that each and every Christian is called to share Jesus with others. And on Sunday we’ll see how God uses untrained, unqualified, and unsure people to change others. And as we’ll see, if he can use them, he can use us. Because here is the beautiful thing, that God wants to use you to shape your friends, family, and neighbors. And the beautiful thing is you don’t need more training, qualifications, or even ability…you just need a story to share.

by Andrew Mills