06.27.2010 Conversational Evangelism

06.27.2010 Grace Summit Sermon - Conversational Evangelism - Jeff Yackley from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

SermonAudio

Good morning! Pastor Mike is on sabbatical for another couple of weeks – and the cool thing: he has no idea what I am talking about this morning! Today is going to be more like a seminar – I've got notes for you – and a lot of slides to cover in a little bit of time – so, as an apology – with a tip of the cap to Michael A. “Zesty” Vaughn - here is a picture of a baby otter:

All right, what I am really here to talk about is Conversational Evangelism. As you might recall, I took a class in the spring through Trinity on Evangelism. One of the books we read was called “Conversational Evangelism” by David and Norm Geisler. A couple weeks ago, I was talking to Melissa about the Life Training conference, and they had asked for volunteers to lead evangelism seminars – and I thought – I just took a class on this – maybe I should volunteer. Well, later that day I was listening to WCRF – and who were they interviewing? David Geisler – regarding Conversational Evangelism! So, if I am chosen as a volunteer to lead an evangelism session at LT, I would be prepared, by preparing THIS for you!

Let’s pray…

This week, I overheard Rob talking to Mike - in the next cubicle – he said, “we need to write a convertor for this.” – and I chimed in – or maybe you need to convert a writer. And Rob says, “Yes, because we love Mike and don’t want him to go to hell!” That is what I would call the direct approach to evangelism!

When we think of evangelism, too often, we think about approaching strangers or giving our testimony or going through a booklet. But really, the goal of evangelism is:
To remove the obstacles so that we can help people take one step closer to Jesus Christ each day.
1 Cor. 3:6 says I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
8Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
10According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
This is really what I would call – PRE-evangelism.
In order to plant, the ground must first be tilled. Then the seeds of the gospel have a better chance at taking root on softer soil. The problem is that we live in an age where the soil is becoming harder and harder.
Also, you might call this evangelism for the non-evangelist – or, evangelism for the Introvert.
In the Conversational Evangelism model, there are 4 types of conversations we want to have with pre-believer.s -
Hearing Conversations
Illuminating Conversations
Uncovering Conversations
and Building Conversations.
Remember, we are just the instrument – it is God who causes the growth -
1 Cor. 1:27b says that “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
What are the weak things of the world? Us – God chooses us as His instruments to tell others about Him.
What do we want to trust the Holy Spirit to do?
1) To empower us to speak in a way that makes a difference.
2) To empower us to live godly lives.
3) To work in the heart of the pre-believer.
To help you remember the 4 types of conversations we should have, there are 4 roles we play in our friends' lives:
1) The musician (or Sound Technician) – to listen for sour notes
2) The Artist – or lighting technician – to illuminate our friends' thoughts
3) The Archeologist – to dig deeper
4) The Builder – to find planks of common understanding on which to build the gospel.
The first thing we need to do is to play the role of musician/sound technician – and to help you remember this better:
We need to HEAR what people are saying. – See I added our beloved sound technician to help you remember.
James 1:19-20 says, My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Why is this such an important step?
It helps to better connect with others
People appreciate when we can remember their name, understand their concerns, and show patience as we talk with them
It helps to put the other person at ease
it helps to uncover the nature of their barrier that keeps them from Christ – whether it is intellectual, emotional or spiritual.
Proverbs 18:13 says, He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him.
One technique that you can use to really listen is to
reflect back what they are saying to you
For instance: What I hear you saying is..
Tell me if I've heard you correctly...
Again, the role of the musician/sound technician is to really listen – and in doing so, you will often hear the sour notes that people are believing that may lead you into sharing more…– for instance:
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine whose daughter was about to go to a funeral – she said, “You never know when it will be your time; this (funeral) is just a reminder of the brevity of life.”
It sure is, I replied
She continued: That is why it is so important to be ready at any time.
I jumped on the opportunity – so, are you ready? If you were to die today, would you know for sure that you're going to heaven?
She replied, “I don't know that you can be sure, but I have accepted Jesus as my Savior and I try to lead a good life, so I hope that I will.”
Can anyone pick out some of the sour notes that she just said?
The thing that struck me seemed to be a confusion about what is required - “I have accepted Jesus as my Savior and I try to lead a good life”
By listening to the sour notes, we may be able to detect some of the uncertainty in their beliefs which may give us an opportunity to help them to think more clearly about what they believe and why. It also helps to create a greater interest in knowing Jesus.
How about this one?
Do you get it?
There are absolutely no absolutes! It is a sour note because it is a contradictory statement!
I don't have time to go over each of these, but there are four types of sour notes/inconsistencies you might hear:
1) Belief vs. Heart Longing
2) Belief vs. Behavior
3) Belief vs. Belief
4) Illogical Belief
Ok – I'll give you one example – Belief vs. Heart Longing: After 9/11 one student said, “I don't believe in an afterlife, but I believe that the terrorists will be held accountable for what they did.”
What was his heart longing?
That justice must be done!

Another example – Belief vs. Belief – can all religions simultaneously be true?
Christianity – salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone
Islam, salvation is by belief in Allah, his prophet Muhammad, and good works outweighing the bad
Hinduism – by overcoming karma and incarnations with good works
Buddhism – by cessation of desire through the eight-fold path
Not all religious viewpoints can be right!
Either Jesus is the Only “Way, the truth and the life...”
or
He is not the Only Way, the truth and the life\
What is the difficulty here?
Here is a quote -
The difficulty lies in listening to them and at the same time spotting the discrepancies in their viewpoint
“It is very difficult – and still is – to listen earnestly to the other person during the conversation and trying to spot the inconsistencies at the same time. However, as I talked to more people, some common things will eventually surface and be repeated, and then I will be more ready to pick them up the next time.”
So, as we learn to listen – we are able to pick up discrepancies or 'sour notes' in what they believe and by listening carefully, we communicate that we really care about them and want to understand what they believe.
The second role that we play – and I promise that these get shorter and shorter...
is that of Artist – or Lighting technician – because we illuminate the discrepancies
Once you've learned to listen – it is important to learn to ask clarifying questions. Asking questions helps to paint a picture to help them see themselves more clearly
You want to ask questions that help clarify the meaning of certain unclear terms – for instance, in that conversation with my friend, I might have asked her what she means by “I try to lead a good life.”
Also, these questions should help to surface uncertainty or expose false belief systems or concepts.
For instance - “What do you mean by”
Good
Died for us
Buddhist
Free Thinker
Jesus is God
All religions are basically the same?
Accept Jesus?
We cannot presume that people have the same understanding of key terms

Some followup questions that can expose false beliefs or concepts:
How is it possible for all religions to be the same when some of them contradict each other's key beliefs?
How do you fit Jesus into your religious beliefs?
How do your beliefs handle the problem of sin?
Why is asking questions so helpful?
I love this quote by David Reed Baker -
“A person can close his ears to facts he does not want to hear, but if a pointed question causes him to form the answer in his own mind, he cannot escape the conclusion – because it is a conclusion that he reached himself.”
How do you know if you are asking the right kind of questions in the right way?
There are three D's to remember:
Doubt
Defensiveness
and Desire
The goal is to surface DOUBT (uncertainty) about their own perspective, while minimizing their DEFENSIVENESS – while creating a DESIRE (curiosity) to want to hear more.
Remember, our goal is to bring them one step closer – and if you are doing it right, they will want to continue the conversation – not get out of there as fast as possible!
Here are some good followup questions:
Is there any reason to consider Him further?
Have you ever thought about it?
What have you come up with?
Do you think there is any reason to check it out further
(if you want to get bold: Is there anything keeping you from trusting Him?)
Do you care?
To review – There are four types of conversations we want to have with pre-believers:
Hearing, Illuminating, Uncovering, and Building
The third role we want to take is that of Archeologist.
The archeologist tries to uncover the real barriers that keep people from Christ.
“Prov. 20:5 says, 'The purpose in a man's mind is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.'
Good apologetics require people of understanding who have the patience and insight to not only deal with people's stated questions but to go below the surface and speak to their true objections”
The goal here is to UNCOVER barriers that are keeping them from taking steps toward the cross
How? Keep seven steps in mind – turn to your notes to fill in the blanks
1) Determine whether there is a real concern or a smokescreen
Here is a formula for that – Say, “If I could answer your questions in a way that would make sense to you, would that help you to more seriously consider a belief in God and Christianity?
Or
“If you could know the truth, would you want to know it?”
2) determine the nature of the barrier – is it an emotional or intellectual issue?
Questions that might indicate emotional baggage:
How could a good God allow so much suffering and evil in the world?
If God is there, why doesn't He answer my prayers?
If God is real, how come there are so many hypocrites in the church?
Or – some statements that might indicate Intellectual Baggage:
It doesn't matter what you believe as long as it makes you a better person
Since so many people disagree on so many things there cannot be one right answer
Since the Bible has been mistranslated so many times, we can't be sure what it originally said
It's been too long since Christ lived, so we can't really know what He said or did.
How do you handle these tough questions?
Reverse the burden of proof!
Remember, when someone throws a question at you, like a boomerang, let it come back around to them first!
For instance – Isn't Christianity only a “crutch?”
ask – What do you mean by “crutch?”
or
if someone says, “I don't believe the Bible is reliable”
ask:
Why is it that you don't think the Bible is as reliable as other books of antiquity written around the same time period?
Jesus used this approach when the Pharisees asked - “By what authority are you doing these things?”
“Let me ask you – 'Was the Baptism of John from heaven or men?”
He boomeranged the question right back to them!
Another excellent quote – for those of you who, like me, have tried to answer the tough questions in the past:
“At times (far too many, I'm afraid), I've answered questions with biblically accurate, logically sound, epistemologically watertight answers, only to see questioners shrug their shoulders. My answer, it seemed, only further confirmed their opinion that Christians are simpletons. So I started answering questions with questions, and I have gained far better results.”
Apparently, this guy has written an entire book on how to do this – using Jesus as the example!
3) Uncover the specific emotional baggage they are carrying
Invite them to share their story
Listen for the most obvious barriers to the gospel
Empathize with them.
Affirm God's love and hope for them.
If appropriate, apologize for how another brother or sister in Christ treated them.
Pray for them.
4) Determine whether there is a question or concern behind the question or issue raised.
For instance – if they ask - “How can you claim that there is only one way to God.” -
What might be the belief behind the question?
They may believe that Christians are arrogant to think that they have the truth and are therefore better than others.
They may believe that Christians are not very “open” to other faiths by being so exclusive.
5) Find out what their biggest barrier to Christianity is.
One student said, “One of my biggest barriers to belief in God or Christianity is that I am not brave enough to consider religious issues solely, without considering the consequences of what other people think.”
6) Find out what would motivate them to get answers in these areas.
7) Uncover the volitional factors
The Bible indicates that sometimes, even with a clear burden of proof, some people are just unwilling to believe.
How do you handle this?
Pray.
The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much
Demonstrate Christ's love to them.
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
To Review:
as an Archeologist, you will uncover the barriers that are keeping people from Christ – make sure your blanks are all filled in...
Finally- the fourth role you will play is that of the BUILDER
The goal here is to find common ground and build a bridge to the Gospel
Real quickly – and here is why I gave you NOTES today...
Six MORE Steps – but as an apology for having so many steps today – here are the baby otters again
1) Find the right balance in your approach. - I like the balance in these verses – They spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed (Acts 14:1) and 1 Thes. 2:8 We were delighted to share with you not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” - People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
2) Find Common Ground with those you are trying to reach – 1 Cor. 9:22 to the weak I became weak to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”
3) Build a bridge from a point of shared beliefs – head bridges or heart bridges
4) Memorize a basic outline for defending the Christian faith to guide you in your discussions with others.
Why this is important (keeping it real!):
“The main difficulty I had in applying the conversational approach was in effectively linking one question or argument to the next, to lead the person to a clear conclusion. I often felt somewhat muddled in the conversation. I realize I need to focus on understanding and remembering a logical progression of points so that I can help someone to see and understand for himself.”
Reference the handout
5) Remember the goal! *how many of you had written in ALAMO? Don't get so caught up in removing barriers that you forget to remember the goal. What is the goal? To remove the obstacles so that we can help people take one step closer to Jesus Christ each day.
6) Actively seek for opportunities to transition to the Gospel.
Example: Has anyone ever explained to you the difference between Christianity and all other religions?
Explain Do vs. Done -

Do versus DONE (Christ has DONE for us what we could never DO for ourselves!)
Muslims teach that man’s good works have to outweigh his bad works. (Do)
Hindus teach that if one does enough good he can pay off his karmic debt and escape the cycle of reincarnation. (Do)
Buddhists teach that salvation comes about when one desires to stop desiring. (Do)
Jesus says accept the gift I offer. It has already been “Done” for you (you can do nothing to earn God’s gift) Invite Me to come into your life and change you from the inside out (Jn. 1:12; Phil. 2:13).

To Review:
1) Find the right balance in your approach.
2) Find Common Ground with those you are trying to reach
3) Build a bridge from a point of shared beliefs – head bridges or heart bridges
4) Memorize a basic outline for defending the Christian faith to guide you in your discussions with others.
5) Remember the goal! Don't get so caught up in removing barriers that you forget to remember the goal. What is the goal? To remove the obstacles so that we can help people take one step closer to Jesus Christ each day.
6) Actively seek for opportunities to transition to the Gospel.
So, the Conversational Evangelism model in a nutshell:
We want to listen to them and then “hear” their discrepancies and then illuminate them by asking questions that will “clarify” their religious terminology and “expose” the weaknesses of their perspective.
Then we want to uncover the real barriers and “build” a bridge to help them take one step closer to Jesus Christ each day (I Cor. 3:6).

Application Exercise:
1. Listen more carefully in my conversation with others.
2. Identify the “sour notes” I hear in conversations with others.
3. Look for opportunities to ask clarifying questions in my witness to others. Ask, what do you mean by…? (Example: Free Thinker)
4. Attempt the process of building a bridge with a not-yet-believer by asking probing questions to reach areas of common understanding and agreement.
5. Actively seek for opportunities to transition to spiritual things. (example: Do verses Done)
6. Discuss the results of this exercise with another Christian.