Tim Spencer

Serve. Grow. Lead.

#imustconfess

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i_must_confess#imustconfess that before Christ, I was lost and confused about my purpose and my place on this earth. It’s true that I had heard (and read) the words of Jesus Christ, but I didn’t know Him in a personal way.

I was 9 years old when I made Jesus Lord and Leader of my life. In that moment, my knees shook and I was overwhelmed by my own sin and guilt. I realized I was a sinner. I opened a Bible and read Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I embraced the truth in those words and turned away from my sin and toward Jesus. My life was changed!

Since meeting Jesus, I have no doubt about my future. I know that Jesus died for me and rose from the dead on the third day. Jesus is my Lord and Leader, and my relationship with Him defines my life. I still have struggles, ups, downs and everything in between, but Jesus puts it all in perspective. I know who I am and I know I belong to Jesus. It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, and it’s what #imustconfess!

Evangelism Redux

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wheatOver the last several decades, influential witness training methods like Evangelism Explosion (1962), Continuing Witness Training (1982), Becoming a Contagious Christian (1995) and FAITH Evangelism (1999) became a key driver of church growth.

Across America and around the world, a fresh Acts 1:8 history lesson was learned: Develop an intentional witness training plan, maintain a growing prospect list and build a sustained churchwide evangelism focus.

The influence of these programs continues in churches that have made them a part of their vision and DNA. In other churches, they ran their course and petered out, leaving exhausted pastors and congregations in their wake.

It seems likely that some of us (and I count myself in this group) over thought and over complicated what should have been a simple proposition: Mobilize as many believers as possible to live a lifestyle of sharing.

More than ever, I believe that mobilizing more people with simplified evangelism “handles” is the best way forward. If you’re a believer, then you can share your faith. Let’s return to basics and embrace KISS methodology: “Keep it short and simple.”

At First West, our evangelism plan asks for 3 commitments:

  • 1 Story – Learn to share your 1 story.
  • 1 Verse – Memorize 1 verse to share the gospel.
  • 1 Person –  Identify and share with your 1 person.

1 Story. Experience tells us that a person’s testimony is the easiest way to share with someone else. Every believer has a story! Teaching believers to share about their life before they met Jesus, how they came to accept Jesus into their life and about their life since they met Jesus is the best foundation for sustained lifestyle evangelism.

1 Verse. We use Romans 6:23 to equip all ages to share the gospel. It’s easy to use key words from this one verse to present God’s plan to save the world:

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23 (ESV)

Key words like “wages,” “sin” and “death” illustrate that our sin has earned us a death sentence. That’s the bad news. The word “but” offers some good news. “Free gift,” “of God” and “eternal life” tell us that God’s gift is the eternal life alternative to the death we deserve.

1 Person. We lead our church to know who their one person is. We ask believers to pray for their one person. We ask them to start faith conversations with their one person. We ask them to invite their one person to a weekend service or special community event. And we ask them to share the gospel when the relational chips have been earned to do so.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Provide evangelism “handles” like 1 story, 1 verse, 1 person to keep witness training short and simple. Mobilize as many believers as possible to live a lifestyle of sharing.

Resources

Memphis Matters

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memphisGrowing up in greater Memphis, I don’t think I understood just how complicated my city was (and still is). I had a sheltered view of the city that comes from a comfortable home in the suburbs. But I still say that Memphis is “my city.” It’s the only urban center I come close to claiming. Both in proximity and sentiment, Memphis is my home.

Memphis is a great city. But Memphis is a tragic city, too. While rich in diversity and color, it is forever connected to African Americans’ struggle for equality and justice in the Jim Crow south.

Memphis is a city of widespread poverty, juxtaposed against areas of privilege and wealth. Numerous studies have shown that low income households face significant material, educational and socioeconomic challenges.

Memphis is a city with an identity crisis and a propensity to always expect the worst. As a matter of fact and routine, many expect their lot to always come up short.

As believers, we have an answer for all of it. We can offer real hope and security through Jesus Christ. We can respond to past challenges with His eyes, heart, hands and feet.

But it’s also true that we face a new challenge in our efforts to reach the city. Confront some quick facts about Memphis:

  • We are a city of over 1 million people.
  • We speak more than 45 languages.
  • More than 500,000 people do not know Christ personally.
  • There are 170 SBC churches in greater Memphis.
  • A majority of evangelical churches are either plateaued or declining.

We have less money, churches, disciples and staff to deploy against the sea of lostness we confront, and few available ministry partners ready to engage the fight. That’s a statement of fact in post-Christian America. Increasingly, it’s also a statement of fact in the post-Christian southern Bible Belt.

If there’s hope for penetrating lostness in cities like Memphis, it’s going to require a change in strategy:

  1. We must start new churches. Most experts say that we need 1 church for every 1,000 people in urban areas. If so, we need a lot of new evangelical churches in Memphis. The truth is, we need lots of new churches in every corner of North America. Memphis is no exception.
  2. We must revitalize existing churches. It’s not enough to start new churches. We can’t simply write off the 170 SBC churches that already exist in metro Memphis. We need them for the challenge we face.
  3. We must produce disciple-making disciples. Without a renewed commitment to discipleship-based evangelism, there just won’t be enough growth to keep up with the burgeoning lostness around us. Only through reproducing disciples will we have the impact needed to make a difference in the city.
  4. We must do more with less money. Less money means more volunteers and fewer paid workers. It means less full-time staff and more part-time and bi-vocational workers. Effective local associations and city groups will find creative ways to finance ministry in the face of reduced funding.
  5. We must cooperate like never before. It’s clear that while old models of cooperation are important, new models are needed to cope with lostness in the city center. Large churches, regional resources and urban ministry organizations will complement state conventions and denominational groups. That’s how cities like Memphis will be reached.
  6. We must go like never before. While we have to invest our lives in our communities and our city, we can’t do that without a vision to share Christ in other places, too. Our commission is The Great Commission, so we must go far and wide.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Penetrating lostness matters across North America and around the world, and it matters in Memphis. We must change our strategy to start new churches, revitalize existing churches, produce disciples, do more with less, cooperate and go like never before. That’s the way to penetrate lostness in greater Memphis…and the world.

Resources

Live an Everyday Life on Mission

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roadWho among us doesn’t want to live a life with eternal significance and purpose? Put aside the trappings of earthly success in business or ministry and recognize that real impact happens only when you surrender everything to God.

Over the last two months, our staff has studied Life on Mission by Aaron Coe and Dustin Willis. Here’s how they describe the everyday life believers are called to live:

A life on mission is a calling of abandonment. It is the confession of our willingness to set aside—to abandon—our preferences to follow God’s mission. Like a bungee jumper diving off a platform, we must relinquish our selfish hopes with total abandon to spread the true hope we have found in Jesus.

What does it mean to live life on mission for God? I’ll answer that question with 4 words:

  1. Wait
  2. Abide
  3. Watch
  4. Go

Here’s the full detail of the spiritual truths Coe and Willis present:

1. WAIT on the Lord. Perhaps you spend too little time considering what God is saying in the quiet moments. If so, the watch word is “wait”—create some space in your day to pray, study the Word and worship. Your purpose is to glorify God in everything you do. If you don’t do that, you won’t achieve much that matters.

In the morning, Lord , you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. – Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

2. ABIDE in the Vine. A total realignment takes place when you follow Jesus with abandon. Your life is defined by doing and saying that bears witness to your faith in Christ. More than a head knowledge of who Jesus is, “abiding in the vine” is about living a life in love with the Savior. It translates into doing what God says instead of doing what culture says.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5 (NIV)

3. WATCH for opportunities to share. Seeing the world with new eyes is the big result of waiting and abiding. Once you’ve prayed, worshiped and focused your heart and mind, it’s amazing how sensitive to the Spirit you become. Your new eyes make it easy to identify people who need the gospel.

I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. – John 4:35 (NIV)

4. GO and make disciples. For a Spirit-sensitive person, seeing people who need the gospel leads naturally to sharing a verbal witness. Whether it’s a personal faith story, testimony or life lesson, missional living demands sharing. You are called to invest your life in others as you share the gospel and invite others into disciple-making relationships. Then, you send others out to share their faith.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8 (NIV)

So what’s the Big Idea?

Wait, abide, watch and go. Live out radical obedience to God. Live an everyday life on mission.

Resources


Source

Dustin Willis and Aaron Coe, Life on Mission: Joining the Everyday Mission of God (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2014), 59.

Conversational Evangelism

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If you’ve struggled to find effective openings to share your faith, then David and Norman Geisler’s Conversational Evangelism is the book for you.  In their discussion of pre-evangelism and conversational evangelism, they address: what makes old models of witnessing ineffective in today’s culture; how to ask questions, listen attentively and understand what someone believes; and ways to identify the real barriers to belief in order to build a bridge to truth.  Find chapter outlines here.