Evangelism is both a process and an event.

I stole this paragraph from a CPG article that summarizes this statement well. Launching from a place of understanding that everyone is somewhere on the spiritual journey pictured below…

it is key to realize that moving people along that line is both a process and an event, we can continue to reach out to a person in many different ways and forms of witness – e.g., our testimony, a book or podcast, serving them in some way, hanging out, playing sports together, inviting them to be around other Christians at a Cru meeting or social event, or coming along to church. But since sharing the Gospel is also the event of them hearing the Gospel, there will need to be a time, or perhaps many times, when someone verbally shares the Gospel with that person. For some non-believers, we will be involved in both the process and the event, while for others we may only be in on the event, and others will be in on the longer process. Whatever our role is, we walk in the Spirit and let God use us in His overall plan in other people’s lives.

What I really like is that the article points out that sharing the Gospel includes people hearing the Gospel…with words, but doesn’t discount the effort we make to serve, invite and spend time with people. Maybe I’ll put it like this – verbal proclamation of Jesus is the backbone of evangelism that is surrounded by the mission to care for, love and serve those in our sphere of influence.

How do you train students in the reality that evangelism is both a process and an event?

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. Evangelism – what’s working, what’s not?
2. Thoughts on evangelism; skepticism and proclamation.
3. Links of the week!

1. I believe everyone is on some sort of spiritual journey.
2.  I believe that God is able to transform lives.
3.  I believe I’m called to take the initiative to bring Jesus to those that don’t know him (leaving the 99 to go to after the 1).
4.  I’m called to have a posture of incarnation – being present with those around me, listening with respect, engaging, serving, loving.
5. There will be opposition – those that are angry, those that don’t respond, those that are neutral.
6.  I get to be an ambassador for Christ and help people come to a point of decision. “Do you want to respond to Jesus right now?”
7.  I want to be known for talking about Jesus – a natural outflow

Am I missing anything? Are any of these challenging to you?

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. Evangelism – what’s working, what’s not?
2. Thoughts on evangelism; skepticism and proclamation.

• I’ve recently become a big fan of Ed Stetzer. Not only are his views on evangelism biblically sound, but he’s responded to my tweets a couple of times.  Challenging words about themes the Christian church is facing here, which I think have implications for our campus ministries as well.
• This article from Christianity Today (also by Ed Stetzer) on “Proseltytizing in a Multi-Faith World“. It’s a long one, but really practical principles in how to proclaim the gospel in a multi-faith world.
• This article from Brian Barela completely resonated with me on leading with limited capacity. Apparently it’s common for us 30 year olds.
• Lastly, this post from Tim Casteel on developing more of a culture of sharing within Cru. This is a message I’ve preached from the rooftops, but even now find myself with such limited capacity that it doesn’t happen as regularly as I’d like.

Enjoy some reading this week!

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. Links of the Week!
2. Failure and other links
3. Important Links this week!

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1. Cru Conference Video team does good work
2. MTL Conference
3. Cru Conference on Facebook = Engagement

Here’s some tips to consider that are incredibly applicable to college ministry…especially in the operations context that I live in.

Keep two lists: I wrote about this a while back here. Two lists, one for urgent items and another for important ones. Do not let the urgent items compete against the important ones on the same list….the urgent will always win.

Make a daily “focus area.” Somehow designate up to five tasks in your to-do list that correspond to a priority project. Regardless of whatever crops up that day, the focus area must be cleared before bed.

Don’t dwell. Scott says that wen urgent matter arise, they tend to evoke anxiety. Do not dwell on possible negative outcomes. Break urgent items down into action steps and challenge yourself to reallocate your energy to the important as soon as the action steps are completes.

Don’t hoard urgent items. Even if you delegate well you may find yourself hoarding urgent items as they arise. The project your working on is important to you and you want to solve things yourself. “When you are in a position to do so, challenge yourself to delegate urgent items.” Scott says. The cost of not doing this is that our energy gets shifted away from the long term goals.

Create windows of nonstimulation. Window of time dedicated to uninterrupted project focus. Preserve blocks of time during your days as precious opportunities to make progress on important items with little risk of urgent matters popping up.

All of this requires discipline. Which I’m still working on.

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. Two lists (Making Ideas Happen)
2. 3 things to help me focus when everything seems important.
3. Action Method App – Your GTD Resource

If I’m going to thrive in the job of campus ministry and help my team move toward our vision of seeing the campuses of Portland transformed I have to figure out how to focus on the right things. The question I keep coming back to is how do I focus, when it seems like everything is important? Unfortunately a big audacious vision doesn’t help this problem either.

Here’s a couple things that I think could help free me up to focus on the things that only I can do. I just  need some discipline to put them into practice.

• Make a stop doing list. Identify the things that I’m doing that do not fuel the vision of our team long term and stop doing them. Identify the things that won’t matter in a week or month and stop doing them.

• Block out 2 hour “think times” at least once a week. This allows me to lift my head above the urgent, focus on the big picture and plan according without distraction. I must put these in the calendar and not fill them with meetings.

• Be ok with not completing every little task. Completing tasks is great but I often find more satisfaction in accomplishing the wrong tasks than I should.

What strategies do you employ to hep bring focus to your job?

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. Got Focus?
2. Stop suffering at the mercy of urgent tasks.
3. 8 ways to tell you’re entitled

If you’re like me then as a college minister the words “commuter campus” probably suck the life out of you. Major hurdles of student availability and lack of relationship amongst the student body seem like insurmountable barriers to building movements.

Portland State University (our major hub of ministry) has, in the neighborhood of 20,000 students that commute to the downtown campus everyday. Students ride bikes, light rail, drive and bus to get to campus. Students from every corner of the metro area descend on campus to get learned.

Having a highly commuter campus is an obstacle to ministry right? But wait, what if that perceived obstacle is actually critical to seeing the city of Portland transformed?! What if much like a heart pumping life into the far reaches of the body, the lives that are transformed in the hub of activity at PSU are sent all over the city to influence families, churches, neighborhoods for the kingdom! I’m am convinced that seeing God transform the campus of Portland State University is going to be a critical step in seeing the city of Portland transformed.

Yes, the realities of a commuter campus are hard to deal with sometimes, but for the first time today I saw the barrier of a commuter campus more as an opportunity to see God at work all over the city.

What about you, what barrier is actually an opportunity in your life and ministry?

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. Response to Anti 1-1 Discipleship post
2. “That Great City” (Cowtown to Urban Hipster #2)
3. Thoughts on evangelism; skepticism and proclamation.

Space #1 – This is the place you come from. People look a lot like you and smell a lot like you. In Acts 17:17 Paul reasons with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks in the Synagogue.

Space #2 – Out in the marketplace. This is public domain in everyday life for you. In Acts 17:17 Paul also ministers to people in the martketplace who happen to be there.

Space #3 – Someone else’s turf, culture or way of life. This is where you are an outsider. You might look different and the culture definitely looks different. Acts 17:19 “Then they took him”…Paul get’s invited into a meeting with the Areopagus on their turf and then he’s given the chance to influence their space.

Implications to my personal ministry:

• Recognizing that I’m comfortable in space #1 and dealing with the hard question of, “Am I open to change?”
• Recognizing that if we are successful in only space #1 that it’s probably not going to accomplish the vision that God has given us.
• If everyone that I minister to looks like me, it might be an indicator that I’m in love with my myself, my organization/church. Perhaps I’m willing to do whatever it takes to reach people as long as they look like me.
• Do we lack credibility in space #2?
• It’s difficult to train people to be kingdom minded in space #2 if we aren’t ever successful in it ourselves.
• Space #3 affords us the chance to influence people in their space with their permission. Does a portion of my ministry efforts reflect this?

Does this biblical reality challenge your ministry initiatives at all?

These are my notes (and my interpretation) from Erwin McManus during Movement Day Conference.

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. How we do ministry – 1 page
2. Theology of Urban Ministry: (Cowtown to Urban Hipster #5)
3. Stop inventing, start imitating ministry

We are not here to invent ministry, but imitate ministry.

And that imitating is done in the context of partnership…a deep union in Him and a participation in what he’s already doing. All ministry is derivative. In other words, I’m just “hitching a ride” on what God is already doing. No need to proclaim that I’m “starting a ministry”, because in reality I’m just showing up to discover where God is at work. He gets the credit. He should, He’s been at work for eternity.

If we don’t understand imitation and participation, our ministry is reduced to programs, strategies and techniques. Our ministry becomes man-centered, not Christ-centered.

This reality has implications on my perspective about how I view the people I rub shoulders with every day. It’s humbling.

I’m processing these thoughts that come from a “Theology in Ministry” seminary class taught by John Johnson of The Village Church.

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. Three spaces of ministry
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Is any portion of your ministry effort devoted to justice ministry in your context? Here in Portland we wrestle with what our campus ministry’s contribution should be in this area.

Do you seek to balance proclamation with demonstration of the Gospel at all where you are?

If so how, and what are the principles that guide you?

This is isn’t a right or wrong editorial on the topic…for now . I just want to hear others thoughts on this. What have you done as part of your ministry, what’s worked and what’s been hard?

Full Disclosure: We’re committed to having a sliver of our ministry being a blessing to the city we live in. We partner with Portland Rescue Mission by taking involved students and their friends to serve the city’s homeless once a month.

Photo courtesy of tonythemisfit

Other LTI posts kinda like this one:

1. How we do ministry – 1 page
2. “Seek the Shalom” (Cowtown to Urban Hipster #3)
3. Theology of Urban Ministry: (Cowtown to Urban Hipster #5)