At the 2010 Verge Conference, George Patterson boldly announced that "discipleship is easy if we make disciples like the early church." How? He said they did five things:
1. They presented the living, risen Christ, not just facts about Him. Look at the Book of Acts for example; over and over you hear the reality of the living, risen Christ proclaimed. Patterson said that people today must experience the risen Christ and feel his presence in their lives. How? Through baptism, the Lord's Supper, loving, and prayer ... prayer for healing.
2. They mobilized everyone to share the gospel, not just the pastors/ evangelists. It was and is a lay movement.
3. They went to the poor and those desiring life change. Patterson urged the American church, "Stop trying to shove a camel through the eye of a needle." What does he mean? Who are the camels? Those who are rich, comfortable, and perceive themselves to have no need for a savior. Who did Jesus started with? The poor and people who desperately desired change in their lives.
4. They used whatever method worked. They didn't get hung up on a single trusted method. They used a method that worked for those they were discipling.
5. Lastly Patterson briefly shared a story about a friend he had helped lead to Christ and who was eventually murdered by friends and family who learned of his conversion. He blamed himself for what happened to the young man and he asked those attending the conference, "What did the disciples do before baptism? They went to the family." He said that the American/ western approach to evangelism and discipleship is very individualistic and largely involves efforts to separate a non-believer from their non-believing friends and family. Patterson urges caution and suggests that Christians ought to work within the circle of friends and family that a non-Christian is already situated. Put simply, we shouldn't pull non-believers out of their family (i.e., social network) - instead we should also evangelize their family!
You can watch part of George Patterson's Verge talk here.
HT: Verge Network
No comments:
Post a Comment