Sep 2006
Evangelism
09/26/06 14:07
This semester, I'm
taking my first course of Contemporary Evangelism.
Part of the class requires us to evangelize (share
the gospel) with at least three people this semester.
At first, I felt sort of awkward about this. It just
seemed inappropriate initially. I mean, if I was lost
and someone witnessed to me and led me to Christ and
I then later found out that their motivation stemmed
from their need for a grade in some seminary class,
well, I guess I'd probably feel a bit cheap and used
and like the person who witnessed to me didn't really
care at all about my eternal state; I was just part
of their 4.0.
However, as I prayed through this and struggled with this idea of witnessing as an assignment, the Lord gave me a fresh perspective that has helped quite a bit:
1. "The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." (Philippians 1:18)
2. I look at the "assignment" as a challenge or a word of exhortation or encouragement from another believer. It's a matter of accountability.
3. Whether we're in such a class or not, all Christians should be witnessing much more frequently than 3 times a semester anyway. I don't do it for the grade, I just have a heart and passion to evangelize. If later I'm asked to report on the opportunity, so be it.
With such a perspective, I went yesterday with three other people to a College here in Ft. Worth. We were on campus for about 3 hours, just meeting students and starting conversations in hopes that an open door to the gospel of Christ would present itself. We prayed for these opportunities, and God answered our prayers. We shared the gospel with about 6 people.
I was privileged to witness to a 40-year-old professor, Darryl, for more than an hour. It was incredible! We talked about a host of things, several different religions, and, of course, Jesus. We spent alot of time just reading and trying to understand passages of Scripture from the Bible. He asked some great questions and showed a genuine interest in the Word of God. I prayed for Darryl before he left and he gave me his phone number so that I can hopefully hook up with him again sometime soon.
Well, all of my 3 reports for my Contemporary Evangelism class are finished months ahead of time. So now, I can just freely witness without any fear that an impure motive might creep into my heart. I just pray that the Lord will give me relationships with the lost so that I can share my life with them, love and serve them, and hopefully tell them about the Gospel that saved my life.
However, as I prayed through this and struggled with this idea of witnessing as an assignment, the Lord gave me a fresh perspective that has helped quite a bit:
1. "The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." (Philippians 1:18)
2. I look at the "assignment" as a challenge or a word of exhortation or encouragement from another believer. It's a matter of accountability.
3. Whether we're in such a class or not, all Christians should be witnessing much more frequently than 3 times a semester anyway. I don't do it for the grade, I just have a heart and passion to evangelize. If later I'm asked to report on the opportunity, so be it.
With such a perspective, I went yesterday with three other people to a College here in Ft. Worth. We were on campus for about 3 hours, just meeting students and starting conversations in hopes that an open door to the gospel of Christ would present itself. We prayed for these opportunities, and God answered our prayers. We shared the gospel with about 6 people.
I was privileged to witness to a 40-year-old professor, Darryl, for more than an hour. It was incredible! We talked about a host of things, several different religions, and, of course, Jesus. We spent alot of time just reading and trying to understand passages of Scripture from the Bible. He asked some great questions and showed a genuine interest in the Word of God. I prayed for Darryl before he left and he gave me his phone number so that I can hopefully hook up with him again sometime soon.
Well, all of my 3 reports for my Contemporary Evangelism class are finished months ahead of time. So now, I can just freely witness without any fear that an impure motive might creep into my heart. I just pray that the Lord will give me relationships with the lost so that I can share my life with them, love and serve them, and hopefully tell them about the Gospel that saved my life.
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SWBTS Intramural Football
09/18/06 16:39
After years
of not playing football more than twice a year
(Thanksgiving and Christmas pick-up games only), I am
back. This time, my team consists of my beautiful
bride, Willie & Wes, and a few other guys from
the seminary. We probably won't ever practice or come
up with plays or audible calls, but we're certain to
have a good time every Saturday morning this Fall. We
have the only girl in the league, and in our 10-0 win
last Saturday, Jessica proved that she is not just on
the team because girl touchdowns are worth 9 points
instead of just 6. Not only did Jess come through on
the offense, but she rocked the defense as well. Her
highlight reel included a deflected pass on a 3rd
& long that the other team basically had to have
late in the game.
It was a fun time getting to run around and play football again. I'm looking forward to each Saturday game now. Plus, it always does me good to get together with some of my best and oldest friends.
Stay in touch to see if we keep our Undefeated season alive for another week.
It was a fun time getting to run around and play football again. I'm looking forward to each Saturday game now. Plus, it always does me good to get together with some of my best and oldest friends.
Stay in touch to see if we keep our Undefeated season alive for another week.
Fantasy Football Disappointment
09/11/06 10:24
The first week of the
2006 NFL Season is just about over (2 games left
tonight) and so far, my fantasy football team, Los
Wildcats, are struggling. My, most likely inevitable,
defeat is greatly due to the horrible performance of
my starting quarterback, Carson Palmer.
He was projected for 23 points and didn't even pull in 3 lousy points. If only I would have started my back-up QB, Michael Vick (22.40 points).
I still have LT and Santana Moss playing tonight, but unless they rack-up 30 points each, I'll be 0-1 at the end of the first week. Not a great start.
He was projected for 23 points and didn't even pull in 3 lousy points. If only I would have started my back-up QB, Michael Vick (22.40 points).
I still have LT and Santana Moss playing tonight, but unless they rack-up 30 points each, I'll be 0-1 at the end of the first week. Not a great start.
