Dear Mr. Christian,
Hi...I'm not like you. I'm no "believer" but I wanted to have a little heart to heart with you since you seem to be interested in wearing your God on your sleeve. I'll be candid so don't be offended. I'll try not to make fun of your Jesus fish or your cool Christian gear. This is just my open letter.
First, can you stop treating Christianity like an STD? I'm not scared of catching it from you. I know that sometimes you're so afraid to offend me that you sort of get paranoid and weird. Relax dude. There are times when I'm even a little curious by things you do (like why you practically live at church or have the weirdest & most fluctuating diet ever) but why do you get so awkward about it?
Read More“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)
Congratulations! You’ve been called to a high office. You’ve received a great honor. Lives will forever be changed because of you. Futures will be transformed. In fact, every time you open your mouth, eternity hangs in the balance.
Why? BECAUSE YOU’RE A PREACHER!
Read More"We are not here on a vacation. We are here on a mission."
That was the takeaway from yesterday's finale in the Mission: Witness series. We looked at the life of the first ever American saint canonized by the Orthodox church and saw how his life could hopefully inspire us GO...
...beyond our comfort zones... out of our little bubbles... away from our self-centered way of thinking.
We were sent in order to GO!
Read MoreA recent sermon by Fr. Anthony talked about evangelism. How do we go around and talk about Jesus, and how do we bring Jesus to the people around us. I am surrounded by friends who are atheists. They are aware of my belief and respect my religion and are aware of my fasting time and have seen the many pictures of St. Mary and Jesus Christ in my room.
Despite that I always feel the need to be cautious when we talk because of fear of being teased and embarrassment, and sometimes because I think I will be offending them.
Read MoreIf you think you know what LOVE means, you ain't seen nothing yet!
In this week's message, we take a look at two people - Jim and Elisabeth Elliot - whose genuine love and limitless acceptance was taken to an unfathomable level.
It's a story that everyone needs to hear. It's a reminder about the greatest and most powerful element in the entire universe... that is, LOVE. And where love is, God is as well.
Read More“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5
Anyone who calls themselves a Christian/follower of Christ is called to do the work of an evangelist. Actually... let me say that more bluntly....if YOU call yourself a Christian/follower of Christ, then YOU are called to do the work of an evangelist. No wiggle room there.
But evangelism doesn’t mean standing on a corner and yelling at people to repent before they go to hell (see video above).
Read MoreI’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Preach the gospel at all times; and if necessary, use words.” It’s become a popular cliché amongst Christians today. We use it with regards to the idea of doing evangelism in our workplaces, schools, communities, etc. The principle behind it is that we should let our actions speak louder than our words.
So don’t tell people to be honest; be honest yourself. Don’t tell people to be kind-hearted; be kind-hearted yourself. Don’t tell people that you are a Christian…show them that you are one! Let people “see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
Very nice…very spiritual-sounding…very true indeed. No one can disagree with the concept.
But the question is this: is that enough? Or do we sometimes need to do more? We all agree that our witness should BEGIN with our actions, but should it END there as well?
Read MoreWe kicked off a new series yesterday called MISSION: WITNESS. In it, we're talking about different ways that we can be witnesses/evangelists in the world today.
Each week in this series, we'll look at one of the "lesser-known" heroes of Christianity - someone who has witnessed to Christ in their own unique way - and we'll see that there's more than one way to be an evangelist.
Our hero for week one? St. Photini, the greatest preacher that you know nothing about.
Read MoreThis is one of those weeks for me. One of those weeks where I don’t know what to blog about or what to say. It’s one of those weeks that I absolutely live for and dread at the same time. It’s a week where I really feel – with all my heart, soul, mind and strength – like God is going to do something big… something huge… something massive… something historically grand… something that is exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even imagine! And He’s going to do that right here – right in front of my eyes!
What in the world am I talking about? Let me explain.
As you probably know, I have been blessed to be serving at St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church (STSA) - aka THE GREATEST CHURCH EVER!. I love my church so much and from day one, I have felt that God has a special calling and a special mission for this church (go back and see the very first blog post I ever posted and you’ll see what I am talking about).
Read More“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5
We are called to do the work of an evangelist. Actually, let me say that more bluntly: YOU ARE CALLED TO DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST.
All week I’ve been talking about evangelism and what it is and what it isn’t. I’ve already made it clear that evangelism doesn’t mean standing on a corner and yelling at people to repent before they go to hell (see video above for many ways to NOT do the work of evangelist).
But the issue still remains that I have to do something. I cannot sit back and do nothing and claim that evangelism isn’t for me. I am called to be evangelist and to do the work of an evangelist. Whatever talents and gifts God has given me, I have to somehow figure out how to use those in a way for the purpose of witnessing for God. And as I said yesterday, that can take many different shapes and forms, but the inescapable point is this: I AM CALLED TO DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST.
But the major question is this: How should I start?
Read More"Aim at nothing and you’ll hit it every time." Zig Ziglar
"If you don't know where you are going, you probably end up someplace else." Yogi Berra
This week I’ve spoken about the importance of evangelism and the definition of evangelism – why we need to do it and what it is. But usually our problem with evangelism isn’t the theoretical side; it’s the practical side. It’s the “how-to” that we struggle with.
So today I want to make it easy for you. I don’t like to do anything unless I know the goal upfront. If the goal isn’t clear, how will I know if I am doing it right? How will I know if I am accomplishing anything? No one wants to work hard on something and later realize that they were doing it all wrong. So we need to establish a goal for evangelism before we dive in.
So what’s the goal? What would you say? Is the goal to bring people to church? Is the goal to baptize people? Is the goal to make them pray a certain prayer or to do certain good works?
What is the goal of evangelism and how will I know when I’ve accomplished it?
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