Relationship Evangelism

"A Letter To Way Of The Master"

I was with our team at Huntington Beach last Saturday when I noticed some teenagers with signs that said, "FREE HUGS." It turns out that they were a Christian group sharing "God's love" with strangers, by giving them a hug. I asked the leader if the kids shared the gospel with the strangers they hugged. They didn't. It was "relationship evangelism." Yes, they were going to Hell if they died in their sins, but they didn't want to be pushy. I encouraged him to have his team at least give out tracts to those they hugged, but he was in a hurry and had to leave before I could convince him to do so.


In a list of "Ten Ideas for Everyday Outreach," a leading Christian magazine recently suggested praying for people "as you walk by them," tell them you appreciate them, leave notes of encouragement, pick up trash, leave a thank you note for waiters, be friendly, etc.

If that's outreach, what are they reaching out for? Is it so that if sinners die in their sins they will think about how nice Christians were to them, and how they keep the sidewalks free of trash? They will need more than a hug, in Hell.

I couldn't help but think of how bold a person has to be to run around with a sign that says "FREE HUGS." Surely there must be someone in their leadership that has read "How shall they hear without a preacher," and will steer these kids to be true and faithful witnesses. Then again, they may have got their hugs idea from the leading Christian magazine, and therefore think that they are doing the right thing.

REPLY:  PASTOR MICHAEL SALMAN

     Relationship Evangelism is very effective if it is done properly.  With that said, I want to stress the point that relationship evangelism could also be fake and religious.  A person who is nice to other people only because they want to convert them to Christianity seems to be putting on a front.  The fact is Christians should be nice, PERIOD.  We should have the call of God on us and the best relationship evangelism should be that of a real life witness of holiness and purity for God.  Remember Jesus won people not because he was nice but because He told the truth.  As a matter of fact when it came time for sinners Jesus was not really nice at all.  In many of his teachings the sinners and those who reject God are going to Hell, they wither, or burn up.  Remember in Jerusalem He turned tables, and rebuked the Pharisees.  In another time he turned to the people and said, stop being free loaders and follow God because you love Him not because what he can give you. 
     True evangelism means being True not fake. 

State Day Of Prayer

January 17th, 2010 our Governor Jan Brewer by the request of 40 clergymen declared that January 17th be a State Day of Prayer.  She is calling all believers to pray for our budgets and to ask God to help us through these times.  So on January 17th, 2010 please pray for our State and while you are at it please pray for our Nation and especially the city in which you live in.  In Jesus name.

Lord Jesus, you are the Creator of Heaven and Earth.  You the Lord God almighty and there is none like you.  We pray this day for our State that you will lead our leaders to wisdom in handling and dealing with our budget.  Lord we know that you can and will provide for each and everyone of us who call on your name.  Be with our State, our cities and our Nation during this time of struggle.  Let us not compromise our values for the sake of money and let us learn that you are God and that there is blessings in obedience to you.  In Jesus name.

RESULTS ARE IN...

     A New Year can either bring great joy or it can bring great trouble.  People are faced wtih obstacles in every arena.  No matter what we know this:  If you are a Christian even your troubles are turned into victory.  We would never have known David without the Giant.  It took the Giant to bring out the best of David.  Even great generals are known only by the wars they fight.  Ultimately we know that we know that our Lord Jesus Christ is on our side and the sons and daughters of the devil will be placed under HIS feet.  So we move on and look to the Lord for strength and refuge because if GOD is for us NO ONE can be against us.  Thank you Jesus for your grace and mercy and your peace.

Pastor Michael Salman

THIS IS THE SEASON - WATCH

     This season many people are getting sick.  They start getting sick not only physically but spiritually and mentally.  The sales, the emotions, the lonliness, the financial stress and struggles, these all become very difficult and people become very stressed.  Eventually everything going on creates a void and loss of the meaning of the season.  I never was a person who enjoyed all thehustle and busle of the Christmas season due to 2 things.  1)  Physical illness with many & 2)  the commercial aspect of the season. 
      This year I can only pray that people remember 2 things.  1)  Without CHRIST you can not have CHRISTmas.  & 2)  JESUS is the reason for the season.

Have a Merry CHRISTmas.


     

Today I viewed a video located below about Richard Dawkins calling Ray Comfort a serious and radical evangelist an idot because he refutes Darwinism.  At first it made me angry but then I realized that many people feel this way about Christians.  Jesus himself told us that if they called your master the prince of Devils what would they call you.  The scriptures also tell us that we are fools in the eyes of the world because of our faith in Christ.  I bet Moses was considered a fool for taking Israel out to the wilderness, or Abraham going to sacrifice his son, or David going to defeat a Giant, or Gideon Battling thousands with only 300 men.  Yet we know how all this ended.  The Promise, The Faith, The Victory.  So to all you fools and idots out there, GOD BLESS YOU for we know that God always has the last word.  
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/11/25/darwin.dawkins.evolution/?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+Dawkins&utm_content=harvestchristian%40cox.net&utm_campaign=Dawkins+Resorts+to+Name+Calling+%2F+Someone+Won+the+%2420%2C000

Persecution of Christians is a Reality - WAKE UP!

BY CHARLES COLSON...
Allow me to make a very direct statement. I believe it is time for the Church in this country to stand up for religious freedom.

Especially over the course of the last few years, we have seen repeated efforts—in the courts, in state legislatures, in Congress, and on Pennsylvania Avenue—to erode what has been called the first freedom: religious liberty.
It isn’t hard to cite numerous cases where Christian organizations and individuals have been singled out and punished for adhering to their faith.
In New Jersey, a Methodist camp lost its tax exempt status for refusing to hold a same-sex civil union ceremony. In California, Christian doctors were successfully sued for refusing to offer in-vitro fertilization procedures for a lesbian couple. Catholic Charities in Boston had to shut down its adoption services because it was being forced by the state to place children with same-sex couples.
The current health care bill has no protections for religious medical personnel or health care providers who, by reason of conscience, refuse to participate in abortions. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is gathering momentum in Congress. The bill would require even Christian-owned enterprises with more than 15 employees to hire those who do not share their faith.
The list could go on and on.
So why is religious freedom such a concern to us as Christians? Freedom of religion is called the first freedom for a reason. Our founding fathers recognized that without freedom of conscience, no other freedom can be guaranteed.
Christians, in fact, are the greatest defenders of religious freedom and human liberty—not just for Christians, but for all people. Compare religious freedom in those countries with a Christian heritage to the state of religious freedom in Islamic nations, communist countries, and Buddhist and Hindu nations, and you will see my point.
The reason that Christians place such a high value on human freedom is that freedom itself is part of the creation account in the Bible. God made humans in His image. He gave us a free will to choose to love, follow, and obey Him, or to follow our own way.
That free will, given us before the Fall, is part of human nature itself.
Perhaps more than anything else, it was this understanding of individual freedom that turned me into the kind of patriot who would willingly give his life for his country. It was the words of the Declaration of Independence that inspired me to join the Marines: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
So this question of human freedom goes to the very heart of who we are as Christians and as Americans.
So this Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, a statement signed 125 evangelical, Orthodox, and Catholic leaders will be released—an historic declaration on life, the family, and religious freedom.
And please, today, go to http://www.colsoncenter.org/ to view my Two-Minute Warning video on religious freedom. We will have some great resources for you. Then Friday at noon, we will have for you the declaration itself—probably the most important document I’ve ever signed.
The Church needs to understand the urgency of the hour and do its duty.

Living On Purpose

How many of us truly live on purpose?  Majority of the time we live our life doing things on accident.  We don't know half the time how we got where we are at, all we know is we sre here.  Living on purpose means that you make a CONSCIENCE effort and have a CONSCIENCE purpose in your life.  For example it is the person who gets up inthe morning and says "I WILL....." 
     Now let us direct that to God and say today, "I WILL...tell someone about Jesus.....Pray.....Read the Bible.....Help.." 
     Live on purpose for God. 

What Is A Revival?

     I am in the process of reading a book called, The World's Greatest Revivals.  I cannot tell you whether I am going to read it all the way but some of the material in there is not that bad.  This is why I thought I would like to talk about what makes a real revival.
      We have heard it all the time.  Come to our church, tent, home, event or whatso maybe because we are going to have a revival.  Have we taken this word and used so lightly.  Revival???  What is a Revival?  Is it a bunch of people excited for Jesus.  I believe a revival is something or event that has changed the church as a whole.  Pentecost.  That began and changed the church. Also Rome in 300 A.D.  the Bizantine Era.  Also the REFORMATION.  That is a revival.  The CRUSADES that is a revival.  A bad one but it still was one.  AZUSA was a revival.  The Revivals in England and So forth.  These are revivals that have changed the Church as a whole and thus have changed the world.  If we really look at these revivals we wil find one thing in common.  They were not based on the emotional hupla but rather on the deep theological issues of the church.  How we believe and what we believe in.  This is a true revival.  Not just full of emotions and shallow feelings.
      So when Pastors want to change the people of God maybe we should think about teaching them the truth rather than the emotion.  It is the spiritual truths that will change a people and nation.