Professor Barrs is one of the best teachers I’ve ever listened to. Took his classes at Covenant when I could — download them all the time.

My interaction with a couple resources mentioned.

We are looking at the curriculum for Two Ways to Live. The DVD has some good dramatized conversations with examples of positive, negative, and confused responses. Our Crusade students find it a good alternative to their stuff.

Our university students are also using the Capitol Hill Baptist Church version of Christianity Explained for some one one one mentoring with the lost. There is a former Catholic who is a member of our church who is using it with her younger sister who is still in High School. Feedback has been positive.

A question: what place does discipleship have in your presentation of the Gospel?

I was wondering if you had an opinion on Evangelism Explosion. There are some people at our church who want to do it. While not terribly familiar with it, what I’ve seen seems kind of canned. It also seems to assume a Judeo-Christian worldview(in your sudience) which may have been more common 50 years ago, but is not so today.

Any thoughts you – or anyone – may have would be appreciated.

I used gospel tracts for many years as seeds. I also have moved away from using tracts and some of the canned presentations with the diagnostic questions for many of the same reasons.

#7 – Helpful insight – thanks!
#13 – “I loath the kind of Christ-absent preaching that dominates so many messages.” You are a man after my own heart!

Thanks again.

te

you say you bank heavily on the intrinsic knowledge of the fall – so do i. in fact, i think that approach is the most genuine and non-argumentative i’ve found. however, just a question (especially with your involvement with many kinds of students):

how do you approach someone with a very humanistic worldview (i.e. someone who does not accept the fall and any inherint problems with humanity)?

for glory…
steve

True Sydney disagree strongly with Tom Wright on justification, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t think he was great on questions about the historical Jesus, evidence for the resurrection, etc.

I work for Matthias Media, the people who publish Two Ways to Live. David Mackay is right (hi David!), Phillip Jensen, the dean of St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney wrote Two Ways to Live. He’s not a supporter of the views of NT Wright, so it would be surprising if this was an influence. Graham Goldsworthy is a more likely candidate (author of Gospel and Kingdom), although Phillip himself is a sharp theological thinker.

The Two Ways to Live Gospel outline was written in 1979, and used in follow-up training for the Billy Graham crusade in Sydney that year.

Anyway, thank you for your positive review!

The same is true with Jesus’ summary of the Law in “Love the Lord Your God with all… etc.” I use it as a diagnostic, with my real goal to be the conviction of the Holy Spirit that we were made FOR love and TO love. (Exciting!)

Yes, I am using a similar approach when I preach. It was only a few years ago that I realised my approach to Christianity as solely “forgiveness” based was leaving me cold and dry, and others as a result. My generation and younger do not easily accept the authority of Law that does not stem from relationship. Love is now central to my understanding of Christianity: it is love that motivates God; it is love behind the Law; it is love seen in the cross; it is love that people need – even when they don’t realise it.

Also, while writing some devotionals for 1 Corinthians 13 I realised that all sin comes from a desire for love (hence love being the opposite of all the negatives listed) – an unpopular idea among many Christians, but it is merely another biblical perspective on sin: we look to secure love for ourselves in everything other than God. Once loved by God, we can love others and so fulfill the Law.

This is also why I have started to explore the relationship between love and glory. One view of God is that His glory is the most important thing to Him; another is that He is love and love is the foremost reason for His actions in history. I agreed with both, but couldn’t see how they worked together…

Ok, I’m getting carried away…

Thanks for your explanation on how you approach evangelism – I not only agree with your approach, there are things I can consider and learn from.

I haven’t heard Mr Jensen mention Tom Wright, but most Sydney Anglicans do not have a good word to say about him, despite the fact that he recently was a guest at Moore College, Sydney Anglican Theological College.

I would staggered if TWTL has been influenced in any way by Wright. For one thing, it must be about 20 years old, I would guess.

Thank you for taking the trouble to share so many insightful posts with Christians across the globe. I especially enjoyed How God Ruined Church For Me.