What guarantees the success of evangelism?
‘This view of the atonement guarantees the success of evangelism. God has a people who will be saved infallibly through the preaching of the Gospel. He has chosen them. Christ has died for them. And the Spirit will regenerate them through the message of salvation. This truth kept Paul going in the face of discouragement at Corinth (Acts 18:9–10), and it will keep us going on in our evangelistic efforts today — not only locally, but globally (Rev. 5:9).’
-Tom Ascol
Read it all here
(GSiV: Evangelism and Calvinism ; Arminianism; Atonement; Election ;
Earning vs effort: grace, justification, and sanctification; Salvation; Piper; TULIP)
Missionaries don’t need to be perfect
‘Missionaries don’t need to be superhuman. They don’t need to be flawless. They just need to know the Scriptures well enough to teach others. They need to be culturally flexible and moderately healthy. They need to have strong families or to be stable in their singleness. Not every missionary has experienced a specific and clear “calling.” You might miss an incredible opportunity if this stops you from considering the mission field. A lifetime of rich, indescribable blessing could lie ahead, and the Lord may use you to bring many people to himself!’
-Matt Rhodes, No Shortcut to Success, location 218
Read more here
(GSiV: Missions and Evangelism, Not Rapid)
Two Books on Missions
No Shortcut to Success: A Manifesto for Modern Missions by Matt Rhodes [February 15, 2022].
- “Trendy new missions strategies are a dime a dozen, promising missionaries monumental results in record time. These strategies report explosive movements of people turning to Christ, but their claims are often dubious and they do little to ensure the health of believers or churches that remain. How can churches and missionaries address the urgent need to reach unreached people without falling for quick fixes?”
Missions by the Book: How Theology and Missions Walk Together by Chad Vegas and Alex Kocman [January 1, 2022]. (Amazon ebook)
- “Across the church, there is a rift between theology and missions. Bad theology produces bad missions, and bad missions fuels bad theology.
“We wrongly think that we must choose between making a global impact and thinking deeply about the things of God. But the relationship between theology and missions is symbiotic—one cannot exist without the other. They walk hand-in-hand.”
(GSiV: Missions and Evangelism, Not Rapid)
Missionaries: Focus Less on Technique
‘The great need is for missionaries to focus less on technique or the latest missiological trend, and rely more on the ability to adapt and grow and share our faith while overcoming obstacles in a cross-cultural environment. This comes only from experience and maturity.’
Read the whole thing here
(GSiV:
Miller: Success, Failure, and Grace;
Church Growth, Planning, and Multiplication;
Starting Churches: Making Disciples; Missions and Evangelism; Phương pháp ‘Môn Đồ Hóa Dựa Trên Sự Vâng Phục’ là chủ nghĩa luật pháp phải không?)
Garrison and Church Planting Movements
‘Garrison tells a story of a brother who led a CPM in China and was committed to a minimum of two hours daily in prayer. I don’t agree with everything in the CPM model–nor am I going to prescribe a certain amount of time gospel workers must spend in prayer each day. Nonetheless, it’s evident that the Lord loves to mightily answer the prayers of his people.’
‘There’s much that we can learn from Garrison’s book. Unfortunately, many of its key arguments are built on weak exegesis, eisegesis, and logical fallacies. I could boil down my main concern to a few simple questions: Is our goal biblical fidelity or speed?’
Read the whole thing here
(GSiV:
Miller: Success, Failure, and Grace;
Church Growth, Planning, and Multiplication;
Starting Churches: Making Disciples;
Phương pháp ‘Môn Đồ Hóa Dựa Trên Sự Vâng Phục’ là chủ nghĩa luật pháp phải không?; Rapid)
“Thế Nào Là Một Hội Thánh Khỏe Mạnh?” 9Marks–Part 9
“What is a Healthy Church?”
Chương 9: Dấu Hiệu Quan Trọng Của Hội Thánh Khỏe Mạnh: Một Sự Hiểu Biết Dựa Trên Nền Tảng Kinh Thánh Về Chứng Đạo
‘Như vậy, chúng ta đã mô tả những Hội thánh khỏe mạnh khi được biểu thị bởi sự giảng giải kinh, thần học Thánh Kinh, và một sự hiểu biết dựa trên Kinh Thánh về Phúc âm và sự biến cải. Điều đó nghĩa là khi các Hội thánh không dạy Kinh Thánh và giáo lý đúng đắn thì họ sẽ trở nên suy yếu.
‘Một Hội thánh suy yếu trông như thế nào?’
-Mark Dever
Hãy đọc thêm
(GSiV:Ân điển, chứ không phải những quy tắc / Grace not rules; Unity)
numbers can distract us
‘However, impressive numbers can distract us from the reality that the work needed to carry the gospel to the least reached peoples and places will take long, slow, patient work.’
‘Jesus is coming quickly and the need is urgent. However, the motive of urgency by itself can become far too man-centered…The fuel for faithful and enduring gospel proclamation is not the urgent need of man but the exceeding worthiness and glory of God.’
‘For the missionary, success is not tied to speed or results but faithfulness to God and his Word.’
Read the whole thing here
(GSiV:
Miller: Success, Failure, and Grace;
Church Growth, Planning, and Multiplication;
Starting Churches: Making Disciples;
Phương pháp ‘Môn Đồ Hóa Dựa Trên Sự Vâng Phục’ là chủ nghĩa luật pháp phải không?; Rapid)
Idolatry, the immediate, and rapid church planting
‘The idolatrous desire for instant gratification exists in every ministry context, but it can acutely haunt church planters as we navigate the tension of an abundance of vision and a scarcity of resources.’
‘Impatience is the pride of thinking our timing is better than God’s.’
Read more here
(GSiV:
Debate about methods of church planting and discipling;
Unreached People Groups and Overemphasis on Speed;
A Plea for Gospel Sanity in Missions;
Dangerous Desire for Church Growth;
Miller: Success, Failure, and Grace;
Church Growth, Planning, and Multiplication;
Starting Churches: Making Disciples;
Phương pháp ‘Môn Đồ Hóa Dựa Trên Sự Vâng Phục’ là chủ nghĩa luật pháp phải không?; Rapid)
Chín Dấu Hiệu của Một Hội Thánh Khỏe Mạnh
Mark Dever’s, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway Books), 2001
| Giảng Giải Kinh | Preaching | Rao giảng trong sự giải thích |
| Thần Học Kinh Thánh | Biblical Theology | Thần học Kinh thánh |
| Tin Lành Cứu Rỗi | The Gospel | Một sự hiểu biết Kinh Thánh về tin lành |
| Sự Biến Cải | Conversion | Một sự hiểu biết Kinh Thánh về sự cải đạo |
| Truyền Giáo | Evangelism | Một sự hiểu biết Kinh Thánh về truyền giáo |
| Tư Cách Thành Viên Hội Thánh | Membership | Một sự hiểu biết Kinh Thánh về tư cách thành viên của hội thánh |
| Kỷ Luật Hội Thánh | Discipline | Một sự hiểu biết Kinh Thánh về kỷ luật trong hội thánh |
| Môn Đồ Hóa Trong Hội Thánh | Discipleship | Một sự hiểu biết Kinh Thánh về môn đệ hoá và tăng trưởng |
| Lãnh Đạo Hội Thánh | Leadership | Một sự hiểu biết Kinh Thánh về lãnh đạo trong hội thánh |
(GSiV: Thế Nào Là Một Hội Thánh Khỏe Mạnh?; Tin Lành Là Gì?; GSiV Resource Page)
Missions: Success, faithfulness, rapid, deception
‘Let’s be honest: faithfulness is not the first synonym that springs to mind when we hear the word success.
‘Over the past 20 years, a proliferation of new missionary methods has shifted the definition of missionary success. Increasingly, I meet missionaries for whom success seems to be one thing: a rapid movement of exponential, numerical growth in converts or gatherings. These aren’t just folks trying to take a shortcut—many are unwittingly on a different road altogether. Other missionaries may aim to obey God through faithful evangelism, serious discipleship, and patient church planting. Yet these “movement missionaries” tend to look down on such small goals.’
-Andy Johnson
Read more here
(GSiV:
Debate about methods of church planting and discipling
Unreached People Groups and Overemphasis on Speed
A Plea for Gospel Sanity in Missions
Dangerous Desire for Church Growth,
Miller: Success, Failure, and Grace,
Church Growth, Planning, and Multiplication,
Starting Churches: Making Disciples,
Phương pháp ‘Môn Đồ Hóa Dựa Trên Sự Vâng Phục’ là chủ nghĩa luật pháp phải không?,
Weak Missionaries?
- ‘My value as a servant of God is not based on my output or accomplishments. Rather, I find my security, refreshment, and fruitfulness when I depend on Christ.’
- ‘God is not impressed with how many churches I’ve planted or how regularly I send out prayer letters. My status before God is not dependent on the number of people I’ve discipled or the consistency of my devotions. But abiding in Christ is a relationship of loving obedience. He simply desires that I do what he commands me today.’
-Brian Pate
Read the whole thing here
(GSiV: “Success” and Missions: G. Aylward;
Tin Lành Là Gì? của Ông Gilbert
NỘI DUNG
- Tìm Kiếm Tin Lành Trong Kinh Thánh
- Đức Chúa Trời Là Đấng Tạo Hóa Công Bình
- Con Người Tội Lỗi
- Chúa Jesus Christ Đấng Cứu Rỗi
- Đáp Ứng – Đức Tin Và Ăn Năn
- Vương Quốc
- Giữ Vững Thập Tự Giá Ở Trung Tâm
- Quyền Năng Của Tin lành
Lời Tri Ân Đặc Biệt
Kinh Thánh Phụ Lục
-Greg Gilbert, Tin Lành Là Gì? / What is the Gospel? (Amazon; PDF)
QUYỀN NĂNG CAO CẢ CỦA ĐỨC CHÚA TRỜI Ở VIỆT NAM (Ê-phê 1:4-5) 