The End Is Near...

Well, it's sad to even type it, but the end of our beloved evangelism class is near the end. We had a bit of a finale last night with a final outline review and then viewing Way of the Master DVDs.



For those of you who don't know what Way of the Master is--let me tell you, it's quite an organization.



Here's the good: They preach the gospel to the every day joe on the street. They witness and clearly define sin and its consequences. They are bold, confident and well-rehearsed. They know scripture backwards and forwards and can expertly lead a conversation toward just about any end goal of their choosing. They don't discriminate. They don't assume. They just preach.

Before I go on, I want to add a disclaimer that when watching their videos, it is obvious that they are edited. So I may not be giving them a fair shake and if anyone knows more about the organization (which should be just about everyone, because I know very little) then by all means--jump in!

Here's the bad: They're so well-rehearsed that it sometimes comes off a little too scripted. A little too method (for those with any acting experience.) While I think this can be good (I'm just thinking of myself who can tend to stumble and fumble around with my words when confronted with an evangelism opportunity,) they tend to come off as overly rehearsed and it appears to have a disingenuous effect to the viewing audience. Sort of like a Rogaine infomercial on steroids.



Here's the ugly: Their machine gun effect leads me to believe that their theology may not be well-grounded in the word of God that says salvation is from the Lord (Jonah 2:9). At times, they seem almost desperate to get every bit of rehearsed script out so as to get the whole, entire and complete version of their gospel in even though it seems that the person is no longer interested, could care less or has even gone into the irritation mode (Matthew 7:6). That kind of desperate pleading no longer shows the secure knowledge in sovereign grace (irresistible and perfect timing,) it seems to point to a more Arminian approach to things.

Another ugliness point is that their gospel version seemingly neglects a most important fact about God. That He is holy, perfectly holy and that is the standard by which every single person is judged. Every situation, every thought, every deed. They're heavy on sin, but light on holy, which means that people might walk away with a standard that is less than what the bible teaches. To me, if you're going to be heavy on something--the holiness and reverence of God should be right up there (Proverbs 1:7).

The final ugly is this. Scott and I watched a few videos later on that night and none, that we could see (again, editing has its privileges and pains) point people to the local church. A key, key fact. These people, if interested or seemingly approachable, need to be pointed to a good, sound doctrine church in their area. There could be a whole post on this, but I'll refrain.

Before I sound like I'm totally dogging the program, please see the 'good' section in this post. I do think there are a lot of redeemable qualities of the program and I readily admit that they are doing way more evangelism then I could accomplish in three lifetimes. Praise God for Way of the Master!

And then for the capping of the evening. If many of you have been wondering where in the world have all of the children gone while we sit for two hours discussing holiness, depravity and repentance... well, wonder no more. Our dear Pastor's wife, Lisa, committed her time and resources toward teaching our precious ones, the 7-day creation points of the bible. They sang songs, wrote poems and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. At least, I know my kids did and from the look on the faces of every child presenting their work for us to see, they all had a great time and learned some invaluable truths during it.

That's Lisa's heart. Our kids would glean as much from the night as we did.

Well, notice I said that the end is near but not over. That's right, jolly reader. We are not done. We have one more crucial night to go. This is the ultimate in roleplaying. The plan is to go out on the mean streets of West Hartford Center and evangelize. The Pound let loose to run amok! Think of it! :)

It scares the bajeebers out of me to even think of it, but I'm so happy that we have committed to it. We're as ready as we're going to be. Frank and Dave, our trainers extraordinaire, have made us ready for the kind of showing that the AKC could never even begin to put on...or judge.

Please pray for our team this next week and a half. Please pray that God will soften the hearts of all of those who "happen" to be there. Please pray that we will be bold, confident and memorized. Please pray that while nerves will make us weak, God's power will show to be the perfection it is (II Corinthians 12:9). It's exciting for this pack of strays brought into the glorious pound by our dear Master, to be purchased, groomed and sent into all the world.

Please tune in two weeks for the grandest finaliest (silly, I know) of them all....