{"id":4258,"date":"2024-12-31T15:21:26","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T15:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthreallymatters.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=4258"},"modified":"2024-12-31T15:32:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T15:32:08","slug":"evangelize-truthfully-yet-gently-1-1-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/truthreallymatters.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=4258","title":{"rendered":"Evangelize truthfully, yet gently – 1\/1\/2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Gospel is the greatest gift we can give to the world.\u00a0 This is why the Lord cares how we deliver it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This thought moved Preston Perry to publish his recent (2024) book, How to Tell the Truth:\u00a0 The story of how God saved me to win hearts \u2013 not just arguments.<\/em>\u00a0 His wife, Jackie Hill Perry, wrote the forward, encouraging Christian readers to overcome their fears about evangelism:\u00a0 \u201cFear wears many faces.\u00a0 Some of us are afraid to engage the world with the truth of God\u2019s gospel because we\u2019re afraid of confrontation.\u201d\u00a0 Others fear for their reputation or even livelihood.\u00a0 Some use the excuse of never having learned to explain the Gospel.\u00a0 She concludes, \u201cWhatever the cause, fear has to die for dead people to learn how to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

I heartily recommend this short book.\u00a0 Preston is a winsome author, easy to read.\u00a0 He relates his salvation story, growing up on the South Side of Chicago, just a few miles from where I grew up, many years before.\u00a0 (Although his neighborhood was far more dangerous than mine.)\u00a0 I also recommend you download my free ebook on Evangelism from the free ebookstore on this site.<\/p>\n

Perry\u2019s approach to starting conversations with lost people is simple enough, often starting with a question like, \u201cHey.\u00a0 Do you believe in God?\u201d\u00a0 He professes a deep burning within to share the Gospel with those who don\u2019t know it.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 \u201cImagine walking around every day of your life, and all you see are people dying of thirst, but you know where they can get free water.\u00a0 In fact, the person who has free water has given you<\/em> access to the water.\u201d\u00a0 The hard part, though, is that they don\u2019t know they\u2019re dying . . . or even that they\u2019re thirsty.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the frustrating thing about one-to-one (121) evangelism in America.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m good!\u201d is the universal mantra, with both meanings attached:\u00a0 They\u2019re both content with whatever they think is their spiritual condition, and also they are convinced they are \u2018good\u2019 \u2013 righteous \u2013 in God\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 The Gospel, of course, is intended to save sinners; nobody likes to think of himself as a sinner.\u00a0 That\u2019s one of the challenges.<\/p>\n

Perry wants to convince Christians to discard combative methods.\u00a0 I certainly share his distaste for contentious methods; they are counter-productive, unpleasant, stressful, and worst of all . . . they are unhelpful.\u00a0 \u201cSharing our faith is not about winning arguments; it\u2019s about winning hearts . . . (we must engage) the world around us with truth, dignity, and respect.\u201d\u00a0 He cites Jesus\u2019 teaching in Matthew 10:16 that we should be \u201cwise as serpents, and harmless as doves.\u201d\u00a0 Namely we should be cunning in strategy, employing wisdom with a quiet calmness.<\/p>\n

Absolutely.\u00a0 Yet I don\u2019t think that combativeness is the big problem; the big problem is apathy.\u00a0 Few Christians try to reach souls.\u00a0 My experience is that it is about as difficult to convince Christians to get busy in 121 work as it is to convince adult lost people to repent and to put their faith in Christ.<\/p>\n

Preston\u2019s personal conversion story is worth the price of the book, but I won\u2019t try to summarize it here.\u00a0 You\u2019ll enjoy it when you get the book.\u00a0 After his conversion he quickly became known for his zeal in sharing his new faith.\u00a0 For some years he led his church in street evangelism.\u00a0 \u201cWe would walk up to people we didn\u2019t know and start conversations about God.\u201d\u00a0 In \u2018the hood\u2019 there was quite a variety of JWs, Mormons, and Hebrew Israelites, who also were zealous about sharing their <\/em>faith.<\/p>\n

Hebrew Israelites are a fast-growing group in America, with a strong appeal among Black millennials and Gen Zers.\u00a0 They believe they are direct descendants of the early Israelites, sold into African slavery, with multi-generational suffering because their ancestors broke God\u2019s Ten Commandments.\u00a0 Their focus is on the Old Testament.\u00a0 Christianity is a false religion to them.\u00a0 Perry reports a lot of anger in the Hebrew Israelite community, angry about slavery and perceived injustices.\u00a0 Some believe that white people cannot be saved.\u00a0 Perry recommends that we see these folks as individuals with stories.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to get to know them.<\/p>\n

To contend \u2018rightly,\u2019 especially with those in religious cults, Perry argues that you must avoid anger or defensiveness;\u00a0 after all, \u201cGod loves these people and wants to reach them.\u201d\u00a0 And we are His instruments to reach them.<\/p>\n

Early on, in a public confrontation with a (so-called) Jehovah\u2019s Witness, he grew frustrated because he knew <\/em>what John was saying about Jesus was wrong, but he had not learned yet to contend on the subject.<\/p>\n

He dove into research:\u00a0 \u201cI was a furnace burning with zeal and passion.\u00a0 I felt like there was so much I needed to learn.\u201d\u00a0 He observes that a Christian sharing his faith is an evangelist.\u00a0 As soon as you get a question or an objection, \u201cboom \u2013 you\u2019re an apologist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preston met with John regularly and learned to argue <\/em>with him, sometimes quite successfully \u2013 in his own eyes, anyway.\u00a0 Preston\u2019s mentor and friend, Gary, had to remind him that the objective was not to beat him in a fight, but to win his heart for the Lord.\u00a0 The admonition humbled Preston.<\/p>\n

Perry notes that when most people think about apologetics, the key word is knowledge<\/em>.\u00a0 Yes, to be an effective witness we must know Scripture and use Scriptural arguments to defend the faith.\u00a0 But perhaps the key word in apologetics, suggests Preston, is love<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Perry notes that Jesus did not merely preach facts and doctrine.\u00a0 He asked questions, told stories, prayed with people, ate with them, and spent time with them.\u00a0 In short, he loved <\/em>them.\u00a0 We should be careful to not be the reason someone rejects the Gospel . . . the Gospel will often be rejected, but it must be presented in the right package, which includes our own demeanor and personality.<\/p>\n

Preston admits that when he first presented the truth to his JW friend, John, he offered it in a garbage bag.\u00a0 John rejected Preston more than he rejected truth.\u00a0 \u201cThe truth of the Gospel is offensive enough.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to add to the offense with our bad conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let your pride murder your message.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Preston went back to John and confessed that he didn\u2019t want to argue anymore.\u00a0 He wanted to get to know John . . . personally.\u00a0 And so they talked.\u00a0 John had been hurt by a church, hurt by Christians.\u00a0 He found refuge with the JWs, but his JW worldview was not derived from a search for truth, but a personal revulsion to \u2018professing\u2019 Christians and their alleged faith.<\/p>\n

Perry recommends asking questions to engage with people, not just to buy time for building your next argument, but to genuinely get to know where people are coming from, \u201cwhat\u2019s in their hearts, what they worry about, what they fear, what they doubt, and what they desire.\u201d\u00a0 If we are invested in someone\u2019s life, they will sense it and, hopefully, be more open.\u00a0 In cold-turkey street or door-to-door evangelism, this is a mighty challenge.\u00a0 But if we do care, we can make a difference even in a few minutes, trusting the Holy Spirit to carry the ball forward that only He can carry.<\/p>\n

In my (free ebookstore) book, One Heartbeat from Hell, Plus Eleven other Compelling Reasons to Become a Christian<\/em>, I offer a dozen different major-league reasons to become a Christian.\u00a0 Ultimately, the common thread is that we all must recognize and repent from our sins and trust Christ for salvation, but underlying motivations often vary.\u00a0 For me it was an overwhelming desire to find meaning in life, desperate that we must be more than mere animals, more than clumps of molecules bumping along.\u00a0 That desperation drove me to be open to the Gospel message.\u00a0 I had to find the Gospel to be TRUE, of course, but I had to have a purpose to bother to go look to see if TRUTH even existed.<\/p>\n

Preston was once engaged with a young homosexual, overcome by postmodernism, who believed that we are our own god.\u00a0 Preston asked, \u201cOkay, Trevon, help me understand something.\u00a0 You\u2019re a gay rights activist, right?\u00a0 Well, if we are all our own god and we live according to our own standards, how are you able to argue against the person who believes homosexuality is wrong.\u00a0 I mean, what happens when your worldview bumps into mine and we disagree?\u00a0 If we\u2019re both our own god, how do we decide who\u2019s right and who\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he waited, instead of preaching or quoting Scripture or embellishing more and more arguments.\u00a0 He asked, and waited, recognizing that Preston cannot possibly convert Trevon.\u00a0 Trevon has to open up Trevon and the Holy Spirit has to do transactional business in Trevon\u2019s heart.\u00a0 Wisdom is knowing when to get out of the way.\u00a0 Perry:\u00a0 \u201cSome stuff, though, people need to figure out for themselves, because that\u2019s what makes it stick.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about conversations that don\u2019t go anywhere?\u00a0 I\u2019m glad Perry addresses that oh-so-common scenario.\u00a0 Most books on evangelism don\u2019t.\u00a0 If the guy\u2019s eyes wander, or he starts scrolling through his phone, or fidgets, etc., you\u2019re done.\u00a0 Perry suggests you thank them for their time and say you enjoyed speaking with them and hope they will think about it.\u00a0 He sometimes gives them his cell number.\u00a0 He should<\/em> give them a tract with contact information!\u00a0 That\u2019s what I do.\u00a0 In fact, I start conversations by offering one or more of my own tracts (ThinkTracts.com<\/a>) so they\u2019ve already got a followup opportunity, even if the conversation goes nowhere.<\/p>\n

Trevon admitted he did not have an answer for the question.\u00a0 So Preston gave him a quick explanation of the Gospel, thanked him for his time, and let him go.\u00a0 Just right.<\/p>\n

Perry has a good bit to say about reaching out to family members, which is often far more challenging than talking to strangers.\u00a0 His grandmother\u2019s godly witness to him for years before Preston became a believer was a key factor in his conversion.\u00a0 In my free ebook on Evangelism I include advice on how to share with your relatives.\u00a0 If you have unbelieving family members \u2013 most Christians do \u2013 give it a read.<\/p>\n

Perry camps on the doctrine that God, Himself, plays the principal role in reaching people.\u00a0 Citing Hebrews 12:2, he observes that God calls people to Himself (see also John 12:32-33), and God is the finisher that follows through after us.\u00a0 We, the evangelists, are just one step in the process . . . but the entire process belongs to God.\u00a0 Listen to some conversion stories.\u00a0 The process often takes years and includes many way stations along the journey.\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to be the trigger-puller.\u00a0 You might create a still-born \u2018professing Christian\u2019 who is henceforth inoculated against the Gospel.<\/p>\n

Finally, Perry implores Christians to not be cowards, whom he equates with the \u2018fearful\u2019 of Revelation 21:8, lumped in with the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars . . . none of whom will inherit the kingdom of God.\u00a0 Having so little concern about the souls of others so as to avoid sharing the Gospel, as a regular part of the Christian life, may well indicate a \u2018Christian life\u2019 that is self-deceived . . . a false convert, destined for the Lake of Fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoldness isn\u2019t about doing what you are afraid to do.\u00a0 It\u2019s about doing what God is telling you to do.\u00a0 Boldness is more about obedience than being fearless before people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>If you must be scared when you witness, do it scared.\u00a0 If it\u2019s hard to give tracts to strangers, do it hard.\u00a0 If that\u2019s all the Cross we are called upon to share with our Lord and Savior, can\u2019t we do at least that?<\/p>\n