Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side church. Please feel free to follow along.
I just recently finished reading a new book by Vince Antonucci called Guerilla Lovers. In the book Vince relates the idea of evangelism to Guerilla Warfare. Now he realizes that we are not engaging in war with non-Christians, but does emphasize the point that our tactics should be similar to Guerilla Warfare. The book was an amazing approach to evangelism and one that is very practical. I strongly recommend reading the book.
While guerrilla warfare takes place secretively and sporadically it also requires a lot planning and tactics. That is very similar to the way our evangelism should be. There will be times when we are able to capitalize on random God given situations, but the majority of our evangelism should be planned out and targeted. One thing to remember is Paul’s concept of evangelism shown to use in today’ reading (Acts 26).
In today’s reading Paul is accused by Agrippa of trying to persuade him to be a Christian … “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” … Paul does not hide his motives but replies … “Short time or long – I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” Paul does not hide what he is trying to do. Paul is a Guerilla Lover, but at all times he is trying to bring people far from God into a relationship with Him.
I think sometimes we can cover our motives. We hide behind a bake sale, car wash, or serving at a food pantry to do evangelism, but along the way we do no evangelism at a fear of being offensive. We must be Guerilla Lovers, people tactfully planting gospel seeds, but we must not hide our motives … to bring people far from God into a relationship with Him. So, do you hide your motives, or are you out in the open with your purpose?
Showing posts with label Vince Antonucci. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vince Antonucci. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Not Easy
Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.
The Bible reading so far this year has not promised following Christ would be easy. Actually the more we have read, the more we have heard Jesus, Peter, Stephen, and even Paul talk about the hardships following Christ is going to call for. Today’s reading (Acts 20) is not any different.
It picks up with the ending of the riots in Ephesus. It concludes with Paul telling the Ephesian elders he will never see them again. In between Paul tells how the Holy Spirit has told him that prison and hardships are facing him. He shares that he is going to Jerusalem, and honestly does not know what he is going to face there. This man is legit. (I have been around my brother recently and this is his new word for everything, but it really works here.) The message of the cross is so important to Paul that he is willing to face prison, unknown hardships, and just plain nastiness just so he has the privilege and opportunity to spread the gospel. Paul is living dangerous.
The gospel we have read and the history so far of the early church point toward a faith that is living dangerous. It points toward a faith that is living on the edge. But does this faith resemble our churches today? I don’t know if I can say it does. So … how can we work to live on the edge a little more? How could our lives look a little more dangerous for Christ?
If you would like to read an awesome book on this you should check out Vince Antonucci's book Guerilla Lovers.
The Bible reading so far this year has not promised following Christ would be easy. Actually the more we have read, the more we have heard Jesus, Peter, Stephen, and even Paul talk about the hardships following Christ is going to call for. Today’s reading (Acts 20) is not any different.
It picks up with the ending of the riots in Ephesus. It concludes with Paul telling the Ephesian elders he will never see them again. In between Paul tells how the Holy Spirit has told him that prison and hardships are facing him. He shares that he is going to Jerusalem, and honestly does not know what he is going to face there. This man is legit. (I have been around my brother recently and this is his new word for everything, but it really works here.) The message of the cross is so important to Paul that he is willing to face prison, unknown hardships, and just plain nastiness just so he has the privilege and opportunity to spread the gospel. Paul is living dangerous.
The gospel we have read and the history so far of the early church point toward a faith that is living dangerous. It points toward a faith that is living on the edge. But does this faith resemble our churches today? I don’t know if I can say it does. So … how can we work to live on the edge a little more? How could our lives look a little more dangerous for Christ?
If you would like to read an awesome book on this you should check out Vince Antonucci's book Guerilla Lovers.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Check out Vince's Blog
So daily I check up to see what Vince Antonucci is doing as he starts a church in Las Vegas. I am excited about the ministry he is doing there. Today on his blog he announced one of the ways he is working to get the churches name into the community. You should check it out, the idea is great and very creative.
Jason and James do a great job with the video in what appears to be Norfolk, VA.
If you are looking for today's Bible reading go to the next post.
Jason and James do a great job with the video in what appears to be Norfolk, VA.
If you are looking for today's Bible reading go to the next post.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Pruned to be Persecuted?
So each day I follow a Bible reading plan used by Vince Antonucci. Today’s reading is found in John 15. As I was reading the passage three things stuck out to me. Jesus is talking to his disciples, who are twelve men living life with Jesus. In John 14 Jesus drops a bomb on them … eventually he is going to leave them and after he is gone the counselor is going to come.
Then in chapter 15 he compares himself to a vine, and God as the gardener. Any good gardener knows that to get healthy plants that bear much fruit there must be pruning taking place. Jesus says in Vs. 2 “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” As the passage reads on Jesus talks about loving his disciples, and that true love is found when one lays his life down for the other. That is just what Jesus is going to do. Then Jesus says in Vs. 16 “You did not choose me, but I choose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last.” Then the discussion takes a hard turn.
In the next part of this discussion Jesus then tells his disciples that they are going to get persecuted because they belong to Jesus. As they go out to teach and preach the good news in the coming days and years, they are going to face trials because of Jesus. At this point if I was one of the disciples I might want to raise my hand and be like the dead branch that gets cut off.
In essence what Jesus is saying to his disciples is this, I have picked you, loved you, taught you, and now once I leave God is going to prune you into something amazing, so that you can go out and be persecuted, maybe even killed in my name. What a tough calling. What a challenging calling. What a noble calling. Are we praying each day that God will prune us so that we will bear fruit that will last? Are we praying each day that God will prune us so that as we share Jesus name we might just be persecuted? What an honor that would be.
Then in chapter 15 he compares himself to a vine, and God as the gardener. Any good gardener knows that to get healthy plants that bear much fruit there must be pruning taking place. Jesus says in Vs. 2 “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” As the passage reads on Jesus talks about loving his disciples, and that true love is found when one lays his life down for the other. That is just what Jesus is going to do. Then Jesus says in Vs. 16 “You did not choose me, but I choose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last.” Then the discussion takes a hard turn.
In the next part of this discussion Jesus then tells his disciples that they are going to get persecuted because they belong to Jesus. As they go out to teach and preach the good news in the coming days and years, they are going to face trials because of Jesus. At this point if I was one of the disciples I might want to raise my hand and be like the dead branch that gets cut off.
In essence what Jesus is saying to his disciples is this, I have picked you, loved you, taught you, and now once I leave God is going to prune you into something amazing, so that you can go out and be persecuted, maybe even killed in my name. What a tough calling. What a challenging calling. What a noble calling. Are we praying each day that God will prune us so that we will bear fruit that will last? Are we praying each day that God will prune us so that as we share Jesus name we might just be persecuted? What an honor that would be.
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