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Evangelism

July 24, 2009 By Dannah 2 Comments

Evangelism is a hard topic for me. I’ll keep it short- since I know little about the subject. I hate to feel like someone is selling me salvation. I feel pressure when people think I don’t believe “correctly” and that if I don’t decide to believe a certain way I’m damned. The truth is, I don’t think it’s possible to force yourself to believe something right away.

On the other hand, I’m afraid that if I “sell it” incorrectly, that I really am leading someone astray. So I basically just avoid evangelism at all costs.

At this point the best thing I can do is to just live “out loud”, so to speak, so people will know that they can come to me if they have similar things going on in their lives, and I can tell them how God is working for me in my life. That’s about as far as I can go with my witness as of now.

Now for churches, I don’t know what the answer is except to be welcoming and encourage study, questions, and open discussion. And for members and clergy to practice what they preach, and do the best to live as an example of what God does in your life. In other words, represent well. That’s what people see I think more than power points or brochures.

Filed Under: Presbymergent Tagged With: Evangelism, Theology

Who is “My Jesus”

June 22, 2009 By Dannah 10 Comments

I call myself a Christian. I believe that Jesus was the son of God, as in that he was sent by God and that he fulfilled God’s destiny set for him. I have a hard time with literal interpretations of the story. I don’t know if I believe in the virgin birth, the physical resurrection, or in all of the miracles exactly as they were witnessed in the Bible. The trinity escapes me. I do believe Jesus is a part of God, but that he was separate while he was here. I believe he had the free will to not follow God’s wish for him, which is why he was tempted. And why he prayed to the father. He could have gone another way, which would make him a separate entity from God.

I definitely don’t believe that non-Christians are going to hell. I do believe in an afterlife, and consequence of one’s actions during life, but I don’t think God cares if people don’t quite get it. I do believe in God.

In order to stay on track with my faith, I can’t over think the theology behind it all. I feel like it loses meaning as I pick it apart. As far as the story of Christ goes, he was the son of God, came to teach about God, he did just that, he had the answers on how to live a life of faith, and we killed him for it. The resurrection to me represents his life and teachings surviving his crucifixion. Whether the corporal resurrection happened, I don’t believe or disbelieve. I think it’s not likely, but I do believe in the possibility of something happening. I can’t lie about believing it because to me that would be worse than questioning.

So, if I’m not in it for the miracles and the resurrection, and don’t really think Jesus was God Himself incarnated as a person, but that he was sent by God, then how can I call myself a Christian? My reason is because I choose to follow Jesus. I believe that living by the principles he taught is what he meant when he said “the only way to the father is through me.” I do believe he is the savior, in that he can forgive us and bring us to God. That is where my faith lies. I take my faith very seriously, and when I am on track with my faith my life is so much better. He was more than a prophet to me, and I do believe he was divine. He was also a teacher of how to live. If I follow his teachings, my bases are covered. I can live in peace, without bitterness, without undue worry, and in complete freedom spiritually. I am not by any means fully successful with this, but I am learning. I can apply his teachings to every question in my life.

Filed Under: Presbymergent