All Of The Three Evils

In their book The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism, authors David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley contribute their respective expertise in evangelism and worship in an attempt to synthesize the two categories by showing each fundamental imperative of the Christian disciple to be integral to and an outflow of the other. The impetus for evangelism par excellence is the “great commission”

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

While the goal of Christian education and discipleship is spiritual formation of the new believer into a true disciple who makes other true disciples, this concept has been watered down in the American church today by emphasis on programs instead of progressive spiritual growth in every member’s life. There are many

In these brief three pages, there is a bold calling for spiritual authority, and ways friends of Jesus can authentically experience and acquire that authority. In the beginning, Anderson explained that spiritual authority is manifested from personal experiences and not “secondhand authorities” (pages 50-51). Next, he addressed certain characteristics that “make one fit to be a minister of the gospel” (pg. 51). Finally, he provided a glimpse on what it takes to be an Authentic Child of Light by walking well in the Light. In these three pages, I felt like Margaret Fall in which these words cut to my heart and I wept.

Subsequently, the church has a mission which is to go into all the nations making disciples, baptizing them, and to teach them to observe the ways of Christ as noted in Matthew 28:19-20. When looking at the differences between the missional model and the attractional model is the missional goes out to win the lost, and the attractional seeks to bring the lost in not focusing the cultural boundaries. Stetzer and Hirsch state, “Missional represents a significant shift in the way we understand the church. As the people of a missionary God, we are entrusted to participate in the world the same way He does—by committing to be His ambassadors.” In retrospect, Hirsch cites that, “The attractional model, which has dominated the church in the West, seeks to reach out to the culture and draw people into the church—what I call outreach and in-grab. But this model only works where no significant cultural shift is required when moving from outside to inside the church.” Both have their uniqueness, however, they are designed to seek and make disciples.

Tested in Every Way: the Catholic Priesthood in Today’s Church, written by Christopher Ruddy, is a report and at the same time a reflection on the Seventh Annual Cardinal Bernardin Conference which was held in the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX in 2003 . Ruddy reports the voices of academic and pastoral expertise sharing about the challenges and the identity of being a priest. Besides of giving a report, the book opens up and finishes with the Ruddy’s insightful reflections.

As Christians, we participate in God’s mission through our every activities. Just as God calls us to become a follower of Christ and spread the Good News, Junipero Serra, a franciscan teacher, devoted his life to carry out God’s will in others.He endured many challenges including his response to God calling, leaving behind his family and career to take on the life of a missionary. However, throughout his lifetime, Serra created nine missions and converted over 9,000 Native Americans into catholicism.God made us in his own image and likeness to be like Christ through our different abilities, choices, and faith. Therefore, I must be ready to accept God’s call of service, recognize the necessity of the Church, but also share my unique abilities and talents to help others.

Therefore, this is nothing new under the sun. This paper will reveal the analysis of four uniquely sought out churches and how they consider themselves as being missional. What is Missional? In Matthew 28: 16-20 tells us, “then the eleven disciples went

From the founding of the Society of Jesus to today, Jesuits have been charged to help souls in a heroic manner. This simple mission formed the catalyst and motivation for each Jesuit to engage the world around them while adhering to their founder's, Ignatius of Loyola's, call to "find God in all things," (Jesuits, 2014). At the core of Ignatian spirituality lies the realization that God is active in our everyday lives. Therefore, it is the goal of each Jesuit to be sensitive to God's call for their lives and respond to it. It was from this mindset that Jesuits engaged the world (Jesuits, 2014).

It’s no secret that the number of weekly Churchgoers has taken a serious hit, beginning in the late 1980’s and continuing to the current date. This is a global occurrence, although the US percentage has reached a point that some mainstream Churches’ are currently looking into alternative service techniques to fulfill the needs of its’ congregation, from web based services to video streaming. The current culture has caused most Churches to make a seismic shift in how they will do ministry in the future and it is due to a variety of reasons, but they all are connected with a person's’ time to commit to attending.

How can we tell how best to dedicate our lives to the common good in the modern age? In The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times, Dean Brackley joins a long tradition of interpretation of the writings of Saint Ignatius Loyola. Considering the Spiritual Exercises as the starting point for his model, Brackley seeks to recover the place of direct, supernatural, divine influence, particularly by the Holy Spirit, on the discernment of the believer. The spiritual challenges faced by followers of the Exercises have evolved in recent times, as has the Church’s recognition of existing challenges. In the spirit of The Second Vatican Council, he expands the interpretation to account for the experiences of both powerful and marginalized in an ever rushing world, always seeking to get ahead.

During nine years of pastoring in the United States, a new challenge presented itself. People attending the two churches he pastored struggled to find purpose and meaning in their busy lives. Purpose and meaning appear a common quest of people, whether they’re living impoverished in Africa or affluent in

Escobar understood that evolving cultures may not always be in line with traditional Christian beliefs. Missionary work needs to investigate each new situation for the best possible outcome of all involved. Escobar proposed a missionary work that assigns the bond faith with in its tasks. He hails the success of spiritual works as integral to a mission. The overall effort must bring forth the involvement of each person who desires to share their faith socially. The projected outcome would be a church able to combine its mission objective with the desire to share its faith with others.

This course has had a great impact on my walk with Christ as well as my witness for Christ. I pastor a church and teach two classes and for me I thought that I was doing plenty. However this course has helped rekindle my passion for sharing Jesus Christ with people through personal evangelism. This paper will demonstrate what I have learned throughout this course.

Furthermore, it is vitally crucial for the church leadership to clearly articulate its missional vision, which is to be embraced by the rest of the church’s community. The process of spiritual transformation starts from the invitation and continues through engagement and discipleship. This transformational process embodies the missional vision and the language for 'right now ' and 'here '. Surely, the church’s vision ought to be aligned with the missional attributes of the gospel itself, which are 'the good news is for everyone ' and 'belonging before believing '. Our witness should take place amidst relationship and listening. One principle that I consider to be exceptionally useful in my community is St. Patrick’s idea of Celtic Evangelism: establish community, engage in conversation, and invite commitment (2009, 101).