The Gospel or Nothing! -- Suicide

Suicide is a serious issue. Today, it’s a crisis in our country. It’s a topic that needs discussed, especially in light what the gospel says about hope and suicide. In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Jared Jenkins and Bryan Catherman discuss how we need to look at suicide in light of the truth of the gospel. Listen to this episode, “The Gospel of Nothing: The Gospel and Suicide” here:

If you are wrestling with the thought of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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The Reluctant Witness by Don Everts

Don Everts' new book, The Reluctant Witness: Discovering the Delight of Spiritual Conversations (IVP, 2019)is a beautiful addition to the on-going conversation about personal evangelism. It’s also a solid work for the Church that’s called to engage with those who are far from Jesus (which is every local church, everywhere, as their part in the body of the universal Church). Everts is vulnerable in his examples, informative as he interprets the research, and helpful as he offers things to think about and some tips for engaging in spiritual conversations. This is a great book for personal reading but even better for a small group, book club, or church study.

The meat and potatoes of the book are the research from a combined project with the Barna Research Group and Lutheran Hour Ministries. In 1993, a study was conducted to understand spiritual conversations better. It was a robust project and extremely insightful. But what's more insightful is that they repeated the research 25-years later to look at the trends and changes. It is this 25-year project that forms the foundation for the book. Everts looks at all sorts of data and offers a cornucopia of insight.

Here's a short video look at the book:

I highly recommend the Reluctant Witness: Discovering the Delight of Spiritual Conversations. Purchase your copy wherever you buy your favorite books or follow this link to the Amazon listing: https://amzn.to/2NrIBBt.

What is a Healthy Church? by Mark Dever

Mark Dever is known for his passion for healthy local churches. His ministry is marked by this passion. 9Marks, a para-church ministry he founded and leads, is all about teaching churches how to be healthy. Dever believes there are three essential marks that any healthy church must have and 6 more that are extremely important. Miss any of the three vital ones and there’s not much chance of getting the other 6 right. But when all nine marks are working in concert, even if not strongly, there’s a good possibility that a local church will be healthy and continuing on a path toward greater health.

Sadly, many churches in America are sick. An examination of most of them will likely reveal that one of the first three marks is missing. But if not one of the vital three, than there’s a good chance one of the other six is not treated as important and absent from the church.

In his book What is a Healthy Church? (Crossway, 2005), Dever explores why these marks are essential (the first 3), or at least important (the remaining 6). He examines the heart of the believer in regard to finding a church with these healthy marks and seeking a life that includes church health. Then, in the second half of this short book, Dever discusses each of the 9 marks of a healthy church.

This is not the only book or only place to explore these 9 marks with Mark Dever. He’s written other books, most notably, 9 Marks of a Healthy Church. The 9Marks ministry has also written booklets on each of the marks and the’ve produced scores of short videos. There’s also a Ligonier ministry series on the same topic. Dever hosts annual conferences focused on church health and he speaks about these 9 specific marks often. However, this little book serves as a easy introduction to the topic and a great overview. As an added bonus, it’s an encouraging, fun read.

Here’s a video recommendation for What is a Healthy Church?:

I highly recommend this book for anyone calling him or herself a Christian. Purchase this book wherever you buy your favorite books or simply follow this like to pick up a copy from Amazon.

Is Worshiping Church Size a Silent False-Gospel? Yeah, Probably.

We American Christians are going to have a jolting shock when we arrive in paradise with Jesus. What a surprise when we finally learn that bigger doesn't always mean better, or more effective.

There it was again, the denomination’s "best" churches list. Only this time, they replaced the word "best" with the words, "most effective." The headline read, "Tracking the fastest growing churches gives us a glimpse into some of the most effective ministry work in America."

How do we measure this?

In the cast of the article, the speed at which the crowd got bigger each week was king. What's more "effective"? A church in a community of 10,000,000 people baptizing 400 people or the only church, a church-plant in fact, baptizing 390 people in a population of 400? (This isn't any specific situation, but one for us to consider.)

What about the church in say, Provo, Utah where .5% of the population is evangelical Christian, and nearly everyone else is Mormon? Resources are very limited, seminary interns in short supply, and nearly zero churches or church buildings. It's incredible when they plant another church or two. It's remarkable when they start another worship service in another language to reach new refugees. But how do we compare this church with a church in Texas or Georgia that grew from 20,000 to 25,000 attendees on a Sunday? I suspect we're not seeing these situations with the same eyes God sees these two churches. Both are worth praising the Lord for, but what are we doing comparing the different ways God's working with "best" and "most effective" lists? Something might be missing. Something might be wrong. And who are we to compare the various things God is doing in various places in a way that puts one on the top of a “hey look at us” list?

What do we do with the underground house-church in a hostile Muslim country where 80% of the 32 members have served time in jail for their faith? The church might have tripled in size except 67 new converts were martyred this year. (Again, this is not any specific church but an example for us to think about.)

Some time ago, I was sitting in a training meeting with a popular seminary-trained author-consultant. He kept saying, "We've looked at the best churches in the world, and this is what they're doing." When asked which churches, he was quick to say the top in size. And all of them located in the American Bible Belt. During the break, he and I were talking. I suggested that he consider calling those churches the biggest (or larger) rather than the best. Size might be a fact, but best is a qualitative statement that depends on what we decide to measure. He looked at me like I had just had a second nose emerge above my eyebrows. It was as if there were no other possible qualifiers.

When I read Hebrews 11, I wonder what the Pharisees would think of the list. It's the hall of faith. It's a "best" list, made by God. But it's full of foreigners, last born, women, and sinners. There's a prostitute in the list, for crying out loud! And some of these folks didn’t get but one or two verses in the entire Bible. Yet, that’s God’s list. It doesn’t look like God’s using the same criteria we might use if we made a “Most Faithful Christians of 2019” list. I wonder if we're thinking about the "best" and "most effective" churches in the way God thinks? I wonder.

Inside the UISBC: Why Get Involved?

Jared Jenkins and Bryan Catherman sat down with Cory Hodges, Travis Best, Gary Brown, Matt McGukin, and Rob Lee to discuss the UISBC and why there’s value in getting involved. They discussed some things that happen and the various meetings throughout the year and how people can get into opportunities for leadership. Even in you’re not in Utah or Idaho or even Southern Baptist, there’s a lot of great information here and it was a great discussion. Listen to this special episode of Salty Believer Unscripted here:

You can find more info about the UISBC Annual Meeting and Pastor’s Conference by visiting the UISBC website. Here’s more about the Idea’s Lunch too:

Register for the Ideas Lunch here.

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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Unscripted: "The Gospel and Politics"

On this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Bryan Catherman and Jared Jenkins explore how the gospel should inform our thinking and actions when it comes to politics. Our hope should not rest in politics, but in Christ. But what does that look like, practically? That’s the topic of our series, “The Gospel or Nothing!” and we drill down into that in this episode. Listen to “The Gospel and Politics” here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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Unscripted: Suffering and Medical Challenges

How does the gospel of Jesus Christ speak into suffering and medical challenges? Guest, Matt McGukin join us on Salty Believer Unscripted to discuss how the gospel impacts life and decisions in the think of suffering and medical challenges. It would be easy to rest and wallow in brokeness but Jesus makes a way for us to find freedom, even in suffering. Bryan Catherman chats with Matt about how the gospel transforms his situation and thinking in all of this family’s medical challenges. Listen to this episode in our series “The Gospel of Nothing!” This episode is titled, “Suffering and Medical Challenges,” and you can listen by following the link, using the player below, or listening wherever you listen to podcasts.

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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Unscripted: "What Does the UISBC President Do?"

Matt McGukin is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He’s also serving his second term as the President of the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention (UISBC). It’s volunteer role, but what does the President of the Convention do? What is this position responsible for? What’s it like? What’s involved? How much time does it take? What’s Matt think about it?

In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Bryan Catherman continues in our broken series, “Inside the UISBC” as he chats with Matt McGukin on the topic of the role and responsibility of the UISBC President. Chances are good that this podcast might clear up some wrong thinking or stereotypical thinking about this position and role. Listen to “What Does the UISBC President Do?” here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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What People are Saying about The Approved Workman

The Approved Workman: Developing Faithful Disciples into Tested Leaders has been available for a while. Pastors, seminary professors, and denominational leaders have looked at the book as a training tool. A couple churches have adopted it has their plan for developing interns, future pastors, missionaries, and church planters. An upcoming pastor’s conference has selected this book to give to all the attending pastors. And Bryan continues to use it to disciple and train up a co-vocational pastor.

What are people saying at The Approved Workman?

"I recommend this work by Dr. Catherman as a training and resourcing tool for anyone wanting to go through ministry training in an internship format. While living and working in Salt Lake City, I was blessed to get to know Dr. Catherman, learn about him as a person, experience his heart for the lost, and see his desire for discipleship grow over the years. I have seen Dr. Catherman train and lead interns first-hand and cannot recommend him, or this resource, highly enough. Thanks be to God for leading him to write this material and make it available."

Travis S. Kerns, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Apologetics and World Religions
Roy Fish School of Evangelism & Missions, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

"The Christian life unfolds on the canvas of conversation. This resource is full of conversation starters, topics, and guided experiences that are essential for expanding the knowledge and skills necessary for ministry success. Use this trench-tested resource as a conversation guide to build others up and pave a pathway for fruitful ministry."

Warren Haynes, D.Min
Author of Discipleship Uncomplicated

"I was a husband and father with a full-time job when I felt God's call to co-vocational ministry on my heart. My circumstances made going to a full-time seminary a difficult option for my family and me. Enter: The Approved Workman. This book has given me a clearly defined seminary-level road-map that I can utilize in a "boots-on-the-ground" environment with a qualified field-mentor to help keep me accountable. What an incredible resource for training up indigenous pastors!"

Josiah Walker
Co-Vocational Pastor (In Training)
Grocery Store General Manager and Store Director

"I was overjoyed to see this project in print! What a timely work that brings mentor and disciple together assisting in the process of raising up approved workmen for the church. The Approved Workman provides a great customizable roadmap for training lay leadership all the way to preparing for ordination."

Jared Jenkins, Ph.D. Candidate
Pastor of Missions and Discipleship, Risen Life Church

"The Approved Workman is a resource to address a critical need in the kingdom and especially in Utah in raising up laborers in the field. Bryan has put together a great resource to help church leaders disciple those considering the call to ministry and those seeking a deeper faith. The resources in the bibliography will help you in considering how to assist others in becoming an approved worker in the Kingdom. As he shares, this is a template that is just a starting spot that helps those wanting to assist others but have no plan for how to raise up multiplying disciples." 

Rob Lee, D.Min Candidate
Executive Director-Treasurer, Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention

"For far too long, pastors have leaned on academic institutions and seminaries to do the work of training and raising up pastors when, in fact, the Scriptures make it clear that the primary responsibility ought to fall on the local church.  The Approved Workman gives us a valuable, flexible roadmap that is practical accessible and biblical so that pastors who desire to make disciples that in turn make more disciples may have some basic structure to facilitate disciple-making! What a thoroughly helpful resource!"

Scott Catoe
Pastor, Slater Baptist Church
Church Health Strategist, South Carolina Baptist Convention

"The call to follow Christ is also a call to make disciples by teaching, training, modeling, and mobilizing them to fulfill the Great Commission. Through years of on the ground training and learning, Dr. Catherman has developed a credible and practical guide full of resources to obey that call. The Approved Workman is holistic, reproducible, and adaptable for any lay leaders, pastors, or church planters who desire to effectively train and develop any disciple in their next step in following Jesus."

Brett Ricley
Pastor of Discipleship, The Mission Church

"Dr. Bryan Catherman has put together a tremendous resource for Pastors who are looking to raise up and train future leaders in the church. This book serves as a much-needed reminder that the primary task of Pastors is to equip the Saints for the work of the ministry. Have you ever wanted to personally disciple someone called into the ministry or the mission field, but didn’t know where to start? This book is a great tool to jumpstart the journey and even measure your progress along the way."

Matt McGukin
Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church
President of the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention

"Maybe pastors should stop and consider an alternative before immediately sending a prospect for ministry to Seminary. The Approved Workman by Bryan Catherman is a resource chalked with strategic markers to guide a pastor for ministry discipleship. Bryan, in his book, masterfully equips the trainer and his apprentice with tools that can open the doors for successful ministry. Seminary may still be an option down the road but pastor and student will be sure to benefit as a result of following Bryan’s blueprint for The Approved Workman."

Mike Clements, D.Min
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Floresville  

"Bryan Catherman has provided a needed and helpful resource to help churches and leaders raise up the next generation of leaders. The material is carefully biblical and intentionally flexible for users to fit specific contexts among Bible-believing churches, pastors, leaders, and learners."

Michael W. Waldrop, Ph.D.
Pastor, Desert Ridge Baptist Church
Former Associational Missions Director, Calhoun Baptist Association, Calhoun City, MS
2014 UISBC Pastors' Conference President

Unscripted: "When We Disagree About the Gospel"

On Salty Believer Unscripted, we’re talking about how the gospel should inform us about everything. But what happens when we have disagreements about what the Gospel is? What if we interpret the Bible differently? Why do Christians fight about the gospel? Is it possible that our arguments are more about our false escape plans our of our brokenness?

In this episode, Josiah Walker and Bryan Catherman discuss gospel disagreements and how we should approach these disagreements. They include doctrinal differences, differences to approach, and even differences of false gospels. Listen to this episode, “What We Disagree About the Gospel” here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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Unscripted: The Gospel or Nothing! -- Worry

Josiah Walker joined Bryan Catherman on Salty Believer Unscripted to talk about how the gospel speaks into worry. Using the Gospel Conversation Guide (often called The Three Circles), they talk about how the gospel should relieve our worry and the brokeness we feel because of worry. Listen to this episode, “Worry” here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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The Gospel or Nothing! -- Money and the Gospel

In this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, Jared Jenkins and Bryan Catherman discuss how the gospel speaks into money spending and debt problems. Debt can lead us to act poorly in our brokenness. Spending problems could bring about unwise decisions and that can open the door to more problems. God has a design for this. The gospel brings us back into God’s design. Listen to this episode, “Money and the Gospel” here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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The Gospel or Nothing! -- Porn Addiction

How does the gospel bring redemption and recovery to the person addicted to pornography? In our series, The Gospel or Nothing!, Jared Jenkins and Bryan Catherman discuss how the gospel practically redeems us from our brokenness. In this specific episode, they explore how the gospel deals with porn addiction. Using the gospel conversation tool often called “The Three Circles,” they work through the gospel. Listen to this episode of Salty Believer Unscripted, “The Gospel or Nothing! — Porn Addiction,” here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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LETTERS TO MY STUDENTS by Jason K. Allen

Dr. Jason K. Allen's new book, Letters to My Students: Volume 1 On Preaching (B&H, 2019) is a home run! Dr. Allen is the President of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a professor of preaching. It shows. Much like Charles Spurgeon's lectures to his pastor's college students, Allen offers marvelous, insightful help to preachers. This 172-page book is helpful for both those just starting to preach as well as those who have been preaching for years.

The book is broken into 20, quick, well-written chapters that are a joy to read. Starting with the call to preach and moving all the way to the seasoned preacher, Allen shares biblical insights as well as helpful tips he's learned from hears of experience. He also shares some of his journey as he has grown and improved in the exposition of God's Word.

While the book has a specific audience, it remains an excellent overview and help for new and experienced preachers. It should probably also be included in future survey and introduction to preaching courses.

If I were to suggest any improvements, it would be that a volume 1 should probably have a volume 2 and 3. Let's hope those are forthcoming.

Here’s a video review with more detail:

Purchase Letters to My Students wherever Christian books are sold or follow this link: https://amzn.to/2GVf4v6

*Find more book recommendations and book reviews here.

ABOVE ALL by J.D. Greear

J.D. Greear, Pastor of the Summit Church and the President of the Southern Baptist Convention, has a new book out. The book shares, by no coincidence, the same title as the 2019 Convention theme. It’s called Above All: The Gospel is the Source of the Church’s Renewal (B&H, 2019). There's no doubt that Greear is passionate about the gospel, and how we live it out in the Christian life, but I had my doubts about this book offering anything more than what's already in Greear's previous books. I was wrong.

After the SBC annual meeting, I was a bit more curious about what he had to say in the pages of Above All. It didn’t hurt that I got a free copy at the SBC meeting. I started flipping through the book and decided to give it a read. I'm glad I did. It wasn't that there's anything new in this book, but it's another reminder of our priorities and how we view (or don't) view the gospel of Jesus in all we do as believers and as the Church. This book is about how we position (or reposition) the gospel in our worldview.

Greear is serious about the subject, and that comes out in the pages. His writing style, as usual, is fun and easy to read. It's punchy but includes some thought breaks and jokes and light-hearted stuff too.

Unfortunately, this book seemed rushed. I suspect the goal was to get this in the hands of Southern Baptist before the annual meeting (or at the meeting). The cost of the rush seems to have been in the editing. It wasn't as tight as it could be and there were typos here and there. (This reviewer has typos and problems all the time, but that's not normal for B&H or Greear.)

I discussed the breakdown, the nuts and bolts, and many other thoughts in my video review. I also point out some examples and discuss some of the illustrations he used. You can watch the video here:

I recommend this book to Christians who want a reminder of the importance and significance of the gospel in everyday life and the life of the church.

Purchase Above All: The Gospel is the Source of The Church's Renewal wherever books are sold. Or save yourself some time and follow this link to the Amazon listing.

*Find more book recommendations and book reviews here.

The Gospel or Nothing! -- Jimmy Scroggins on the Three Circles Tool

Jimmy Scroggins, Pastor of Family Church in southern Florida and the creator of the Three Circles Gospel Conversation Tool, met with Bryan Catherman to talk about the gospel and how the tool helps us see how the gospel works in our lives. Salty Believer Unscripted is in a new series about how the gospel speaks into everything. It’s called “The Gospel of Nothing!” Using the Three Circles, Jared Jenkins and Bryan Catherman are exploring various issues and how the gospel transforms the broken things of our reality. Since they’re using the tool as the lens by which they are looking through for this series, they thought it might be helpful to talk with Jimmy about it.

We’re grateful for Jimmy’s time to chat. In this episode, he shares where the tool came from and how he has used it in his ministry. It’s so much more than just a gospel sharing tool. It’s a conversation tool to help us articulate the gospel. Listen to this episode, “The Gospel of Nothing! — Three Circles with Jimmy Scroggins” here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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The Gospel or Nothing! (A New "Unscripted" Series)

Do Christians (at least in America) truly stand on the gospel of Jesus Christ? Is the gospel our worldview? Does the gospel inform all of our choices? Are we open to allowing the gospel to transform every aspect of our lives? These are some of the questions this series will address.

In the first episode, Jared Jenkins and Bryan Catherman offer an introduction to the series. They also articulate the gospel and why it must be above everything else. If Jesus is not the solution, we don’t have the gospel. That’s why this series matters. Listen to the introduction here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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"Be Reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:17-21)

I go through seasons when God works out one big idea with me. Often, they are challenging seasons. In these seasons, I see the one big idea over and over again, no matter where I’m looking. It comes up in my devotional reading, prayer, conversations, sermons, and even in some unexpected places. In this season, the idea has had a great deal to do with preaching the gospel to my own soul. How does the gospel speak into my life daily? How does the gospel of Jesus redeem my situation today? How do Christians see the necessity of the gospel all around them?

It’s been a life-changing seasons. And it is changing my ministry.

In addition, I’m asking, “what’s stopping Christians from sharing the gospel?” I suppose one roadblock is found in the reality that we don’t know how to help our brothers and sisters walking out of brokenness and into the gospel. Neither do we know how to preach the gospel to ourselves. Maybe we really don’t trust it like we should? I’ve been in a season that’s teaching me this big idea and I’ve been sharing this idea with all the mission teams that have come to work with me at Redeeming Life in Salt Lake.

From where does God give me the strength to be transformed in his design?

The above sermon is my attempt to articulate what I’ve learned in this season and answer how we preach the gospel to ourselves. I preached this sermon at FBC Floresville in Texas back in March of 2018. I hope you find it helpful and I pray it helps you walk faithfully in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For the Kingdom!
Bryan Catherman

Unscripted: Catherman on "The Approved Workman"

Josiah Walker sat down with Bryan Catherman to talk about the book project, The Approved Workman: Developing Faithful Disciples Into Tested Leaders. This book, written by Catherman, serves as a roadmap to help pastors and those wanting to become pastors with a roadmap. Seminary is a great option for training, but why? What’s the goal? What’s the plan? Is there something to work alongside seminary? What about the co-vocational guy? How about someone who just can’t go to seminary? Indigenous training? What about a plan for ordination? The Approved Workman is a tool to get this conversation started and help pastors start training up others. Bryan talks about the book, it’s strengths and weaknesses, and how it might be helpful for those training to become pastors. Listen to the podcast here:

Find more podcasts like this, as well as many interviews with Christian pastors, professors, authors, and others from all across the US and Canada on our Salty Believer Unscripted page. And be sure to subscribe to the Salty Believer Unscripted on your favorite podcast app, or use these links:
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Fishing for People: It's a Both/And

When it comes to reaching the lost, there's tension between random outreach and personal relationships. But going door to door, handing out tracts, and doing outreach events are not at odds with having personal relationships with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. One is like fishing the Atlantic Ocean with nets, and the other is like dry-fly fishing the Colorado River. If we want to be proficient fishers of people for the sake of Christ's Kingdom, we should do both kinds of fishing depending on where we're at the time -- on the ocean or wading into the river.

The different approaches have different strengths and weaknesses, although both are faithful.

One takes us to the strangers we've yet to meet. It connects us to the people who look different than us, the neighbors we've struggled to get to know, and those with who God might have made an appointment outside of our normal schedules. Fishing with nets opens doors we could have never planned for on our own. This method is like looking for the person of peace that Jesus discussed when he set his disciples ahead of him to do this kind of work. (See Luke 10.) This kind of outreach faithfully shows us where God is working and gives us new opportunities to join him where and when we see that work. When we're faithful with this method, we see things well beyond our little world.

The other approach digs into the relationships where God has placed us. There's an opportunity to model the Christian faith for a long time, over many of life's circumstances. Here, we build relationship equity and the seek opportunities for gospel seeds to be cast many, many times. Discipleship is a strong possibility too. This method is life on life, but only with a small, few people.

Rather than arguing for one method over the other, how about we celebrate how God uses both? How about we seek to be faithful in doing both? Lets see the mission field where God has placed us and be willing to go wherever else he's calling us.