I have to call the teacher simply "Trainer Jim" for security reasons. He spends a large part of the year training Christians all over the world, including places where they are physically persecuted. Trainer Jim is well past the average retirement age, but he's still brimming with passion. Thankfully God has given him good health and a sharp mind and a supportive wife, so that he can keep doing what he (and He) loves.
I was a bit nervous going into this training because there are a lot of evangelistic methods out there that I cannot use in good conscience. There are so many unbiblical ways to talk about Jesus, ways which omit or twist vital aspects of the gospel. Go look at the gospel tracts you find in most churches and see what I mean. So I was gladdened to find I agreed with and could use almost everything I learned during these four days.
How to describe the content of the teaching? It is a unique blend of the best of the teachings that Trainer Jim has picked up during his lifetime of Christian ministry. During the day, he taught us his evangelism method, which is a sort of a tweaked combination of The Way of the Master with Simply the Story. Each day we went out on the street and practiced what we were learning. Then we came back together to tell what had happened and rejoice in and learn from each other's encounters.
In the evenings he taught information based on the book Cat and Dog Theology and a seminar called UnveilinGLORY. Yeah, that's what I thought too, just based on the names. Reading the book was a prerequisite for attending the class, and it turned out to actually be quite good. It's sort of a street level Desiring God, and stepped on my toes surprisingly regularly. The basic point of Cat and Dog Theology and UnveilinGLORY is that God's glory (fame, reputation, honor) is more important to Him than anything else, including us. Then it extends that truth out to talk about how it affects our approach to prayer, evangelism, and missions. God's global fame should be the focus of our lives.
But all of what I've told you so far is merely a prelude to what I want to say. This time of training came to me during a season of discouragement. Somehow the Lord used it to give me hope. In thinking back, I tried to analyze what exactly made Trainer Jim's course impact me in ways that other seminars and trainings have not.
One vital factor, I realized, was the other people in the class. Although coming from different cities, churches, ages, and levels of maturity, one thing that united us was a passion for spreading the supremacy of Jesus. All of the people there were already active in evangelism in their own communities. Whether we were praying together or evangelizing together, they were on fire. I found myself one of the most timid of the attendees. But rather than making me feel shame, the warmth of my companions emboldened and encouraged me.
Closely related to that was the concentrated amount of time we spent together. Each day started at 9 AM and ended after 8 PM. We ate together, and had rich times of spontaneous interaction about weighty topics related to the gospel and its proclamation. Many of the other students had lots of interesting experiences and insights into Scripture to share.
You can see that Jim expected -- and got -- a high level of commitment from us. He was in town for just a few days, with a lot he wanted to impart to us. Everybody was expected to be there and participate. For his part, Jim modeled this by devoting himself intensely to training us. He went out on the streets with us. (So did his wife, which I thought was neat.)
As you can probably tell, Trainer Jim did very little teaching using a strict lecture method. Usually he encouraged (and got) questions from us, as well as cross-talk amongst us during his teaching. You know your audience is listening when you see them taking notes. (As an aside, Jim said that studies show that taking notes during a teaching actually decreases retention.) They are even more attentive when they start asking you questions. But Jim pointed out that cross-talk among listeners is an even greater sign that they are engaged with what they are hearing. (Jim worked for Walk Thru the Bible for several years and I could see the 7 Laws of the Learner in his teaching style.)
Of course, the best way to learn something is to actually do it, and that is why each day's immediate application of the teaching was so helpful. An hour of witnessing on the street is worth a week in an evangelism classroom.
Finally, it was refreshing to be in an environment in which rigorous training was married so beautifully to dependence on prayer. Trainer Jim seems to have learned that "the horse is made ready for battle, but victory belongs to the Lord", so he frequently integrated group prayer during class times. As I've already said, my classmates' intensity ensured that these prayers were not routine mumbo-jumbo.
On the final day of the training, we split into two groups and went out on the street again. The group I was with first went to a ballpark where we'd had good conversations the previous day. But hardly anyone was there, so we went to another park. There were even fewer people there, but Matthew spotted a few teenagers sitting at a picnic table. "I'll go talk to them," he volunteered. We parked, he jumped out, and within about two minutes he and the other two men in my team were already engaged in conversations. I wandered around, afraid I would not have enough courage to approach anyone. I noticed a lot of cars parked outside the city's recreation center, so I walked over there. Two men were just coming out to the parking lot. I went up to one of them and said, "I'm here talking to people about Jesus. Do you have a church background?" He didn't, and it turned out to be perhaps the best conversation I've ever had with a stranger about Jesus. I went through the entire "Hyper Discipler" gospel presentation with him, which took about half an hour. He ate it up. He may have become a Christian.
After I finished talking with him, my teammates were still engrossed in conversation and I had to use the restroom, so I went in and used the one in the rec center. I was about to leave when I noticed a group of six youngsters (probably between age 10 and 12) hanging out together near the entrance. I told myself that kids that age would not be interested in talking about Jesus. Then one of them waved. I was so surprised that I turned around to see if there was someone behind me. He was waving at me! He asked how I was doing and I asked if they wanted to hear a Bible story. They did. So I got to talk with them about Jesus too!
So I came away from the training refreshed and rejoicing, because I had seen that God is still at work. He is at work in the hearts of His people, stirring them to proclaim Jesus. And He is at work in those who are not yet His people, giving them a readiness to hear. Will you join me in finding them? If you live near me, I would love to go out on the street with you. If you don't know how to witness, I can show you what I have learned so far.
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together." (John 4:34-36, ESV)If you have a group of people interested in Trainer Jim's Hyper Discipler program, contact me and I can put you in touch with him.
No comments:
Post a Comment