Saturday, October 18, 2008

The Gospel Works

Many of my readers and subscribers write me about their particular struggles in teaching situations. (If you'd like to do that, contact me here.) Sometimes I pick up a tone of "I'm looking for the secret manipulation formula so they'll get it!" -- I don't think people are consciously doing this, but in our eagerness to teach and serve, we sometimes focus too much on method and not enough on message.

That's why I was delighted to read a recent "evotional" from Mark Batterson:

"One of the speakers at Catalyst was Franklin Graham. Spitting image of his dad! So forthright. One thing he said really stuck me: "You don't have to help the gospel." He said, "The gospel works." Such a profound reminder.I feel like all of us could do a better job of consistently communicating the simple gospel message. I'm thinking and rethinking how we help people cross the line of faith. As a dad, one of my roles is to engineer experiences that create memories. The end result is a defining moment. In the same sense, as a pastor, I want to set up God encounters. I'm obviously not suggesting we can or try to man-u-facture anything. But I need to be more intentional about helping people create spiritual memories."

Here's a good prayer for teachers: "Father, I know your Gospel works. You've worked into my life. Please do it again in their lives. Glorify your name! Amen."

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