NURTURE -- Follow-up
Christian growth after believing in Jesus
WHY SPEND A DAY ON THIS?
1. Many people come to
Christ but then fall away because of a lack of follow-up.
Example
– Book on Conversion.
2. Besides the normal
need for follow-up, those from another religion have special needs.
3. Understanding follow-up allows us to keep it distinct in our
minds from evangelism, so we don’t
a. let
the magnitude of the follow-up problems keep us from evangelizing, and
b. so
we don’t mix follow-up concepts with evangelism concepts.
COMMON FEATURES OF NORMAL FOLLOW-UP
CONCEPTS
Assurance
Position in Christ
Baptism Preparation
Creed concepts,
baptism concepts,
communion concepts
Christian
Life
CONTEXT
Caring
Listening
Counseling
Modeling
Praying
INTRODUCING
Christians as new social basis
Incorporation into church
Finding Christian resources
SPECIAL FEATURES OF FOLLOW-UP FOR THOSE
CHANGING RELGIONS
Family Rejection
Leave house, punishment
Loss of Social Support System
Weddings? Funerals?
Loss of Job or Status
Rejection and Persecution
Martyrdom
-- where today?
What to do with previous religious
concepts?
a. some
must be discarded
b. some
can be adapted to Christianity
Western
Church: music, organization
c. some will be controversial
CONTEXTUALIZATION
How to “do” Christianity in the CONTEXT of your culture.
It is deeper than INDIGENIZATION, which
was used previously, and means
How to “translate” western Christianity into local words and customs.
AREAS FOR CULTURAL DECISIONS
1. Worship
2.
Life-passage Rites
3. Religious customs and concepts:
create new world-view
4.
Socio-economic pressures
5.
Theology.
These fit into coming lectures:
Strategy
Dialog
Third
World Theology
NOTE Your oral report is about evangelism
and you do not need to include follow-up.
INDIVIDUAL STANDPOINT
Drawn to Jesus
Count the Cost
Confess Faith publicly
Face Doubt – needs normal follow-up
Face Rejection – needs special follow-up
Face Death
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
1 Peter – entire book
Written to people being killed
1:2
“sprinkled with His blood
Encouragement but no lessening of ideals
3:9 “don’t return evil for evil
Better off than before
1:18 “ransomed from futile ways”
Sharing Christ’s sufferings 4:12-19; 5:6-10.
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