In this chapter, Conn begins to layout different aspects of evangelism (evangelism as a call to...). For most American Christians, evangelism consists primarily of proclaiming the gospel of repentance and calling people to reconcile themselves with God. Conn describes 5 different aspects of the evangelism and what he sees as the churches involvement in those aspects. This chapter focuses on 4 of those and leaves the fifth for the next chapter. So the four aspects he discusses in this chapter are: 1. Reconciliation with God, 2. Incorpation, 3. Humanization, and 4. Celebration. And the way the church "evangelizes" in these aspects are respectively: 1. Proclamation, 2. Fellowship, 3. Service, and 4. Worship.
Questions to guide your reading:
*How does Conn define "evangelism"? What is the purpose of evangelism?
*How do each of these aspects partcipate in evangelism? Do you agree or disagree with Conn's perspective?
*What aspects do you find the easiest/hardest to grasp?
*How do the responses of the church match up with these aspects of evangelism? What area/s is your local church the strongest and/or the weakest? What area are you personally the strongest/weakest?
*How do you see these reflected in Jesus' complete work on this earth (birth, life, death, resurrection)?
*How does Jesus' life, death, and resurrection make evangelism in these four areas possible? In other words, how would evangelism in each aspect not be possible without the work of Christ? Or find its culmination in Christ?
*How do you see these 4 aspects played out in the ministry of the apostles and the NT church?
*Anything strike you in particular? Any questions, concerns, or disagreements?
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