Going "All In" with God

In order to talk about what it looks like practically to invite someone to faith, we need to identify something of what we mean by "the act of faith." In this context, we are speaking of a decision to follow Jesus unreservedly. It is, in the words of Pope John Paul II, "the decision to entrust [oneself] to Jesus Christ" (Catechesi Tradendae 25). It is an "all in" moment with Jesus that says, "My life is now a blank check in your hands." (Post 4/8 on "Inviting the Act of Faith")

EvangelizationJim SchusterMarch 15, 2014encounter, faith, god's love, rescue, trust, page 2Comment

Faith and Encounter

How does one come to the point of a personal adherence to Jesus Christ? Pope John Paul II defined the kerygmatic component of evangelization as "the initial ardent proclamation by which a person is one day overwhelmed and brought to the decision to entrust himself to Jesus Christ by faith" (Catechesi Tradendae 25). Notice what JPII is saying here - to do kerygma right means that "the decision to entrust [oneself] to Jesus Christ by faith" follows upon an experience, an encounter. (Post 4/8 on "Inviting the Act of Faith")

Evangelization, TheologyJim SchusterFebruary 22, 2014conversion, encounter, evangelization, faith, page 2Comment

Visualizing Pre-Evangelization

At the heart of it, pre-evangelization means keeping the other person close enough to be able to establish credibility with them. It is maintaining your connection with them, because without that connection there is no chance of issuing an invitation to faith. If we maintain that connection, then there are many ways of nurturing interest, and these will tend to be different for different people.

3 Roles of the Evangelist

We are called as Christians to "proclaim the Gospel," but I think quite often we think of this as a call to disseminate information. If the Gospel is merely information, our role becomes one of teaching, convincing, persuading - this will be the primary tool set that we employ. If, on the other hand, we remain conscious of the encounter with Jesus Christ as the goal of evangelization, a different tool set will become necessary.

EvangelizationJim SchusterFebruary 8, 2014conversion, encounter, evangelization, gospel, page 1 Comment

6 Everyday Acts of Bravery

Doing the work of evangelization requires real courage, but not just the kind of courage that is standing up to the culture tide, or proclaiming unpopular truths, or even stepping out of your comfort zone to have the "Jesus Conversation." Yes, these occasional acts of courage are necessary from time to time, but there are also certain everyday acts of bravery that are just as crucial.