First of all, thank you so much for the link to get the free copy of your book, “Movements in America”. I've listened to the first hour, but it's 1:00AM now, and I should get some sleep, it at least try; we just got back to the UK from a family wedding in Colorado, so my body clock is several hours off.
Secondly, I have a question. It may be answered on your book, so please forgive me if it is and just point me back to that. My question is to do with Discovery Bible Studies.
The “Creation to Christ” DBS path works, as I understand it, particularly well with Muslims. There is, I think, another path that is more directed at Buddhists. Do you know of one that works well in the secular West? My feeling—and that's all it is—is that starting with the creation story might result in unhelpful discussions around young Earth vs old Earth concepts rather than the nature and character of God and humanity, which could potentially detail the “what will I do differently” and “who will I tell about this” questions.
If you think my concerns are ill founded, please just let me know. I figured, though, that if someone's using some other path through the Bible in effectively in the US for marking disciples, you're probably the person (other than them) mostly likely to know about it.
I actually don't get into specific tools or DBS story sets in the book because different people use different stories and tools to effectively multiply. It's not common, but I know of a few people who have used a brief Creation to Christ (like 4-6 stories) to effectively lead westerners to Christ.
It's important to recognize worldview and tailor the DBS stories to your context, but I must say that if someone is going to come to Christ, there are a lot of different stories you could use. It's the Spirit working on their heart that truly leads them to salvation. We are just trusting in what Hebrew 4:12 says in that the Word will pierce their heart when it is read. So don't overthink DBS story sets, just trust in God.
That being said, here are two contextual things I will note:
1. If you want to think/pray through which stories will work best for you, think of common objections that keep people in your context from coming to Christ. Then think of stories that directly address this worldview. Where I live, most objections are more emotional than intellectual: people think that Christians are judgmental, narrow-minded, and not accepting.
The stories we usually use (Stories of Hope) illustrate how Jesus meets with people from all different backgrounds and, if they repent and believe, they will be saved. These stories also show how Jesus rebukes judgmental religious folks (namely, Pharisees) and meets with sinners.
Just to be clear, we don't tell people that God will accept them any way. We call people to true repentance, which means they have to accept that Christ will change the way they are. These stories are just there to show that their objections are unfounded. Sometimes, when we call people to repentance, emotions flare up because the person doesn't want to change, but that's just a part of bringing the gospel to a lost and dying world.
2. I don't have enough data to say this is absolutely true, but I have observed that IF someone is going to come to Christ in America, it usually takes 2-4 DBS stories. Most don't actually give their lives to Christ with an initial gospel presentation (even though we do straight up share the gospel with people) and if people take more than 4 stories, they just might not be ready to surrender to Christ (though we do usually meet for more than 4 stories, just in case).
Hi Roger,
First of all, thank you so much for the link to get the free copy of your book, “Movements in America”. I've listened to the first hour, but it's 1:00AM now, and I should get some sleep, it at least try; we just got back to the UK from a family wedding in Colorado, so my body clock is several hours off.
Secondly, I have a question. It may be answered on your book, so please forgive me if it is and just point me back to that. My question is to do with Discovery Bible Studies.
The “Creation to Christ” DBS path works, as I understand it, particularly well with Muslims. There is, I think, another path that is more directed at Buddhists. Do you know of one that works well in the secular West? My feeling—and that's all it is—is that starting with the creation story might result in unhelpful discussions around young Earth vs old Earth concepts rather than the nature and character of God and humanity, which could potentially detail the “what will I do differently” and “who will I tell about this” questions.
If you think my concerns are ill founded, please just let me know. I figured, though, that if someone's using some other path through the Bible in effectively in the US for marking disciples, you're probably the person (other than them) mostly likely to know about it.
Thank you!
Good questions!
I actually don't get into specific tools or DBS story sets in the book because different people use different stories and tools to effectively multiply. It's not common, but I know of a few people who have used a brief Creation to Christ (like 4-6 stories) to effectively lead westerners to Christ.
It's important to recognize worldview and tailor the DBS stories to your context, but I must say that if someone is going to come to Christ, there are a lot of different stories you could use. It's the Spirit working on their heart that truly leads them to salvation. We are just trusting in what Hebrew 4:12 says in that the Word will pierce their heart when it is read. So don't overthink DBS story sets, just trust in God.
That being said, here are two contextual things I will note:
1. If you want to think/pray through which stories will work best for you, think of common objections that keep people in your context from coming to Christ. Then think of stories that directly address this worldview. Where I live, most objections are more emotional than intellectual: people think that Christians are judgmental, narrow-minded, and not accepting.
The stories we usually use (Stories of Hope) illustrate how Jesus meets with people from all different backgrounds and, if they repent and believe, they will be saved. These stories also show how Jesus rebukes judgmental religious folks (namely, Pharisees) and meets with sinners.
Just to be clear, we don't tell people that God will accept them any way. We call people to true repentance, which means they have to accept that Christ will change the way they are. These stories are just there to show that their objections are unfounded. Sometimes, when we call people to repentance, emotions flare up because the person doesn't want to change, but that's just a part of bringing the gospel to a lost and dying world.
2. I don't have enough data to say this is absolutely true, but I have observed that IF someone is going to come to Christ in America, it usually takes 2-4 DBS stories. Most don't actually give their lives to Christ with an initial gospel presentation (even though we do straight up share the gospel with people) and if people take more than 4 stories, they just might not be ready to surrender to Christ (though we do usually meet for more than 4 stories, just in case).
Anywho, here's a link from my church network where you can find the Stories of Hope: https://www.mvmt.world/media/g2zmg8m/discovery-bible-study-dbs
When you say "Stories of Hope", it's out these: https://www.dbsgroups.com/scripture-lists/10-stories-of-hope
Thanks for all of this. It's very helpful and encouraging. I'll take a look at your church network site.
Duh! I just saw that you answer that question at the end of your comment. 😂