Andy reports on a remarkable Carol Service at the very end of 2021 and on the upcmoming mission ‘events week’ at The University of St Andrews in Scotland.
PEP Talk Podcast With Chris Sinkinson
Chris Sinkinson of Moorlands College chats with Andy and Kristi about using your passions to share the gospel. For him, archaeology and the history of the ancient world opens up the Bible as a rich historical document – where we discover the amazing person of Jesus Christ.
With Chris Sinkinson – PEP Talk
Our Guest
Chris Sinkinson is a lecturer at Moorlands College in Christchurch, England, where he teaches theology. He has served within UCCF as a travelling staff working, pastored two churches, and maintained a long term interest in archaeology both in the UK and in the Holy Land. He is a member of a local archaeological society and publishes in this area. His recent book, Background to the Bible (Day One), is available online and from the British Museum. He has also produced a two part film series, Sifting the Evidence, which is available as a DVD or digital download, and includes interviews with a number of significant archaeologists working in the Biblical lands.
About PEP Talk
The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.
Book Review: Strange Rites – New Religions for a Godless World
It’s said that what happens in the USA eventually hits the rest of the world. But for the USA it usually beings first in California. In which case there are some things the church in the UK would do well to examine now. In fact, during a recent trip to L.A. in California it wasn’t the yard signs that I thought would catch my attention, but they did. In the space of just two avenues of wealthy suburban streets, the signs included phrases like love is love, science is real in rainbow colours proudly planted. They reminded me of communities in Pennsylvania where Scripture texts are placed in the lawns of staunch Presbyterians, or the Trump 2024 signs springing up here in Florida. The signs in L.A. read like a creed, and according to, Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World by Tara Burton that is precisely what they are.
UK readers may think that this sounds a world away from their experience, however Burton analyses the origins, strength and the intentions of some of the new beliefs as they rush to fill the vacuum created by the retreat of Christianity across the western world. She points out that while, Protestantism is, perhaps, the ultimate religion of the printed book. The Remixed religions we’re about to explore are the religions of the Internet. This means that they are already permeating the lives of a younger generation on both sides of the Pond. So, before you think that this is just another example of crazy American beliefs the internet means that people anywhere in the world can now find these online communities.
Burton doesn’t suffer from a parochial view of the USA having studied in the UK for some time and is still a regular visitor. Instead, her approach is that of an informant. She begins with a vivid portrayal of the world of fandom, with some disturbing excesses, some of which she participated in herself. But her intention is not so much to shock but rather to draw attention to something deeper. There is a search here for transcendence as the fans she engaged with were people looking to create meaning, purpose and community through new rituals. In the second chapter she takes a step back in time illustrating previous attempts to do this which were outside of traditional religious practices. This is followed by a general overview of modern rituals and the impetus they receive from big business and the connectivity of the internet which helps to create a plethora of these new tribes. Then chapter four illustrates the power of stories to mould our lives, and Harry Potter is our guide through that.
After Harry, she spells out (pun intended) some specific movements gaining vast cultural traction. She examines the $4 Trillion Wellness movement that talks of energy and packaged rituals combining health, exercise and spirituality. Such amalgams flow through all the new rites, premised as they are on fulfilling individual desires where it is all about finding the best you. Burton then deals with the rise of the occult. That is not new, we’ve had the New Age for a long time. But she illustrates the rise in a deeply politicized Wiccan religion, and it turns out that Harry Potter is setting his sights on the White House! From magic we then jump into bed and look at the Sexual Revolution, where personal choice is once again the definition of what is right or wrong. Authenticity is the freedom to choose what you want and who you want to do it with, where negotiation is the only constraint. An honesty surfaces here as you sense her concern over the growing loneliness that this revolution is birthing.
The next chapter is called, Two Doctrines for a Godless World. Here the haunting necessity of hope is examined through two movements: the Social Justice approach and the Silicon Valley, techno – utopian one. Both are trying to get to the same destination but by different roads. We are all aware of the alphabet soup of LGBTQ etc, but this chapter vividly paints the passion, the theology, the evangelism of the Social Justice movement behind the letters. There is a committed ideology that sees traditional beliefs like Christianity as part of the problem not the solution to what ails our world. We in the Church are now the bad guys. At the same time some in Silicon Valley are exploring the, The Californian Ideology which, “promiscuously combines the free-wheeling spirit of the hippies and the entrepreneurial zeal of the yuppies… through a profound faith in the emancipatory potential of the new information technologies. In the digital utopia, everybody will be both hip and rich. Vast wealth is being poured into everything from Artificial Intelligence to cryogenics to defeat death.
The final tribe is the online world of single white, angry men, such as the Incles. As modern life is not going their way, they look more to the past for answers. But they see this as only attainable by humanity first going through an apocalyptic scenario such as fills our cinema screens. Only then will the manly virtues inherent in their DNA shine forth. Jordan Petersen is touched on here rather negatively, and possibly unfairly, as a potential gateway drug to darker and more right-wing tribes on the web.
There is one area that isn’t addressed in the book, yet it involves the same search for meaning and belonging. Much of the focus is on middle class American culture, but there is also immigrant America, which tends to be more traditional whether in its Catholicism, Pentecostalism, or Islam. From a European perspective the book may have benefited from a chapter on Islam in the West. In the absence of a revival of Christianity what would an Islamic attempt to fill the spiritual vacuum look like? Would it do so by repressing some or all these alternative rites?
Burton’s main premise is that despite the variety of these beliefs they share common aspirations for meaning, purpose etc. Therefore, she states, America is not secular but simply spiritually self-focused. I pastor in the States, and I think she’s right, the country is drowning in new ideologies and in the process becoming more divided than ever. Her analysis is also aided by the lens she examines everything through. It is that very rare one called theology. She has completed a Masters in Oxford, which married to her own experiences of fandom and her considerable journalistic skills have created a very prescient analysis of contemporary beliefs. It is a bonus that she has carried out her research through a subtle filter of theology, the language of the Christian tribe. She says nothing explicit about her own beliefs, but it’s clear that much of what she has investigated has left her with few avenues of genuine hope. Instead, I believe it may have initiated a different pilgrimage, perhaps towards the ancient rites of High Church Christianity and I suspect this may be the subject of a future book. But in the meantime, the reason Strange Rites is worth reading is simple, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Strange Rites by Tara Isabella Burton is published by Public Affairs, New York 2020 and is available here.
Confident Christianity: Sheddocksley, Aberdeen
There was almost a sense of exuberant excitement as the Solas team headed North for our first major in-person evangelism conference in almost two years. For those of us involved in this ministry it has been a very long lockdown! Our hosts for Confident Christianity in Aberdeen were Sheddocksley Baptist Church and their pastor, Simon Dennis. The day was livestreamed too, for those as yet unable to attend live events.
Simon welcomed everyone, and gave us in a thoughtful devotional talk before a beautiful time sung worship.
The speaking team that Solas assembled for the day featured Andy Bannister, Sharon Dirckx, and Michael Ots. They are all seasoned communicators of the Christian faith with much to teach us; but while they are united in a common faith, they also have specific specialisms which they brought to the day as well.
Andy Bannister begun the day with a lively talk on sharing Christ in the workplace; which is a specially adapted and applied session on the principles of conversational evangelism on which he is currently writing a book.
Michael Ots asked us – as the church – to think through the challenges and opportunities that the Covid-crisis presents us with in terms of evangelism. While recognising the weakness of much of the church today and the problems of transmitting the gospel in a socially-distanced world, Michael urged us to see that many are hungry for community, hospitality and hope that outlasts death; all things the church can offer in abundance.
Sharon Dirckx drew not just on her faith, but on her scientific career in research into the human brain for her first talk. Examining the naturalist claim that we are merely biological machines, she argued that the mind is more than the brain and that the Bible’s view of humanity is richer and more dignified than the alternatives; basically because it is true! The Bible’s view of what it means to be human is a powerful apologetics for the Christian faith and Sharon is a great advocate for it.
After lunch, Andy Bannister asked us to think about the differences between the Qur’an’s view of God and the Biblical idea of God. Drawing deeply from the scriptures of both faiths as well as Christian and Muslim scholars; Andy showed that the differences are profound! God is relational, knowable, loving and acquainted with suffering. This he said should compel Christians to lovingly compel Christians to share their faith in Christ with their Muslim friends and neighbours.
Michael Ots has spent a lot of time thinking about how we reach the apathetic. That is, not those who have well-articulated or hostile atheist convictions – but those who appear bored by Christian claims. In his second talk, filled with examples from the UK, Denmark and Eastern Europe Michael showed us how to bridge from what matters to people (love, human rights, the environment) to Christian beliefs.
Sharon Dirckx then helped us to respond to the greatest objection of all to Christian faith: the problem of pain. In a journey that began with the biblical figure of Job and ended with the sufferings of Jesus, Sharon made us consider a God who is good, who redeems, is present and who at the cross has tasted pain.
The Q&A session, which Simon Dennis chaired gave everyone the chance to fire their questions in to Andy, Michael and Sharon. It was a lively session which picked up on many of the talks, workplace evangelism, Islam, suffering and science! Everyone who signed up to get Solas’s news and prayer letter will be receiving the speaker’s slides from the day – plus some extra resources around the themes that came up in the Q&A.
We are grateful to Simon Dennis and Sheddocksley Baptist Church for being gracious and excellent hosts. It was good to meet people from all kinds of different churches and house-fellowships there too. Thanks too to all those people who came to Confident Christianity, who worshipped God alongside us; engaged and thought with us, asked questions, and signed up to support and pray for Solas.
It really was great to be about with people again. If you would like to help bring a Confident Christianity conference to your city, town or village – please do get in touch through our contact page.
Why Do Suffering and Evil Seem So Wrong?
Have you ever wondered why, when we witness atrocities in far-flung conflict zones or experience betrayal on a personal level, we all have the same response: “This is wrong”? But, why are such things as injustice, suffering or violence wrong? Andy Bannister examines whether that natural reaction we have points to something much bigger…
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Our Priority is The Local Church
One of the values we share at Solas is our commitment to the local church. That isn’t merely something that we sign up to as an article of faith however, it is a deeply held conviction which shapes every aspect of our work.
If you skim through our news pages you will see that all the work we do is in partnership with churches. That is with one notable exception – we also work to support things such as student Christian Union groups! The point is that we never do any ministry in merely “Solas” events, either in our evangelism or our training work. You will never see us advertising a Solas-mission, or a Solas-conference which belongs exclusively to us. Every event where we are sharing the gospel or training Christians to share their faith, is done at the invitation of the local church, where it supports the needs of the local church, in order to grow the local church.
It also means that all the members of staff at Solas are members of local churches ourselves. We don’t operate as ‘lone-rangers’ either in our personal or ministry lives, because the local church matters to us.
Para-church organisations such as Solas, and other mission agencies have their place; but we are always conscious that our job is to serve the local church. I once came across a mission agency that seemed to think that the local church existed to advance it, not the other way round. The reason that that is wrong is because the church is the biblically mandated thing – mission-agencies are logistically useful for God’s people though.
In practice this means that overseas mission agencies have specialist skills in training and supporting people doing ministry all over the globe that would be a burden on the local church to manage. For us it means this: while pastors ‘belong’ to a local congregation, evangelists need to be available for the whole ‘body of Christ’ across the land. Solas exists as a practical way of making the particular skills and ministries of evangelist-apologists like Andy Bannister and Steve Osmond available to churches all over the country.
Then secondly it means that we are delighted to work with small churches as well as large ones; from city-centre congregations teeming with students to more remote Highland congregations and new church-plants just starting out. For us it is a genuine joy to have friends and fellowship with wonderful people in all these contexts. The practicalities of that for us are that while we can share the costs of ministry with large thriving churches, we also know that smaller churches can’t do that to the same extent – and some student groups struggle even more. Like all ministries we have to cover our costs, but our commitment to reaching as far as we can, and working with churches irrespective of their size or location remains undiminished.
Our vision at Solas is to grow our team of evangelist-apologists and to have them trained and ready to serve churches across the UK. With Andy in Scotland, Gareth in Belfast and associates in Edinburgh and London, we’re building towards that goal. However, we would love to get to the stage where a pastor in Plymouth or Powys, or a minister in Manchester or Morayshire could call us and we could help them to reach their community for Christ. To achieve that we need to find the right people and to raise significant sums of money. Please pray that The Lord would help us to achieve this for Him and His church. And help us if you can!
If you are reading this and are part of a local church who might benefit by working with us, please do get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.
“Christ loved the church and gave himself for it” Eph 5:25
Q&A – A new Free Youth Resource from Solas and Scripture Union Scotland.
Since Solas launched “Short Answers” videos just over four years ago, they have been viewed almost 2 million times in all kinds of places. They were initially intended to provide short, punchy, thought-provoking videos which would promote and defend the Christian faith – particularly providing answers to the kinds of questions we often get asked by seekers and sceptics. Churches, youth-groups, street-evangelists, Alpha & Christianty Explored groups as well as individuals on social media have been just some of the places these resources have been used.
In 2021, our friends at Scripture Union Scotland asked us if we would be interested in seeing our Short Answers videos used in a more structured way with young people. We have a long association with SU Scotland, both as Solas, and individual team members participating in SU camps, conferences and missions – so we were delighted.
SU’s Susie Ford was the lead writer on the project, and she is no stranger to Solas. We have worked with her in university missions, and she was a guest on our PEP Talk Podcast last year. She said, “Our aim is for every young person in Scotland to have the opportunity to explore the Bible and respond to the significance of Jesus, by considering some of the most popular apologetic questions. Also, we want to support Christian young people to go deeper in thinking about these questions, both so that they can be ready to give an answer for the hope they have in Jesus, and also so that they know they the Christian faith is indestructible no matter how big the questions and objections that get thrown at it.”
The 12 sessions are being published here and are free to use – not just for SU groups, but by anyone! Intriguingly the sessions come in two versions. “Explorers” aimed at young people who are not yet Christians, and “Dig Deeper” for those who are. Each session contains Solas Short Answers video content, games, discussion materials, Bible readings, reflection/application and further resources. Together these make lively, interactive biblical resources which are accessible and easy to use.
Solas’s Andy Bannister said, “We are hugely excited that SU Scotland have built these brilliant youth bible-studies around our Short Answers videos. These videos have been a labour of love for us at Solas – we’ve poured time, effort and prayer into them – and it has been so encouraging to see them being used in all kinds of ways and places that we never imagined when we started to write and film them. Solas has never charged anything for these resources – but offered them as a gift to the church, so to see them being used in this new youth resource is wonderful. It means that the gospel resources we’ve made are going to be seen by a whole new audience. We love working with SU Scotland, and are so encouraged by their work”.
To see the Short Answers videos click here:
To see the Q&A studies from Scripture Union Scotland click here.
PEP Talk Podcast With Andrew Roycroft
Today on PEP Talk we explore the changing relationship of culture and Christianity, with a look into the example of Northern Ireland. How do we adapt as Christians and churches to be authentic salt and light whether we are a cultural majority or marginalised minority? Andy and Kristi speak to a pastor, author and poet for some great thoughts on reaching out.
With Andrew Roycroft – PEP Talk
Our Guest
Andrew Roycroft recently became pastor at Portadown Baptist Church, before that he served 10 years at Millisle Baptist Church. He is married to Caroline with two children. Read his blog on theology, poetry and literature at thinkingpastorally.com He is also the author of Kristi’s favourite exam survival guide.
About PEP Talk
The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.
Have You Ever Wondered….. If You Can Truly Change?
All of us love stories about transformation.
Whether it’s an inspirational account of someone’s weight-loss journey or the Cinderella story of an athlete who against-all-odds reaches the pinnacle of their sport, the penchant for tales of metamorphosis appears to be something that is deeply human. And the subject of change with which we appear to be most inveterately intrigued is human character: who a person is, or becomes, at the deepest level of their nature and personality.
Consider for a moment just how wide this idea of character transformation is within storytelling. Sometimes that change is a tragic tale, where we follow a protagonist’s character arc as it degenerates hopelessly into psychological and moral catastrophe – think Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Tolkien’s Gollum, Jack ‘Here’s Johnny’ Torrance in Stephen King’s The Shining, or Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen.
But our most beloved stories are often those that depict radical transformation in the opposite direction. These are the tales of redemption, where a formerly corrupt and detestable character emerges transfigured, born-again as a now morally-virtuous, admirable individual:” think of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, or everyone’s favourite festive conversion: Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Why does the concept of transformation resonate so meaningfully with the human heart?
Might the reason why these stories connect with us so profoundly be because of their plausibility? Does their power resides in the fact that, as we observe them, we are in some sense looking into the mirror of our own very real faculty for change in either moral direction?
The Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once observed that: “…the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” Could it be then that these kinds of tales connect with us, not simply because they are the story of a fellow human being, but because they are the story of every human being? As we read them, they read us; they imaginatively remind us of our primal capacity for both evil or good, a fall from grace or glorious redemption.
But beyond our mere love for the idea of transformation, how achievable is change in the real world? Is transformation just a romantic pipe dream or a realistic hope?
When it comes to physical alteration at least, it would appear that the promise of change is incredibly believable. The multi-billion dollar success of the fitness, weight-loss and cosmetics industries are testament to just how marketable the promise of transformation in this area actually is.
But what about character change?
I wonder if real change appears dubious to many of us is largely because of disappointing personal experience. Perhaps we once put our faith in the assurance of change vowed to us by another person – a spouse, a father, a child – only to painfully discover there was no change. Leopards cannot change their spots. Or perhaps the frustrated change is in some area of our own lives and we have wearily resigned ourselves to the fact that we can never be different.
In an article entitled, ‘Why Most People Don’t Really Change’, author and psychotherapist Joseph Burgo offers three reasons why people often fail to change. We find character transformation so difficult, Burgo says, because: a) most people don’t have an accurate view of who they truly are and, therefore, don’t recognise where they might need to change, b) we have a human propensity to blame other people for our short-comings (e.g. family or political systems), and c) effecting change involves hard work and making difficult choices.
If Burgo’s diagnoses are correct, it would seem that our only hope of true change is to find a meaningful source of light, love and power. We need a light that can accurately and indiscriminately illuminate the reality of who and what we are; we need a love that will patiently continue to believe in us and pursue our ultimate good, despite the ugliness of what the light may reveal; and we need a power that can authentically change us to be and live differently from the deepest levels of our humanity.
What is so interesting is that in many of the tales of transformation we often enjoy, this light, love and power is discovered not by an individual’s introspection or conjuring of personal willpower, but via an external – often supernatural – agent that intervenes in the course of their life. This is certainly the case for old Ebenezer Scrooge. It is the painful, yet loving supernatural light of what the ghosts reveal that awakens Scrooge to his true condition and empowers him to transform from a man who lives in darkness at so many levels, to become “… as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old city knew.”
I wonder if that is why many people also find Christianity so compelling. After all, Jesus claimed not simply to provide light, but to be the Light of the World (John 8:12). He promised that whoever followed him would never walk in darkness but would have light that empowers life as it is meant to be lived. At the heart of the Christian faith lies not an exhortation to try harder to do better, but rather the promise that when we put our faith in Jesus, then God’s power makes us “new creations” – new at the very deepest level of our nature – so that we then can think, act and feel from this place of transformation.
This promise and power of Jesus to truly change us is a claim that is testable, for it is a promise that has been personally verified by millions of people down through history. For example, ask my friend Thomas A. Tarrants, a former violent Klansman once consumed by hate, but who upon following Jesus was transformed and became a champion of racial reconciliation and one of the most loving men I have ever met. Or think of John Newton, the eighteenth-century slave trader who was radically converted to Christianity and became a clergyman and abolitionist, penning perhaps the most famous song about character change ever written:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me;
I once was lost, but now am found,
T’was blind but now I see.
Now there’s a story of transformation. And it’s not fiction, but biography.
So if you’ve ever wondered if real change is possible – possible even for you – perhaps Christianity might be worth looking into. For as the atheist journalist Matthew Parris once confessed in The Times: “Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth real. The change is good.
Sports Chaplaincy Ireland – National Conference
Solas has a growing relationship with Sports Chaplaincy Ireland through Philip Mitchell, one of its leaders. Solas had been talking to Philip about how we can help and support Sports Chaplains in the evangelistic component of their role within sports clubs for some time during lockdown – which led to our participation in their National Conference, which was the first time they had all met together since Covid.
I ran two 75 minute sessions in which I explored how we communicate Christ in today’s sports environment. We looked a little at the changing context for evangelism in Northern Ireland where Christianity is moving towards the margins in what is increasingly becoming a post-Christian culture. In that context people’s objections to Christian faith are moving from the older accusation that it is “irrational” and “irrelevant”, towards the new charge that it is “immoral” or even “harmful”.
We looked together at how chaplains might effectively begin to communicate in this context through the relationships we have – specifically in terms of conversational evangelism. I explored some of the dynamics of 1 Peter 3 which was written to Christians who were marginalised. Peter’s teaching there includes not being afraid, setting apart Christ as Lord in our own hearts and being convinced in our own minds that Christianity is true and beautiful, and not separating our evangelism from our own personal discipleship. We then considered the practical challenges of being prepared to engage with people’s questions. Then finally we looked at the tone and character of our evangelism, making sure we do it with gentleness and respect. Part of what that means today is not taking offence at people’s genuine questions or not short-circuiting their real concerns and difficult experiences when it comes to faith.
Even though some social distancing measures were still in place which limited some of the conversations which were able to take place, it was a very encouraging event. There were about 75 sports chaplains present over the two sessions who were really positive about the event.
I was encouraged with the levels of engagement from the chaplains, and I believe they left with a sense of being equipped because many of them felt that there has been something of an evangelistic gap in their chaplain’s role. It is a difficult thing for people to navigate and they want to do it carefully and sensitively – they are there at the invitation of the club and they don’t want to compromise or lose the position that they have. Nevertheless they want to take seriously the command to share the gospel and the practical dynamics involved as well.
Sports Chaplaincy is a great organisation who I love serving alongside, they have some inspiring people doing some great work and I look forward to having the opportunity to see them again.
Are Some Natural Disasters a Form of Punishment?
Often when large-scale disasters occur in our world some people attribute these tragedies to the judgement of God. In this Short Answers episode, Gareth Black explores the logic of Karma and whether there is any basis for claiming natural disasters as a form of cosmic punishment.
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Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose “Digital Media Fund” under the Campaign/Appeal button.
Mind the Gap – The Full Series
So many Christians want to be more faithful in sharing the gospel of Jesus with others, but find it really difficult in practice. I know, because I’m one of them! In hundreds of conversations in churches all around the country, we have discovered that there are a handful of “gaps” which stand between most of us and faithful evangelism. The Mind the Gap series has looked at strategies for identifying and overcoming the barriers we face to faithful evangelism – to make us bolder, braver and more effective witnesses for Jesus.
In his introduction to the series, Andy Bannister asked us to identifying our own ‘gaps’ – the specific things which hold us back in evangelism. He then shows us the way forward!
Gavin Matthews explores how we might overcome our debilitating lack of confidence.
David Nixon adresses the problem of doubt, and why it need not be a disaster for our faithfulness.
Not knowing ‘all the answers’ makes evangelism hard. David Nixon shows us how to navigate the limitations of our knowledge.
The Rusty Gap – is what we face when we get out of practice in sharing our faith! Gareth Black looks at how we can get moving again.
Fears such as rejection or being ill-equipped, are a hindrance to many. David Nixon investigates.
Gareth realised that a lack of deep friendships outside the Christian faith meant that he all too rarely got speak to people who didn’t agree with him about Jesus – and why he changed that.
Evangelism can make us feel guilty, which in turn can paralyse us from speaking joyfully and naturally about Jesus. Re-engaging with God’s grace is life-giving, says Gavin Matthews.
A lack of assurance of salvation removes joy and confidence from the Christian life, and dampens evangelism. Gavin Matthews points us to some answers.
“I feel inadequate” – is a common response to the challenge of evangelism. David Nixon responds with some encouragement to the humble!
If God is sovereign, why do we need to bother with evangelism? If not, then is there any hope that anyone will respond? Andy exposes two theological emphases which stifle evangelism.
“Talk to God about people, before you talk to people about God” – otherwise we fall into the prayer-gap, and our evangelism is powerless!
For some Christians, firstly recovering the art of conversation is a vital step, if meaningful conversations are ever to be about Jesus.
“Use apologetics and trust God – don’t trust apologetics and try to use God” writes Gareth Black. The life of the mind is very important, but reliance on God is an absolute!
What can we do when our hearts are cold, we are unmoved by the state of the world, or the lostness of those outside Christ? Andy Bannister helps us to unfreeze when our hearts are in apathy’s icy-grip.
In The Apathy Gap – Part Two, Gavin Matthews looks at ways we might be able to interest people who are apathetic towards our faith, in serious conversations about the gospel.
“Your religion is harmful” is a a charge that silences Christians across the land. Steve McAlpine helps us to shape a helpful response to this most difficutl contemporary ‘gap’.
Fearing the ‘killer-question’ that we can’t answer, many of stay silent about our faith. In the Knowledge Gap Part Two – Gavin Matthews looks at how we can respond when our answer to the question is an honest, “I don’t know”.
“Just give -up the West is lost to secularism”. Is that true? Andy Bannister responds.
If we make our evangelism about anything other than Jesus, it places an intolerable burden on us. David Nixon looks at ways we’ve got this wrong, and how Jesus-centred evangelism is much easier!
Gareth Black exposes the damaging myth that evangelism is essentially a specialist task like brain-surgery, best left to professionals.
Evangelism for introverts might not play to traditional Christian stereotypes – but Kirsten Abioye has found many fruitful ways to share the gospel!
Our witness can be hampered by our sin, but God used sinners throughout the Bible! How holy do we need to be for evangelism? Gavin Matthews explores this difficult area – after several scandals have ruined evangelistic work in recent years.
Evangelism done badly has put many people off. In the Negative Experience Gap, Part One, David Nixon examines the problem and suggests an answer.
In the Negative Experience Gap 2 – Gareth Black writes about the time he tried to do some evangelism and was left feeling deflated. He talks about how he overcame that experience and didn’t give up and how God blessed his faithfulness.
Evangelism is risky and we are intuitively risk-averse people today. How can we step-out into all the uncertainties of sharing our faith? Gareth Black is our guide.
Pippa Halpin discusses our natural fear of people who are very different from us in their views, language, culture or religious background. She explains how we can put aside our fear of those who seem different to us, and the joy she has found in sharing Christ across the divides.
We trust and pray that as you prayerfully consider what holds you back from speaking mroe openly about your faith, these articles will inspire you to speak for Jesus. Many Christians have been effectively silenced by many of the ‘gaps’ we have discussed here; yet all the while are longing to tell others about what jesus has done for them. Our vision at Solas is to see churches across the country full of people who are confident, willing and active in sharing their faith in Jesus. It’s the Good News that people in our society desperately need above all else. We are also aware that the path towards that destination is punctuated by thousands of small steps – and that these articles define some of the steps we need to start taking. Thanks for reading these – we trust they we be useful to you. Thankyou too, to all the many writers, both in house at Solas, and the guest writers who contributed to the series. Many thanks.
PEP Talk Podcast With Sharon Dirckx
When sharing the gospel, perhaps no response is more common or more scary than “How can God allow suffering?” It’s an ancient question, but can relate to the present moment more than anything else. Sharon Dirckx joins us today to think about how to navigate this particularly sensitive and personal area of evangelism.
With Sharon Dirckx – PEP Talk
Our Guest
Sharon Dirckx is a Senior Tutor at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA). She has a PhD in brain imaging from Cambridge and has held research positions in the UK and USA. Sharon speaks and lectures in the UK, Europe and North America on science, theology, ‘mind and soul’ and the problem of evil. She is also the author of the award-winning and recently re-released book on suffering, entitled Why?: Looking at God, evil and personal suffering. Her latest book, Am I Just My Brain? (2019) examines questions of human identity from the perspectives of neuroscience, philosophy and theology.
About PEP Talk
The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, Andy Bannister (Solas) and Kristi Mair (Oak Hill College) chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.
Frontlines / Christians at Work: The Offender Rehabilitation Mentor
In this edition of Frontlines we spoke to Emma* – who spends her working life helping to rehabilitate ex-offenders.
Solas: Please could you tell us who you are and a little about your job?
ES: Hi, I’m Emma and I work with ex-prisoners, helping to rehabilitate them into the community on their release. We have several aspects to our work, with women, families, children and with people who are caught up in the criminal justice system themselves. My team mostly works with men coming out of prison, many of whom are aged between 16-30, who are often released with some of their sentence still to be served in the community. They have to work with a probation officer, but we are put alongside them as extra support. In practice my job looks very different with every client I work with; but it usually starts with me picking someone up from the prison gates as they are released. I don’t have statutory reports or targets to meet; we are very flexible and work towards goals the client want to achieve. The aim is to reduce the rate of re-offending in that age-group. I studied social work at university, but ended up working in the voluntary sector for many years, but my first exposure to this kind of work was when I was sixteen, helping in the kitchen of a probation approved hostel, and I just loved it.
Solas: Of all those things, what’s your favourite bit? What gives you job satisfaction?
ES: I have friends who work in formal social work settings, and they have a huge amount of legislation, and paperwork to navigate as they take responsibility for clients. And while I have a responsibility to report any criminality, clients only work with us on a voluntary basis, and so the guys really open up to us. When you pick someone up from the prison gate, you find them a meal, take them to the housing authorities to get accommodation, apply for ID, register them with a doctor – they realise from day one that we’re on their side. I love getting to know the clients and I have a case load of about ten guys at any one time, which means I can be quite creative about what I do. One client might want to revisit somewhere from his childhood, another might want to try to repair a broken relationship with a grandparent, and I get to do that with them. I love working with people that society has largely written off. Many of them are in a cycle of re-offending, and prisons, hostels, and substance abuse – chaotic lives stemming from negative childhood experiences. If they miss appointments with me, I don’t write them off, I can give them another chance. It’s all about the clients for me!
Solas: So what are the challenges of this job, and how does your Christian faith help you to navigate those?
ES: The truth is that there are not a huge number of clients who make it. I’ve known clients fall victim to suicide and drug-overdoses. Some of my colleagues might say; “have you heard who’s out of prison again? I just don’t know what to do with him this time?” Despair can creep in for some people, but I take a different attitude because I genuinely believe that if I can introduce this person to who Jesus is, there could be a complete breakthrough and a total change in their life. My boss is supportive of my stance here – while obviously you can’t ‘preach’ at work; their attitude is that if the subject of faith comes up I do not have to shy away from saying what I believe. I worked recently with one older man with learning difficulties who was quite vulnerable. He was released on a Friday afternoon and had nowhere to go – or the capacity to find a solution. He fell between the cracks of all the different government agencies, and so it was left to me to find somewhere for him at 4PM on a Friday afternoon. A lot of people want to forget about these guys and say that they are just suffering the consequences of their own bad life choices. I understand that, and many of them have made dreadful decisions. However, many of them have been born and raised in circumstances that were very, very difficult to break out of. So, there is a huge challenge there in the messiness and sadness of peoples lives; but as a Christian I get the opportunity to pray for the clients and my colleagues too – because the work can be exhausting.
Solas: And how does your faith affect the way you go about your work?
ES: Well I’ve found a job that I love! It doesn’t feel like a chore but an absolute privilege to work with these clients.
Solas: You talk about it more like a ‘calling’ than a ‘career’..
ES: Yes, 100%! Now of course in this work I get lied to or manipulated sometimes, but I get to give people another chance. They might have burnt their bridges with everyone else; they might be homeless, wanted by the police, breached parole, but I am the person that gets to give them another opportunity, another chance. I think that is an outworking of the deeply Christian idea of “grace” because I get given umpteen chances by Jesus. I find myself asking forgiveness every day for the same thing – and he gives grace. So when a client says to me “Emma, why are you still here?” I can say that my faith tells me that I am loved even when I don’t deserve it, and I want them to know what that feels like. Sometime they say, “Oh you’re off on one again!”, but there are other times when that makes a real impression on them. I’m constantly inspired by how Jesus was with people. He stopped, had time for people and went to their level. And so I count it as a huge privilege to walk with those who society sees as the very least.
Solas: So both colleagues and clients know you are a Christian. What have reactions to that been like?
ES: I’ve never had a hostile reaction – which I am thankful for. Apathy is more common: “I’m happy for you, but it’s not for me” type responses which are difficult to navigate, because that just stops conversations before they have gone anywhere. However Covid has given people the opportunity to “see” church. When people have asked if my church is still going I’ve said, “Yes – do you want to see it, here’s the link!” I’ve been able to show them videos or things on my phone and that’s been helpful. There aren’t many Christians in my workplace, which is fine, but that gives me more of a responsibility. The reaction of colleagues has varied. One colleague has been really searching for years and I’ve had all kinds of conversations with him and his wife, which has been lovely. I have offered to pray for colleagues when they are struggling, and sometimes they laugh that off – but sometimes they say they’d appreciate that. What is so important with both clients and colleagues is the relational aspect, if any of them are ever going to see that Jesus is real, then he must impact all that I do, so that they see that reality in me; how I speak, how I listen, stories I tell about family life, how I work; everything! Similarly when I get something wrong, I confess it and don’t pretend to be better than I am.
Solas: So the conversations you’ve had about your faith, do they come up spontaneously or have you set out to have them intentionally?
ES: I find they happen quite spontaneously. There are over 100 of us in the office and we hot-desk, so you never know who you are going to be sitting next to – so conversation is spontaneous; but that suits me! The only times I’ve had significant conversations which have been intentional have been when a colleague has asked me a question, and I’ve had to go away and think about the answer and get back to them. But relational and spontaneous is how I work best!
Solas: And have you ever had much push-back or objections raised to your faith?
ES: Well a few years ago there was a very high profile court-case to do with sexuality – it was all over the news, and some colleagues picked up on that. I felt quite burdened about that because I wanted to speak the truth, but do so in a way that speaks of love and justice and forgiveness, grace, mercy and kindness. So I do a lot more listening than speaking when those sorts of topics come up. It’s the same with the question of suffering, because we see a lot of kids who are brought up around criminality and chaos with their school reporting that they are smelly, unkempt, hungry, and that no homework being done. And it’s so important to listen and acknowledge the reality of suffering and not rush in with answers about what I think or believe. I’ll see where the conversation goes and where I can share that I believe that Jesus loves these people and can transform any life. The problem with hot-topics is that if you say too much too soon, the barriers go up and you lose the whole conversation. I’ve learnt that through my own family experience too, where my family has got it wrong and relationships have broken down because we jumped in too quickly. Listening to people, meeting them where they are at, and walking with them, might give me the opportunity to introduce them to Jesus.
Solas: You are obviously motivated to share your faith? Why is that?
ES: Well, God saved me as a child, in a challenging enough upbringing. And since I was seven God has been my constant companion, He has never let me down, never failed, always lets me come back – always forgives; and there’s something about that that I can’t keep to myself. I think in the work that I do, it just spills out. Because I am motivated to be with people who really have nobody else, and I want other people to have what I have been given. If I get to be just one small seed in their lives; then that is just such a huge privilege.
Solas: What advice would you give to a young Christian starting out in your workplace, who wants to stay faithful to Christ there?
ES: Well, start by reading the Bible as much as you can, and prioritise time alone with God – so that you know how loved you are by God and can share His love with people who have perhaps never known love. That way you’ll be able to show others how loved they are by God, by the time you give them, how you listen, and the way in which you speak to them, and how you forgive. If you try and do all this while you’re spiritually running on empty, the cracks with show. Then practically, find another believer who works in a similar sector to yourself, who understands the challenges. My job can be tough, because of the many sadnesses we experience, but I’m very grateful that my boss is a Christian, and that’s helpful. Then don’t be afraid to have a sense of humour about the work, even if that can be a little dark! And then for me, I always remember that this work is a privilege – to serve these people who so often get written off.
Solas: Thankyou for speaking to us Emma
ES: I hope that’s useful!
*name has been changed for reasons of professional confidentiality
New Apologists in the Making – Andy at Wycliffe College
Wycliffe College is a largely Anglican, evangelical training college connected to the University of Toronto, where I am a regular visiting professor. Over the last two years I have helped to put together and deliver a thirteen-week module which is part of their MA programme, and takes up to thirty students through a rigorous approach to apologetics.
The course begins with some foundational material such as ‘what is apologetics?’ and ‘the biblical basis for apologetics’, then moves onto some of the frameworks for apologetics and then looks at some of the practicalities of being an effective apologist. Core topics within the course were then, the person of Jesus, the reliability of the Bible, the problem of evil, what it means to be human (and the rise of digital technology, A.I. and transhumanism) and then other religions.
The course contained lots of assessments. My favourite one is where we task the students with interviewing someone from a different faith (or an atheist), and finding out about their worldview and how that operates. Significantly they were tasked to not preach at the interviewee, their first job was to seek to understand them. The students had to write the interview up in such a way that the interviewee agreed that the student had really understood them and summarised them well. That’s the formal part of the assessment, but what we find time and again is that conversations then develop from that, and interviewees say – ‘but what about you Christians, what do you think of all this?’ So it’s been great to see the way in which getting students to have these conversations in which they are sent out to listen, end up being gospel opportunities.
I love doing these courses, because the students are so enthusiastic. On one hand it’s an academically demanding course on which we examine some serious ideas. Then on the other students say at the end, ‘this has been great, I’ve had all these great conversations about my faith’. A new development in this course was that students could choose how they were assessed at the end. Some opted for the traditional 5,000 word essay; but others opted for the new oral exam. In this, the course leaders interviewed the student on Zoom for an hour – taking the role of three different personas; an atheist, a pluralist and a Muslim. So when I was adopting the role of the Muslim I raised common Muslim objections to the student, saying “You’re Bible has been corrupted, you should follow the truth as given to Muhammad (peace be upon him) and abandon your Christianity” – and the students had to engage; wisely, patiently and thoughtfully. Similarly we levelled atheist objections about origins, and pluralist ones about truth-claims to them, to see how they handled them. It was a hugely enjoyable way of assessing them – some struggled a bit, but several were outstanding; certainly their apologetics were better than my acting!
The students came from all across Canada from Alberta to Nova Scotia, from all age-groups and were both men and women. What was also encouraging was that Toronto, which is a very ethnically diverse city; that context was also well reflected in the makeup of the student body. That hasn’t always the case in these kinds of courses so that is progress well worth celebrating. Every community has its questions which need to be answered, and having people from those communities doing that work it so important.
This course is slated to run again in the Spring of 2023, by which time we will have rewritten some of the material to reflect some of the newer challenges which are emerging.
