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Internet evangelism is by far the newest means of getting out the gospel message. With millions of blogs, articles, videos and interactive platforms for sharing the faith, this media must be taken seriously. Jason Lee Miller an editor and skillful writer for WebProNews said, “In the past two years, blogging, as a profession, has grown from geeky obscurity into a direct challenge to the journalism industry, even with bloggers' reputation for being unruly, unvetted, grammatically and syntactically insufficient, and above all, a disorganized mess.” Although Mr. Miller is correct there are those who believe that blogging may eventually go the way of the internet chat room and fade into insignificance. If or until it does it holds the single greatest potential for evangelism thorough the media since the advent of television. It has been said that if a college professor could knock down the faith of a person in their freshman year, it wasn’t much faith to begin with. What is being thrown against Christianity on the internet today makes the anti-Christian ranting of secular college professors look tame. If you are going to march into that lions den there are some important preparations that should be made first. Although it may sound a little too rudimentary the same rules applied to one on one witnessing in real time applies to internet sharing. First know your bible. If you are new to the faith then at the very least keep a topical bible and a good exhaustive concordance around to supplement what you don’t know too well. Looking up pertinent passages will only sharpen your bible skills in other areas of the Christian life. Secondly, stay prayed up. If you enter the blogs with a carnal attitude you will be knocked off your guard quickly. Even worse you may resort to answering in “the flesh.” This will be sensed immediately by blog respondents and will do harm to your witness. Ask God to always let your replies be given in love and don’t forget common decency and respect for others at all times. Remember there is no offense in love and there is no defense against it. Thirdly, learn to depend on God’s Holy Spirit first and your wit, knowledge and all else last. Ask God to be in you choice of answers and he will be. I could say it no better than this…” take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Mt 10: 19-20 Fourthly, stay focused. If you are easily offended or if you need to answer every little quip or reply that is made you will get entangled at the speed of bloggercrash and you may not recover. The gospel stands by itself. Jesus Christ died for sinners and rose from the dead and is willing to take anyone into his Kingdom with a repentant heart, this is the heart of the gospel. Regardless of what is said all roads must lead to that point if your witness is to have any effect at all. Remember if your going to blog that all blogs are not created equal. Christian blogs are where believers can find some fellowship with like minds and perhaps learn valuable things to supplement their faith. Other blogs are like war zones and can get out of hand quickly. If for instance you decide to attend to political sites keep in mind that some people think God and politics don’t mix. They may believe that partisan politics holds all the answers quite apart from God’s word or his commandments. These sites are not for the novice or the squeamish. Choose your blogs carefully. There is a point when saying nothing says the most. Some sites are always lavished with heightened vitriol, abusive and foul language and personal attacks. It is my belief that these sites should be generally avoided. We can’t forget Christ’s admonition to give our best witness to those who are at least listening and who may respond. To wit; “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” Mt 7:6 Never forget that we are not called to defend the gospel but only to proclaim it. Muslims think they need to hurt or kill anyone who speaks a negative word about the prophet Muhammad but Christ doesn’t need any defense, he has already overcome the world. (Jn. 16:33) Another point Christians must keep in mind is that when entering a heated discussion and taking on either an offensive or a defensive position you have left the realm of proclamation and entered into debate. Some debate is useful but endless debate is not productive. The apostle Paul rebuked the Christians at Corinth for engaging in useless debates. (2 Cor. 12:20) Paul also said that endless debating was one of the hallmarks of the unregenerate and disobedient. (Ro. 1:29) If you have no skill at sharing your faith you may want to get some. Google “Ray Comfort” and take a look at what one of today’s top evangelists has to say about sharing the gospel. Some of Ray Comfort’s methods may seem unusual but they are among the most effective witnessing tools available in today’s climate of Christian bashing, hyper liberalism and pseudo intellectually driven self justification. The nature of witnessing is changing as the last days approach. When you quote scripture or share your faith you are drawing a line. The unbeliever doesn’t fully understand what that line is but they know it is being drawn. If they ponder what you say or if they already agree with it that is one thing but if rejected it may be interpreted as judgment or a criticism against them. One statement that occurs with great frequency on the blogs is “why do Christians always try to shove their religion down our throats.” The most gentle and articulately presented scripture or personal viewpoint can be seen this way. It takes more than language skills to know when and where to say something it takes Holy Spirit powered discernment. Got discernment? Most blogs are an endless melee of opinions and when someone comes into them quoting scripture the tone changes. You have interjected an absolute that is often interpreted as too authoritarian in nature. In fact, that’s just what it is. No one should be ashamed or reticent to quote scripture but it helps if you possess some fundamental skills in diplomacy. Author Cullen Hightower said “Wisdom is what’s left when we’ve run out of personal opinions.” We need not worry that Americans will ever run out of opinions. Scripture is not an opinion and it will never run out of wisdom. Although blogs are not generally the place for full personal testimonies of our conversion experiences you may be able to get some or part of it told under the right conditions. People will argue a point to the death but personal stories are hard to argue with. In fact I might say that Americans are far more open to personal experiences than any other people in the world. How you met or came to know God is your most powerful tool in the end. It all boils down to a saying I have spoken and quoted for over 40 years now. “A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument” Personally I rarely answer the blogs or the remarks made about my articles. My approach is similar to Pontius Pilate’s who is noted for saying...What I have written I have written. (Jn. 19:22) The times are calling for a more prophetic message than the previous general calls of evangelists. Perhaps John said it best in the revelation of Jesus Christ given to him while exiled on the isle of Patmos. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” (Rev. 2:11) Rev Bresciani is a Christian author and a columnist for several online sites and magazines. His articles are now read in every country in the world. For articles and news from around the world visit “The Website for Insight” http://www.americanprophet.org
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Christianity, religion, blogging, blogs, opinion, Hightower, Pontius Pilate, Ray Comfort, evangelism, witnessing, bible, Christ, American Prophet, diplomacy, debate,
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