Hi First Presbyterian Church
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! You may have noticed that our worship recently has been following along with our lectionary readings from the First Epistle of Peter. This Sunday, our readings will focus on 1 Peter 3:13-22. In this portion of Peter’s letter, he writes these words: “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you” (v. 15).
In that verse, the Greek word Peter uses for “defense” is the word apologia. You may have heard the English word “apologetics.” Our English word comes from this Greek word Peter uses. When Christians use the word apologetics, they mean “a systematic and rational defense of Christian beliefs.” This may sound deep, theoretical, and highly academic, and it sometimes is. I’m sure the Apostle Peter would endorse this kind of approach to defending our Christian hope. But it’s also important to keep in mind that Peter is writing this letter to ordinary people, not highly trained theologians. What I think Peter is talking about in 1 Peter 3:15 is more accurately called “evangelism” - using our words to tell others about the hope we have in Christ.
Over the past year, some of you have been asking me about evangelism - what it entails and how to do it. Since Sunday’s reading from 1 Peter 3:13-22 gets straight to this point, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to host a discussion about evangelism. So this Sunday, you’re going to hear my sermon expositing this text about evangelism. Then, the following Sunday (May 17), I’m going to lead an evangelism workshop from 11:30am-12:30pm upstairs in our chapel. I hope you will attend!
For my Doctor of Ministry program, I’ve read a book by Don Everts entitled The Reluctant Witness: Discovering the Delight of Spiritual Conversations. In this book, Everts refers to recent from the Barna Group that shows that over a span of 25 years Christians are having less spiritual conversations with non-Christians, are more uncomfortable with spiritual conversations, and mention Jesus and the Bible less in the spiritual conversations we are having. How do we reconcile this with what Peter instructs - to always be reading to tell others about the hope of Christ?
Have you struggled with the idea of evangelism because you’ve seen poor examples of it or maybe because you fear the judgment of others? Have you wanted to engage in spiritual conversations with others but feel like you don’t know how? Are you like some in our congregation who have asked me specifically how to have spiritual conversations with your adult children who aren’t currently part of a church community? Or are you just totally turned off by the whole idea of evangelism altogether? This workshop on May 17 will be designed to discuss all of those scenarios!
I hope you will attend the workshop to engage with this important topic.
In Christ's Peace,
Aaron