Coffee and Philosophy Ministry


Topics and Discussion

Evangelism
• Is it enough to lead a moral, good life and let that be an example to people? Is that sufficient to evangelize or do we need to “proclaim” (” preach” in some versions) the good news (Mark 16:14-16) to fulfill Jesus’ command?
• Proclaim/preach indicates speaking or writing.
• Do we miss opportunities to bring people to Christ by relying too much on “good behavior” as our witness when “good behavior” does not necessarily mean someone is a Christian.
• There is also 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 that states we all have different gifts and callings.
• Is everyone supposed to preach the good news or were Jesus’ directions in Mark 16 and in Matthew 28:16-20 meant specifically for the disciples to whom He was speaking?
• What we do AND why we do it- we may need to proclaim WHY we behave as we do (because we are in Christ.)
• Satan may have duped us into believing that all we must do is be “nice people.”
• It can be risky to proclaim- some people lose jobs, lose family members, lose friends- even if telling people about Christ just feels awkward, there is still risk to our own comfort.
• Just proclaiming is not enough, either- we need to avoid hypocrisy- if you are in Christ, your actions should reflect the values of Christ. Your faith in Christ will have fruit in your behavior.
• If people do not listen to you spreading the word of God, you can kick off the dust from your feet and move on, but we are supposed to bring the word. We should be bold, but also elegant so as not to alienate people who might be put off by an overly aggressive approach.
• St. Francis is believed to have said- “Preach the gospel at all times and use words as necessary.”
• Sometimes, we evangelize through actions associated and clearly connected to our identity in church- food bank, ECW, Operation Homebound, Stephen Ministry, bereavement committee- we do loving acts and it is clear, because of the affiliation with the church, that we do them in Jesus’ name. These types of ministries also present opportunities/entrée to have deeper discussions about Jesus and Christianity. Often, evangelism is most effective when done in the context of relationships.
• Leave room for the Holy Spirit as to how to evangelize and consider that your part may be just to plant a seed and, over time, God will water and nurture theseed through His direct inspiration and/or through the interventions of other believers
. • Different methods- we are all disciples, but we evangelize in different ways- even someone homebound and frail can help in the evangelism effort by praying.
• Relationship is often one of the methods the Holy Spirit uses, as well as personality and giftedness.

Invite/Building St. James In Numbers and Vibrancy
• A good way to “invite” is to “parachute behind defensive lines”- invite to something that is less foreign or threatening than an actual liturgy- Stephen Ministry, Grief Support, Ukulele Ministry, Alpha, Vacation Bible School.
• A warm, genuine welcoming atmosphere goes a long way.
• Sometimes, people who are very different from us come to our church- people with cognitive, disordered thinking, emotional disabilities, people without stable housing, etc. Some people have specific giftedness for connecting with them. There is a tension between compassion, acceptance, and our own capability to help without harming.
• Jesus is the vine, and we are all grafted onto that vine. Sometimes, when a farmer grafts a cutting from one plant onto another, he ends up with a vine growing many different kinds of fruit.
• Meeting the needs of all the people is complicated and difficult- impossible without God.
• St. James tries to be intentional about being welcoming, warm, and responsive to the parishioners’ needs.
• Having children and families at the church is part of the welcoming, warm atmosphere- even if the demographic make-up o f the parish is going to continue to be largely retired people, a lot of retired people find the children in our congregation to be a part of the warm atmosphere God creates for us.
• What draws people to church? Theology, friendliness/warmth, the Spirit of God, beauty of the grounds, music.

Misc New Testament Discussion Points
• There was discussion about how long after Paul’s conversion experience until he wrote the epistles. It appears that Paul went from persecuting Christians to proclaiming the Christian message in 3 years. After conversion, he went to Arabia and Damascus for 3 years and then met with Peter for 15 days. He then preached outside of Judea for 14 years before going to Jerusalem.
• In Ephesians 1, Paul rejoices in the beautiful grace of God. How do we even understand enough about God, His nature, and the property of grace to recognize it as praiseworthy. God gives us grace so that we can understand grace at some level, but we will never understand it totally.
• There is some content overlap in Jude and 2nd Peter.