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There have been very few "national" evangelistic programs that have exited me in over thirty years as pastor. MY HOPE excites me. Imagine if every church in the United States has five couples invite five lost people and witnessed to them!

Yes, my first thought when I saw the thread title was a hymn (or parody):

MY HOPE is built on nothing less than Billy Graham's righteousness...

but of course once I read Allan's post it was obvious what he meant, even though I too am unfamiliar with the program in question. (And I'll admit I'm leery of pointing at others and saying "Lost"...)

The MY HOPE campaign is produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. They sent out a free dvd containing the how to and a composite of Billy Graham sermons (20 min.) to be shown to the dinner guests. The "My Hope" comes from Billy Graham's desire to see the United States stop the slide into secularism.

I think we all know at least five people, whether friends or family, whose lives are lived without any reference to God. To me, that's "lost".

Evangelism carries risks. Jesus knew this and when He sent out the disciples two by two. He instructed them that if they are not received to knock the dust from their shoes. Sure, some of them probably got mad and told the temple priests about the "heretics".

I guess the bottom line is what we believe about eternity. If we believe that when the body dies that we continue to existence then some thought should be given to that state of existence. Should God accept everyone into His abode then there's very little to think about. But should God only accept certain of the deceased spirits then some thought should be given to His requirements for admission. And, if rejected what are the alternatives? Could it be that this is the dialogue some people could be induced to share in?

I believe God sent His son, Jesus, into the world to save, from the consequences of sin, those who would believe and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. I believe that this "Good News" should be shared.

The idea makes me a bit uncomfortable if the persons coming aren't warned. I'd never invite a group to dinner with the intention of showing a video for evangelism purposes without telling them. That smacks of a bait and switch. They think they are coming for a friendly dinner and you have a plan in mind to hit them with this gospel presentation that they might or might not want to see if given the opportunity to say no.

Now if you set up a dinner and invited people saying, "Hey I've got this video that presents the Christian faith and I'm inviting you and some of my other non-Christian friends to come see it over dinner." That would be a lot different. There are no tricks involved. People can decline if they aren't interest.

Allen Brooks wrote "I believe God sent His son, Jesus, into the world to save, from the consequences of sin, those who would believe and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. I believe that this "Good News" should be shared."

Ed: Allen I think everyone here agrees with you on that. It is the essence of the great commission.

The question revolves on methodology. And I am persuaded that no one size fits all who proclaim or every audience. And in my 79 years 9 months I have observed some sloppy evangelism.

I still still wish I knew what on earth Willis meant about Billy being a "mystic?"

the "Regular Baptist" denomination he comes out of is a very very small group of people. He may have trouble finding his own kind to hang out with.

I'd say you're a kind of a mystic...all that Celtic stuff. I regularly call some members of the small group that I attend 'mystical.' Me, I'm generally non-mystic but inclined towards being dyspeptic.

As to Graham, he just isn't someone that I'd have thought of as "mystic" fitting him. While Willis was from a very different background, I'm sorry he didn't give it more of a shot. I've figured out most of the regulars around here.

As for inviting a bunch of acquaintances over to surprise them with a film about Christianity---- My cousin's grandpop had a saying about that.: "If a man comes to my house talking about religion, I make sure my cattle are branded early that year". I come from a family where a lot of people have been taken advantage of by so-called "church people". Including me. No dinner table film is going to change my mind. I gotta see if you walk the walk before I pay much mind to your talk.

I was lured into a cult by youth leaders at the church I attended as a teenager as a new Christian. They, and several other members of the church thought this teacher was the best thing since sliced bread, but his seminars were full of false teaching that led me to an unwise marriage to a man with severe psychological problems that I was too young to inexperienced in the ways of the world to recognize. TThis well known leader's teachings led me to be excessively harsh and violent in disciplining my children. My daughter was left with deep emotional scars she has never forgiven me for.
I have cousins who were led into direct sales schemes that had them spending money on over priced products and sales training workshops they couldn't afford in hopes of getting rich quick (They must be honest-- I met them at church!)

Thats just the tip of the iceburg. Haruo and I were discussing today a long line of High School Sunday school teachers with some really odd theology that paraded across the pulpit in the High School department of our home church during our teen years .....

Ed: Mrs, I have heard a few others give even more specific examples, generally occurring in "independent churches" with under educated pastors. There was recently (with in the past year) a case here in upstate Ny where a teenage boy was beaten to death by members of a church made up mostly of one family and in a church setting during a "group counseling session" they attempted to force he and a brother "to confess their sins"" by taking turns at beating the two the older brother survived...physically. I have heard no reports of what sort of psychological help he may be getting.

But this so far from the norm for the vast majority of churches some of are inclined to say that it was an exception and will probably never happen again. I believe that would be a safe bet in most denominational churches but what can or should be done about small clans of misguide people? Some Baptist are slaves to our doctrine of separation of church and state to the point they would not report suspected child abuse at a church if they caught wind of it. That I feel is a gross misunderstanding of the doctrine.

if you would care to pursue this subject we should start a new topic. Unfortunately I am quite busy with my down sizing efforts, at this point in time.

The cult in question was Bill Gothard's, and the church was United Presbyterian, very mainstream outfit but with some nut cases and ignorami assigned to teach Sunday School and lead youth groups. There is already a thread named for him, , and also some mention of him in the one on . I would suggest using the former for further discussion of Gothard and his "ministries". I attended a seminar of his along with Mrs. Haruo and others from the Rose Hill Presbyterian youth group. I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now. I didn't take him any more seriously than I do the Mormon missionaries current angling for our souls, or the Nichiren Shoshu folks I joined briefly a few years later.

I've not heard the name "Gothard" for a while. But his views on marriage and family are infamous. <shudder>