This is Part 3 of our Summer Leadership Lesson Series: Imaginative Evangelism. As we lead our groups and ministries, we must strive to forcefully advance the Kingdom of God through strategic evangelism, exponential discipleship, and sacrificial service. And that begins by understanding and being able to clearly communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today, we will explore the stories of transformation.
In the book, Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels said, ““Possibly the greatest realization someone can make is this: ‘My story fits into God’s greater story—and that’s the greatest story ever told.’”
When we “share the Gospel” or “share our faith” with others, there are two things we must do. 1) Know God’s story, 2) Know our story, and 3) Learn the stories of others and help them discover how their story intersects with God’s story. Last week, we talked about three dimensions of the story that God has been writing throughout history- delivering people from bondage and liberating them to live fully, freeing them from exile and restoring them to community, and making sacrifice to cover our sinful nature and make us pure.
Today, I want us to move our focus to the second issue- our story. When we share our stories with people, we typically follow this kind of outline: I was a sinner. Here’s the list of things I did wrong. Then, Jesus entered my life and now I’m a saint. Don’t you want to do this too? Or this: My life was terrible. Everything was wrong. Then Jesus appeared and now life is wonderful. Don’t you want to live this way too?
Are we missing something here? A few things strike me. First, this approach may not resonate at all with the person you are talking to. They may not perceive their life to be terrible or that they are sinners. Secondly, if you were blessed to be born on a church pew and started following Christ when you were 5, then your “testimony” just doesn’t seem to have much wow factor. Finally, what’s happened in your life since? Did Jesus just show up, wave his wand, make everything better for once and for all? Or has he continued to work in your life?
I’m all for conversion stories. If someone is sharing a powerful testimony of how God has pulled them out of a life of pain, I’m listening. If someone is talking about their struggle out of sex, drugs, and lies and how Jesus freed them in a moment of divine intervention, I’m there. But for many of us, we need to look at our whole story. Not just our conversion story. We need to look more comprehensively at stories of transformation. The conversion moment is always a story of transformation. But if we are growing in our faith, then Jesus is working miracles of transformation in our lives all the time, and those stories can be just as critical and compelling in our evangelism efforts as the moment we walked down the aisle or prayed the prayer.
We get to hear people tell stories of transformation in Scripture. In John 9:1-25, we get front row seats to watch Jesus heal a man that had been blind from birth. Talk about transformation. And when the Pharisees and religious leaders want to engage him in theological discourse, he simply responds, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
take a few moments and read the entire story of the blind man in John 9. Or Paul’s transformation story in Acts 22 and Acts 26. As you look at how others shared their stories of transformation in Scripture, ask yourself the following questions:
- What major events does the speaker focus on in each story?
- What major themes does the speaker focus on in each story?
- Is he telling his story or teaching doctrine?
- Is he outlining a systematic theology for salvation?
- Are there any common themes or threads running through all these stories?
Now, spend some time thinking about your own story with God. Think about more than just conversion; think about transformation. You may find the following questions helpful:
- How did you encounter Jesus? (or how did he encounter you?)
- What did Jesus do?
- How did you respond?
- What happened to you as a result?
- When in your life was God most real to you?
Stories of transformation will help us connect more with people and convey more fully the gospel message entrusted to us. Next week, we will talk about autobiography and give you more tools for digging through your life and identifying the ink from God’s pen.
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