This is the title of an exciting two-day workshop for leaders of small churches, led by Kevin Martin. Kevin is a good friend of the Institute of Evangelism, and has been very helpful to us in the past. He has also spoken in classes at Wycliffe College. His last ministry posting before “retirement” was as […]
Where Two or Three Gather: New Hope for Small Churches Read More »
At the heart of the courses I teach at Wycliffe College is the question of how to communicate Christian faith to people who are exploring their spirituality but know very little about Christianity. Of course, there’s a limit to how much you can learn about this in the classroom, so from time to time, I
The image of God we carry around in our head is one of the most important things about us. Accurate and inaccurate images of God can lead to very different conclusions. For instance, many people have the image of God as very religious. But, from the teaching of Jesus at least, that is a pretty
“Stranger than Fiction” and the Meaning of Life: What Jesus says to Will Ferrell Read More »
Stories are amazing things. Some of them crop up in every culture in every century. Sometimes they turn up in different forms, but still with a recognizable family likeness. There seems to be something about certain stories that appeals very deeply to the human race. I think this is probably one reason we love the
Christmas at the Movies: How the Grinch Stole Christmas Read More »
Every year, the Diocese of Huron organizes a weekend of spiritual refreshment for those who spend 52 weeks of their year serving in their parish churches. Naturally, they call it \”The 53rd Weekend.\” In 2006, John Bowen, Director of the Institute of Evangelism, was the theme speaker. Here are the talks he gave. Listen Here
John Bowen Speaking at The Diocese of Huron\’s \”53rd Weekend\” Read More »
C.S.Lewis is one of the most unlikely children’s authors you could ever meet. He was an academic all of his life, teaching first at Oxford and later at Cambridge. He was not married till he was over fifty, and had no children of his own, nor any nephews or nieces. His closest friends were other
The Man Who Created Narnia Read More »
One of the myths of our church culture is that of the independent, solitary, thinking individual, thinking deep thoughts in private, then emerging to share them with a grateful world. I suppose Descartes going off by himself and figuring out “I think therefore I am” is the archetype, though that was hardly a sermon. (It’s
Engaging the Myths of our Culture Read More »
A double strand The title of a book tells you a lot about where the author is coming from. There are two books I use in teaching evangelistic preaching which illustrate this very nicely. One is a book of essays entitled Mastering Contemporary Preaching. (Do you get the picture? Preaching is something which can be
A Tale of Two Williams: Willimon and Hybels, and the Nature of Christian Mission Read More »
Listen to the Audio: In 1959, C.S.Lewis wrote to BBC producer Lance Sieveking, who had apparently proposed that a movie be made of The Chronicles of Narnia. Here is part of Lewis’ response: I am absolutely opposed – adamant isn’t in it! – to a TV version. Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into
Are “The Chronicles of Narnia” an Evangelistic Text? Read More »
Christian discipleship is no picnic. There are picnics on the way, of course—and parties an festivals and celebrations and holidays. But discipleship is hard work, and Jesus wasn’t afraid to make that clear, even if it meant having fewer disciples. Now evangelism can be incredible joy, almost intoxicating—when you see a person responding to the
The High Price of Evangelism Read More »