http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/ en gthomas@abwe.org Copyright 2010 2010-12-17T18:57:55+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/truth-that-sticks/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/truth-that-sticks/#When:17:57:55Z Avery Willis and Mark Snowden—excellent story tellers—were on a mission to motivate and recruit more story-telling disciple-makers when they wrote this book in their down-to-earth storytelling style. Stories-Narratives 2010-12-17T17:57:55+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/the-roots-of-faith-course-overview/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/the-roots-of-faith-course-overview/#When:13:27:39Z The Roots of Faith: Exploring the Bible from Beginning to End is the extended version of The Story of Hope that includes 100 stories from the Bible’s Big Story of redemption, 50 from the Old Testament and 50 from the New Testament.  We sometimes call it “a Biblical centipede that doesn’t limp” because every era in the Bible’s Big Story is included, even the 400 years between the Old and New testaments.  Each of the 100 stories is summarily illustrated by one of the images from our new, high quality Good Soil image collection. The Roots of Faith 2010-05-04T13:27:39+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/using-stories-in-ed1/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/using-stories-in-ed1/#When:14:24:34Z When I became a man, I started hearing fewer stories than I did as a child. Apparently, stories were childish, and when I became a man I had to put away the things of a child (1 Corinthians 13:11). However, awhile back I noticed something: when my pastor began telling a story as an illustration in his sermon, people sat up and listened more intently. I began to watch for this. I saw that whenever a preacher told an illustration, the room was quieter; people listened more intently. I started telling and crafting stories for my sermons—not just illustrations, but I used Bible stories and other stories that became cornerstones of messages. People’s eyes opened wider, they sat on the edge of their seats, eager to hear more. 2010-05-03T14:24:34+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/persuasion-and-presentation-of-the-gospel/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/persuasion-and-presentation-of-the-gospel/#When:13:39:14Z It is that knotty issue of persuasion that we will examine here. Though students of the Word know that Paul used persuasion in his ministry, they wonder whether that was “Paul’s thing,” and perhaps not something that should be used by other witnesses. Once having concluded that persuasion was not a personal or cultural feature of the presentation of the gospel, but that it is appropriate for use today, witnesses are still unsure about their readiness, and of their powers of persuasion. They wonder how much persuasion to use, and whether they will cross the line from persuasion to domination. Bible Topics 2010-03-29T13:39:14+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/thoughts-on-biblical-theology/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/thoughts-on-biblical-theology/#When:18:03:32Z Here are some key quotations from an 1894 essay by Dr. Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949), the leading evangelical theologian in the early development and popularization of the discipline of Biblical Theology.  The entire essay is available in the Resources section of this site--The Idea of Biblical Theology as a Science and as a Theological Discipline (his inaugural address as Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1894). Theological Issues 2009-12-13T18:03:32+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/good-soil-ed-in-a-local-church/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/good-soil-ed-in-a-local-church/#When:21:48:15Z In our training and promotions, we have resisted the term “program” because it often connotes a firmly fixed set of steps that, if followed, will automatically produce good results.  However, that does not mean that local churches cannot implement this Good Soil approach with its associated resources in the form of a ministry program.  But the key is that local churches need to determine how Good Soil E&D will work best in their church, in their local setting with their people.   Good Soil in Local Church 2009-12-12T21:48:15+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/should-the-way-to-joy-be-in-a-narrative-form/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/should-the-way-to-joy-be-in-a-narrative-form/#When:22:20:34Z We've been asked this question a few times.  In order to support the concept of a narrative-based discipleship book (a narrative edition of The Way to Joy), several reasons have been proposed: People today are interested in narratives. Jesus discipled his followers by telling stories. In some non-literate cultures, people are not able to understand propositional concepts, such as those in The Way to Joy. The Way to Joy 2009-12-04T22:20:34+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/aha-moments-and-good-soil-evangelism/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/aha-moments-and-good-soil-evangelism/#When:04:52:55Z "Aha! moments" are uniquely delightful experiences.These are sometimes called flashes of insight, coincidence, serendipity, 悟り(satori – or, enlightenment, to the Buddhist!), being “surprised by joy” (C. S. Lewis) and so forth; these happy moments of discovery shine all too seldom into our daily lives.  But there are also important "Aha! moments" when an unbeliever, through the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit, first "sees" key truths in God's redemptive story. Metanarrative (ChronoBible) Evangelism 2009-11-26T04:52:55+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/evangelism-on-mars-hill-lessons-for-today/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/evangelism-on-mars-hill-lessons-for-today/#When:00:08:40Z The exposition of Acts 17:16-34 by D.A. Carson is a valuable resource for anyone involved in evangelism with unbelievers in any non-Christian worldview context. Hopefully, the concluding remarks from that exposition will encourage you to read the entire chapter. A link to a free downloadable document is included at the end of this article. Worldview Relevant E&D—General 2009-10-04T00:08:40+00:00 http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/importance-of-the-bibles-storyline-in-evangelism-with-pluralists/ http://cultivate.goodsoil.com/blog/importance-of-the-bibles-storyline-in-evangelism-with-pluralists/#When:23:08:11Z From Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns, Edited by D.A. Carson In chapter three, Harold Netland and Keith E. Johnson present two vital reasons for using the Bible's story line in presenting the gospel to people who believe that no religion is superior to others. Metanarrative (ChronoBible) Evangelism 2009-10-03T23:08:11+00:00