Today’s evangelicals can still learn from the original manual for spreading the Gospel, according to pastor and author Bruxy Cavey.
“Evangelism and the Missional Church: Examples from Acts” was the title of Cavey’s talk during a breakfast March 11, 2015, at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary, part of Fresno Pacific University. Author of the best-selling End of Religion, Cavey is the teaching pastor of The Meeting House—one of Canada’s largest congregations and “A Church for People who Aren’t into Church.”
Some 65 Valley pastors, lay leaders and seminary students attended the breakfast, which began at 8:30 a.m. in BC Lounge on the main FPU campus. About 13 of the students involved were taking Cavey’s week-long seminary class: “Evangelism and Missional Church.” Terry Brensinger, Ph.D., university vice president and seminary dean, invited Cavey.
The Apostle Paul emphasized a gentle and respectful approach to evangelizing and the simple themes of Jesus, resurrection, grace and the kingdom, Cavey said. Christians should remove all obstacles and roadblocks that keep people from hearing the good news that “God has come to us through Christ to show his love, save from sin, share his life and shut down religion,” he added.
Hell is not the motivator in Acts, neither is conservatism or liberalism. “You do not get bonus points for being more conservative than God,” Cavey said. Instead, the focus is always on the truth of the message of Jesus. A gentle, self-controlled tone shows the character of Christ, and Christians are the body of Christ, manifesting Jesus to others as Jesus manifested God, he said.