Holy Conversation: Talking About God in Everyday Life

by Richard Peace

So here is the proposal: the way to become this kind of conversationalist is to give serious attention to the key concepts of the gospel. We need to understand in some depth the good news of Jesus. We need to be able to talk about that good news in easy, comfortable ways without using theological jargon.

also need to experience the gospel. It is not enough just to understand-though understanding is crucial; we also need to encounter the realities to which the gospel points.

Holy conversation is all about engaging others beyond the circle of the church.

Only as we talk

through what we are learning with ...

committed to the gospel do we understan...

My pragmatic answer to the question of why we do evangelism is that Christian conversion makes a profound difference in the lives of people.

In the end, this is what evangelism is all about: conversion to Jesus. It is about discovering who Jesus really is even as we discover who we really are. It is about deciding to stop living in destructive, unfulfilling ways and instead turn around and start

People today are fascinated by spirituality. They want to talk about God. They value your insights and experience. But they don't want dogmatic presentations. They want compassionate and honest conversation with people of

Everybody is on a spiritual pilgrimage.

Salvation

Jesus

Repen...

F...

Sin

H...

G...

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Paul's focus is on Jesus,

The gospel is all about Jesus and his death a...

The gospel is about dealing with human need, failure and tr...

Our response to the work of Jesus on our behalf is repentance ...

Holy conversion revolves around the gospel, so it is crucial that we have a good understanding of its content and that we can ta...

While it is important to talk about experience, it's also necessary to talk about who it is we experience.

Jesus

Who Jes...

What Jesus ha...

P...

Human n...

Human...

Commitment

We need to share how we have been changed by those facts.

vocabulary

awar...

willi...

The problem is that tracts have a spotty history. Sure, modern tracts are

But most of them operate out of an us-versus-them mentality.

Tracks also fundamentally speak about ANOTHER person’s story often one that is unique to our own.

And by the way, I wrote "The ABCs of the Gospel." I have never published it (except here), nor would I ever use it because it is so hard to understand.

while the language and style of "The ABCs of the Gospel" is hopeless, the theology behind it is not so off base. It does not capture what one might call "the whole gospel,"

"The ABCs of the Gospel" does not communicate well to those who are unfamiliar with biblical language, it does state many o...

It serves as a living reminder that we need to learn the art of theo...

Jesus is at the very center of...

Therefore, Jesus is the focal point of hol...

knowledge about Jesus is pret...

Mark was likely to tell you that Jesus was a ...

Mark knew that Jesus was a prophet who got in trouble with the law and got hi...

chief cha...

is learning how to talk about Jesus in a way that moves beyond th...

How can we help p...

That he was God beco...