Beginning Life Together: Six Sessions on God's Purposes for Your Life

The DVD includes six 10-15 min. video segments with discussion questions and is suitable for a small group study. The six speakers are Chip Ingram, Steve Farrar, Anne Ortland, Bruce Wilkinson, Doug Fields, Steve Arterburn. They were all good with one exception; Doug Fields speaking on evangelism. Session 5 "Sharing Your Life Mission Every Day", by Doug Fields The theme of Mr. Fields talk is, since you don't want to appear as a lunatic Christian, and you can't possibly know all the answers, just share your story. Don't feel bad if you can't articulate the biblical terms for salvation. After all, it's too technical and is not a good way to attract people. What we need is a new gospel. Not a gospel of `words' on repentance and forgiveness through Christ, but a gospel of `deeds' that will appeal to unbelievers and make Christianity more acceptable. The model for evangelism promoted by Doug Fields can be done with little or no biblical content. This caught my attention and provoked a response because compromising the gospel is no small issue. While his message is not blatantly false, it is certainly out of balance. The problem is not so much with what Mr. Fields promotes, but the fact that, in a talk about evangelism, he dismisses the core message of the gospel. Throughout his talk he minimizes truth and emphasizes love. But just as truth without love has its problems; love without truth is equally in error. Neither is a biblical expression of love. In evangelism, as with any other area, truth and love are to work in tandem. Doug Fields actually discourages and at times nearly ridicules reasoning for the truth of the gospel. He does this by offering two caricatures; the lunatic and the intellectual. Listen to Mr. Fields characterization of a person who shares a biblically informed gospel message. * "memorize the "four happy hops to heaven" and be ready to repeat them" * "stand in the middle of your neighborhood street and flag cars down and say hey roll your window down I want to tell you about Jesus" * "screaming preachers with bad toupees" * "guys on the street corner accosting innocent pedestrians" * "those who go door to door wearing name tags for Jesus" * "we must master mesmerizing verbal assaults that will wow people into placing their faith in Christ" * "possess all the right weapons to handle the spiritual showdown at the water cooler" * "we're called to be lights, not lunatics" The spin is to create a negative image of those who use tracts, do street evangelism or are well prepared to reason for what is true. If you do these things you risk being labeled a "lunatic". Let's say you're not a lunatic. Is it possible for the average, well mannered Christian to effectively reason for the truth of the gospel? The spin here is that substantial, persuasive answers are out reach for the average Christian. Therefore, don't worry about not having answers, just tell your story. Here Doug Fields uses rhetoric to leave the Christia

Absolutely unbelievable deal for the Leader's Pack of Beginning Life Together. The messages for each session are powerful and the leader's resources included on the DVDs are a big help. It's a great deal for those wanting to spend God's money wisely.

Our adult Sunday School class is just starting this study & we're very excited about it. There is a coordinating DVD that we're using also. Based on the principles from "Purpose Driven Life", the format is fresh and the questions are relevant. My only criticism is that the lessons are designed to take an hour & 1/2 and we only have an hour for Sunday School. If you're looking for a packaged program to draw your group closer through fellowship & Bible study, this is for you.