Are fear and anxiety holding you back from sharing your faith? Does the thought of evangelism make you uneasy or leave you concerned about making others uncomfortable? The biggest barrier to evangelism, Mark Teasdale argues, is not lack of training or information—it’s fear.
Book: Socially Awkward Evangelism
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- How Well Are We Sharing Jesus in a Dark World?
- Why Feeling Anxious or Awkward in Sharing Jesus with Others
- Responding to Anxiety
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Mark R. Teasdale (PhD, SMU 2010) is the President of United Theological Seminary and the former E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and an adjunct professor of evangelism at Emory University and the Methodist Theological Institute in Yangon, Myanmar. He is ordained in the United Methodist Church and served for 12 years in local churches. He is the author of several books and articles on evangelism, missiology, and Methodist studies, including Evangelism for Non-Evangelists, Participating in Abundant Life, and most recently Socially Awkward Evangelism.
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TIMESTAMPED SHOWNOTES:
00:32 – Introducing Dr Mark Teasdale
02:28 – How Well Are We Sharing Jesus in a Dark World?
04:08 – …”WE” is inconsistent across the global church
04:40 – …recognize that the gospel is the supremely Good News
05:10 – …inconsistent formation of Christians
05:23 – …Book, Socially Awkward Evangelism, is focused on the western context
06:26 – …struggling with formation and our claiming of just how good the gospel is
06:50 – …follow-up question 1: evangelism outside of the western hemisphere
07:07 – ……much high priority and conviction
07:54 – ……even with freedom of religion in the west, it is socially uncomfortable
10:20 – …follow-up question 2: what is the best global practice?
12:00 – ……there is not a single best practice because of distinct contexts
14:57 – ……relational engagements
17:10 – …Organic Non-Western vs Planned Western Church Planting
18:01 – Why Feeling Anxious or Awkward in Sharing Jesus with Others
18:56 – …seminarians are anxious in sharing their faith publicly
19:42 – …wired to feel anxious
21:13 – …allows us to act
22:21 – …problem of anxiety
23:15 – …cancel culture
23:56 – …what is life about and what to believe
25:26 – Responding to Anxiety
28:13 – …intellectual: understand the gospel better to articulate it
29:05 – …emotional, social, physical: tools from behavioral psychology therapy
31:34 – …build a new example of what evangelism looks like
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