Sharing a Defense

"Indeed, Acts 26 records Paul sharing his testimony. But it's more than the three-fold model I was instructed to follow. Paul wove together a tapestry of his experiences, pre-evangelistic prompters, doctrinal elements, apologetic arguments, and even a call for a decision. While Agrippa did not respond as Paul had hoped (and prayed!---see his comment in verse 29), and accused Paul of losing his mind (v. 24), the king didn't offer any dismissive, relativistic gibberish about 'true for you but not for me.'"

"Note that the text calls Paul's speech a 'defense' (v. 1). That's probably a better description than a 'testimony,' and offering a defense is probably a better goal for us than merely sharing our story." 

~ The Gospel Coalition 

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/11/14/dont-just-share-your-testimony/

Evangelical focus

"Biblical evangelism focuses on communicating our need to respond to Jesus Christ as Lord of all, not on how we can get God to respond to our moral performance...It is the good and true news that Jesus has defeated sin, death, and evil through his own death and resurrection and is making all things new..." ~ The Resurgence

http://theresurgence.com/2012/10/20/going-back-to-believable-evangelism?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheResurgence+%28The+Resurgence%29

Divine touch

"And how humbling to think that we followers of Christ, in our feeble attempts to love God and serve others, are in fact the means by which divine love touches the world." ~ Gospel Coalition

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/10/17/answering-skeptics-without-a-word/

Knowing hope

"Jesus told us to love God with our minds, and Peter prepared us to give a credible answer for the hope within us. The particular approach we take, however, will look different depending upon our particular personality and calling." ~ Gospel Coalition

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/10/17/answering-skeptics-without-a-word/

Contextualization analysis

"The gospel itself holds the key to appropriate contextualization. If we over-contextualize, it suggests that we want too much the approval of the receiving culture. This betrays a lack of confidence in the gospel. If we under-contextualize, it suggests that we want the trappings of our own sub-culture too much. This betrays a lack of gospel humility and a lack of love for our neighbor." ~ The Gospel Coalition

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/10/17/surprising-benefits-of-theological-vision-for-ministry/