Podcast appearances and mentions of Sam Chan

Message from Sam Chan on 18/05/2025

Rebecca and Sam Chan explore the complexities of living an authentic life through a Christian lens. They discuss cultural narratives about being true to oneself and the contrasting biblical perspective of finding true identity through Jesus. Sam shares from his experiences as a medical doctor to explore themes of identity, sacrifice, and the pursuit of truth, challenging listeners to seek life's purpose beyond self-centered desires and inviting them to discover fulfillment in a relationship with God.Follow Sam:X, Instagram, Website, and FacebookSign up for weekly emails at RebeccaMcLaughlin.org/SubscribeFollow Confronting Christianity:Instagram | XProduced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Good Podcast Co.⁠⁠⁠⁠

Message from Sam Chan on 24/11/2024

Message from Sam Chan on 17/11/2024

31st August, 2024 – In the penultimate episode of Deeper Than Psychology on Radio Maria Ireland, hosts Sam Chan and Matthias explore the complex interplay between disposition and discernment. They discuss the role of personal disposition in spiritual and psychological well-being, examining how it affects our responses to life's challenges and opportunities. Sam and Matthias […] The post E13 | Deeper Than Psychology – Sam & Matthias – Navigating Disposition and Discernment: A Deep Dive into Spiritual and Psychological Insights appeared first on Radio Maria Ireland.

24th August, 2024 – In this episode of Deeper Than Psychology, co-hosts Sam Chan and Matthias explore the idea of intellectual and imaginative ascent from a psychological perspective. They discuss how our minds can go beyond basic thinking to reach higher levels of understanding and creativity. By looking at the psychological processes involved, they offer […] The post E12 | Deeper Than Psychology – Sam & Matthias – Ascending Minds: Exploring Intellectual and Imaginative Growth appeared first on Radio Maria Ireland.

17th August, 2024 – In this episode of “Deeper Than Psychology,” co-hosts Sam Chan and Matthias delve into the concept of grace, exploring its intersection with psychological insights. They discuss how grace, as a free gift from God, integrates with human experience and intuition, and examine how faith and psychological understanding can coexist and illuminate […] The post E11 | Deeper Than Psychology – Sam & Matthias Conroy – Exploring Grace: Bridging the Supernatural and the Psychological appeared first on Radio Maria Ireland.

1st June, 2024 – Sam and Matthias discuss ‘change', resistance to and acceptance of change, and how change leads to maturity.   The post E3 | Deeper Than Psychology – Sam Chan and Matthias Conroy appeared first on Radio Maria Ireland.

We are "de-Cathinated" (but definitely not decaffeinated) for this BONUS episode.  Ben is joined by three of his pastor friends (Adam Poe, Phil Bange, and Justin Monfort), all from local churches of different Protestant denominations, to discuss this episode's title question.  While we will be without the Catholic Chadder, these dynamic men are poised to deliver some absolutely great insights.   In true Man Talk fashion, there's a four-way free-flowing discussion throughout; as the conversation draws down, each co-host gives their final weigh-in.  The four co-hosts discuss how to effectively minister in our homes and in society, and how to reach our youth for Christ and the role technology plays in that effort.  Then it's off to new and exciting things for Ben and Chad!  Thanks again for listening and supporting us! Of course, you can always find out what Ben is up to at:   Home - Ben NeffRecommendations from our Co-hosts:The Gospel comes with a House Key by Rosiario ButterfieldJoining Jesus on His Mission by Greg FinkeQuestioning Evangelism by Randy NewmanEvangelism in a Skeptical World by Sam Chan

20240225 930Amp JB BOLD for Jesus Linking them in In the Early Church (Acts 4:32-35) Christian community: What did the early Christians do? They listened to the apostles teaching about Jesus. Where did they meet? In their homes sharing in fellowship meals. How did they use what given them? By generous living and giving. And God added to their number daily!   What does this mean in 2024? Why should we be bold to link them in?  We want to take risks..  Through a compelling community of believers. A survey of views of non-Christians about their Christian friends:   Many found them Caring, Honest, Loving and Generous Question? Is this how your non-Christian friends see you?  Lord, we pray that you would help us to walk in the paths of Jesus.  Ref Book by Sam Chan, “The Plausibility of Jesus.” How can we link in our not-yet-Christian mates with our Christian friends? Speaker: John Batten.

18th February 2024 – Join us for Encounter, where we share testimonies of faith from Catholics across Ireland and around the world! Today, Dion is joined by Cian and Sam Chan, former UCD Newman Society Secretary, currently working in St. John of God's with autistic patients. The post E104 | Encounter – Dion, Cian and Sam appeared first on Radio Maria Ireland.

Message from Sam Chan on 25/12/2023

Message from Sam Chan on 12/11/2023

In Season and Out. 2 Timothy 4:1-9.

Haven't we had enough of them? Why are they so popular?

What makes something funny? The line between comedy and tragedy can be very fine.

Why is reality TV so addictive and compelling?

Glen Scrivener and Nate Morgan Locke speak to Sam Chan about personal evangelism and his book 'How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy): Personal Evangelism in a Skeptical World'. This was recorded at our House Party on 4th May 2023.Come along to our next House Party: https://speaklife.org.uk/houseparty/Subscribe to the Speak Life YouTube channel for videos which see all of life with Jesus at the centre:youtube.com/SpeakLifeMediaSubscribe to the Reformed Mythologist YouTube channel to explore how the stories we love point to the greatest story of all:youtube.com/@ReformedMythologistDiscord is an online platform where you can interact with the Speak Life team and other Speak Life supporters. There's bonus content, creative/theological discussion and lots of fun. Join our Discord here:speaklife.org.uk/giveContact the show: info@speaklife.org.ukSpeak Life is a UK based charity that resources the church to reach the world.Learn more about us here:speaklife.org.ukAre you a creative Christian? Would you like to join us for a day, a week or 10 months? Find out more here:speaklife.org.uk/foundrySocial Mediafacebook.com/speakLifeuktwitter.com/speaklifeukinstagram.com/speaklifeuktiktok.com/@speaklifeukSupport the show

Discover the true meaning to life

Sherry Li got into music because of her school crush, and ended up as an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music and Co-Founder of ICTUS Audio, a full-service audio production house. In this Bits & Bytes episode, she talks about her journey from a high school student to an award-winning music producer and sound designer who has written for Mercedes-Benz, YSL, Xiaomi, and Steve Aoki. About Bits & Bytes: Hosted by your favourite Jean Yoon & Sam Chan from Launch, season 3 of Bits & Bytes brings in guests ranging from serial entrepreneurs to first-time interns to really spill the beans on what it's really like to work within a startup while going through Jean's unique food challenges! Listen to more episodes of Bits & Bytes. Find out more at https://bnb.pinecast.co

Jonathan and Trevor discuss a chapter in Sam Chan's book How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy) that calls Christians to be unofficial chaplains in their workplaces, gyms, coffee shops, etc.

In this message, Ps Joel Hawting shares three tips - from Sam Chan's book, How Do We Talk With Skeptics? - to encourage us to grow as people who have effective gospel conversations with friends, family members and anyone else God leads us to share the Gospel with.

Starting his career in sound design and then moving to child and youth care, Samson Li didn't expect he would land a job in tech. In this episode of Bits & Bytes podcast, our community manager shares what his job looks like and participates in Jean's trivia, revealing the facts you probably didn't know about Launch Academy. About Bits & Bytes: Hosted by your favourite Jean Yoon & Sam Chan from Launch, season 2 of Bits & Bytes brings in guests ranging from serial entrepreneurs to first-time interns to really spill the beans on what it's really like to work within a startup while going through Jean's unique food challenges! Listen to more episodes of Bits & Bytes: https://pod.link/1501887543 Find out more at https://bnb.pinecast.co

Get notes on this podcast here:  https://churchleaders.com/podcast/440636-sam-chan-topical-preacher-hobby-horse.html Dr. Sam Chan joins the Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast for our Great Communicator Series and gives his insights on how to be a wise and effective topical preacher.   ► Listen on Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-churchleaders-podcast/id988990685   Visit ChurchLeaders Website: https://churchleaders.com Find ChurchLeaders on Facebook: https://facebook.com/churchleaders Follow ChurchLeaders on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChurchLead Follow ChurchLeaders on Instagram: https://instagram.com/churchlead/ Follow ChurchLeaders on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/churchleaders/

Why Jesus?

In our final talk on evangelism, Chris opens up Sam Chan's excellent book "How to Talk about Jesus without being that guy" to help us think about how we can share the hope we have in Jesus with our friends, families, and colleagues.

In our final talk on evangelism, Chris opens up Sam Chan's excellent book "How to Talk about Jesus without being that guy" to help us think about how we can share the hope we have in Jesus with our friends, families, and colleagues.

We need all the encouragement we can get in evangelism, especially in our world today that sees Christians as the “bad guys.” Sam Chan helps us a ton. Recommended Resources: How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy): Personal Evangelism in a Skeptical World by Sam Chan. Use the Bible to introduce your friends in Jesus. Discover how you can open the Bible with someone and allow them to meet Jesus for themselves. Explore tools to help you live your faith and share Jesus at work through the City Bible Forum.

After years of opera singing, Zainen Suzuki made a career switch and dived into coding with the help of Lighthouse Labs' Bootcamp. In this episode of Bits & Bytes podcast, he explains why he left music for a career in software development, what skills are necessary for coding, and what the potential of Web3 is. About Bits & Bytes: Hosted by your favourite Jean Yoon & Sam Chan from Launch, season 2 of Bits & Bytes brings in guests ranging from serial entrepreneurs to first-time interns to really spill the beans on what it's really like to work within a startup while going through Jean's unique food challenges! Listen to more episodes of Bits & Bytes: https://pod.link/1501887543 Find out more at https://bnb.pinecast.co

Evangelism for the average punter. This week we are joined by author and speaker Sam Chan. Sam has released several books on the topic of evangelism and how churches can identify and release every day lay people for the work of evangelism. We all recognise the everyday challenges of engaging people with the gospel, but the task has never been more at hand in 2022. We know this frank conversation will refresh you and challenge you to consider ways to empower your congregation. Episode.34 available on SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE | APPLE PODCASTS For more great resources head to our webpage at: exponential.org.au

Our guest today is Launch Academy's VP of Programs, Sam Chan. Sam oversees the programming and strategy for Launch's network of tech entrepreneurs. Over his 8 years with the company, Sam has advised and supported thousands of founders from over 35 countries, and those companies have gone on to raise over 2B$. He helped create  […] The post Ep. 231 – Launch Academy VP of Programs, Sam Chan appeared first on COO Alliance.

Our guest today is Launch Academy's VP of Programs, Sam Chan.  Sam oversees the programming and strategy for Launch's network of tech entrepreneurs. Over his 8 years with the company, Sam has advised and supported thousands of founders from over 35 countries, and those companies have gone on to raise over 2B$. He helped create  […] The post Ep. 231 – Launch Academy VP of Programs, Sam Chan appeared first on COO Alliance.

We’re talking about overcoming the things that keep us from sharing our faith. Help Vision to keep 'Connecting Faith to Life': https://vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In some circles topical preaching is often thought to be inferior to what is often referred to as expository preaching. But is this caricature justified? Not according to Sam Chan and Malcolm Gill. In this episode we discuss their book, “Topical Preaching in a Complex World: How to Proclaim Truth and Relevance at the Same Time” (Zondervan, 2021) and especially what topical preaching is and how it differs from expository preaching. We also talk about the process of preparing a topical sermon and the various factors that one needs to consider. Also, where does a Christ-centred approach to preaching fit within topical preaching? We discuss how the same topic can be preached from different angles depending on the audience, why ‘significance' is more helpful than ‘meaning' in preaching, and how to preach 'sensitive' topics that people will inevitably be divided on? Preachit! S01E27 Check out the Preachit! website or connect at the FaceBook page! http://www.preachit.nz http://www.facebook.com/preachitnz Produced and edited by @RuffianBeats http://www.instagram.com/ruffianbeats Music by @samueljames.music http://www.instagram.com/samueljames.music http://www.samueljames.studio

The latest episode of Bits & Bytes features Angel Pui, 3x VC-Funded Tech Founder, Head of Strategic IP Partnerships at Big Head Club, and Mentor at Launch Academy. She shares how her passion for computer science and fashion led her to web3 and creation of a digital-first luxury brand, DiamondHandBag. About Bits & Bytes: Hosted by your favourite Jean Yoon & Sam Chan from Launch, season 2 of Bits & Bytes brings in guests ranging from serial entrepreneurs to first-time interns to really spill the beans on what it's really like to work within a startup while going through Jean's unique food challenges! Listen to more episodes of Bits & Bytes: https://pod.link/1501887543 Find out more at https://bnb.pinecast.co

We’re previewing a campaign of the City Bible Forum for September encouraging Spiritual Conversations. Help Vision to keep 'Connecting Faith to Life': https://vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bits & Bytes podcast is back for a brand new season! Hosted by your favourite Jean Yoon & Sam Chan from Launch, season 2 will yet again bring in guests ranging from serial entrepreneurs to first-time interns to really spill the beans on what it's really like to work within a startup while going through Jean's unique food challenges! The first episode features Nick Wilkinson, Director of Project Management at TTT Studios. Previously having worked for NASA and the Canadian Space Agency Nick shares his journey into project management, the required skill set, the difference between project and product management, and why you don't need to be a developer to become a project manager. Listen to more episodes of Bits & Bytes: https://pod.link/1501887543 Find out more at https://bnb.pinecast.co

Message from Sam Chan on April 15, 2022

Help your launch team to grow in conviction, competence and confidence for mission. The diagram mentioned in this video is here. Available as video, audio and e-book at genevapush.com/plantingaustralia. Get assessed at genevapush.com/get-assessed. Much of this content is drawn from Sam Hilton and Sam Chan.

In this episode, host Ashley Bell takes a break from talking about the Rhythms of Transformation and talks about the last three years with the pandemic and racial reckoning. She speaks with her friend, Sam, who is Taiwanese-American. Sam talks about his life, his community, and how he's processed the last three years and all the heaviness that has happened during that time.   Time stamps [00:00] Intro [01:51] Meet Sam [04:35] Five for Five [17:08] How the pandemic affected Sam [24:12] The importance of mental health [28:54] How Sam has taken care of his mental health [33:21] The risk of vulnerability [39:55] Our desire to live independently [47:00] How this season changed his leadership style [53:07] A brief homework assignment [56:57] Stretch your muscle

How do we engage our neighbors with truth? Join Aaron Miller, Pastor of Equipping, as he sits down with Jared Burkholder, Pastor of Outreach and Connections, and our newest ministry partner, Jenn as they discuss the practical applications of truth. Resource Links: How to Talk About Jesus (Without Being That Guy) by Sam Chan https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310112699/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_HRTRDQN37TB3N6QWJRR0 The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield https://www.amazon.com/dp/1884527809/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_H1K3CJ08813HHV93PQK2 Gentle and Lowly by Dane C Ortland https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433566133/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_C3P0RASN98A9VJBY7M0M The Magnify Podcast is a production of Grace Baptist Church. For more information about service times and events, head to our website www.gracebaptist.org

 Australian Evangelist Sam Chan, who works with City Bible Forum, joins us to talk about connecting with our complex world through topical preaching. There are many things to consider when preaching to various people groups that may impact the way we preach. Different cultural groups may think differently on an axis of hierarchy-equality and freedom-control. Sam leads us through how being aware of these factors and having a high cultural, emotional and informational intelligence will impact our preaching for the better. Plus, Sam responds to Phillip Jensen's response to his critique of the gospel outline Two Ways to Live. He then explores the differences between topical preaching in the evangelistic context and systematic teaching in the context of educating our church family. Sam Chan has a new book out, co-authored with Malcom Gill, called ‘Topical Preaching In a Complex World' you can find through this link if you wish to learn more on this topic. https://j.mp/3Gz3MJWAdvertisment:At Village Church Annandale in the inner west of Sydney we are looking for a full time assistant minister to join our team to work in the area of maturity and ministry.Details are at http://villagechurch.sydney/assistant Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thepastorsheart)

Christians are often painted as the bad guys in Western society, while some are portrayed as that guy we avoid when they try to share the gospel with us. Glen talks to Steve McAlpine and Sam Chan, who have both written books that come from both these angles.Steve McAlpine is from Third space ministries: https://thirdspace.org.au/​Sam Chan is from City Bible forum: citybibleforum.orgWatch the Interview here: https://youtu.be/GmyY642PBZsSpeak Life is a UK based charity that resources the church to reach the world. Learn more about us here: https://speaklife.org.uk/​Join our internship programme here: https://speaklifefoundry.com/​Subscribe to Speak Life and get our regular videos: http://tiny.cc/ecjbgz​Social Mediafacebook.com/speakLifeuk/twitter.com/speaklifeuk/instagram.com/speaklifeuk/SHOW LESSSupport the show (https://speaklife.org.uk/give/)

As foreshadowed in last week's edition, I want to come back to a question that has been niggling away at me over the past few months, and that a number of you have asked about. The question goes like this: * let us agree that there is only one gospel (not many gospels); * and let us also agree that each person we tell the gospel to will have different questions, and come to the gospel with different cultural presuppositions; any particular conversation or presentation might start at a different ‘entry point', touch on different presenting issues or questions, and utilise different language or metaphors along the way; * how, then, can each gospel conversation or presentation be the same and yet different? How can the gospel be one thing, and yet many things?This is a very important question, because it affects not only how we preach the gospel (in evangelistic talks or courses) but how we train everyday Christians to understand the gospel and chat about it with their friends. (I've been thinking about this a lot recently, as we revise and rewrite the Two ways to live training material.)It's too big a question, in fact, to answer completely and satisfactorily in this little newsletter. But I do have an insight to offer that I hope might move the discussion forward. Let us imagine that our gospel conversation (or sermon) starts by talking about something good in the world that our friends want more of (like beauty or love or justice) or something bad in the world that our friends want less of (like suffering or injustice or the fact that I'm lonely and my job stinks and I feel desperate). One increasingly common approach to evangelism suggests that we should frame our presentation of the gospel around these common culturally-framed desires or frustrations in our hearers, by:* affirming what we can affirm that is good about these desires;* challenging the dysfunctional way that we (and our culture) understand them and seek to meet them; showing that our way of pursuing these things doesn't work;* and then offering the gospel news that there is an answer or fulfilment of these desires, and it is found in what God has done through Jesus.This is sometimes called the Resonance-Dissonance-Gospel approach. There's much to like about it—particularly in how it listens carefully to each person (or culture) and seeks to have a gracious, salty conversation that bounces off the questions and issues of everyday life (in a Colossians 4 kind of way). But there's a significant weakness here as well—or at least there often is, depending on how the conversation unfolds. In Two ways to live terms, the problem happens when we glide too quickly from the second half of Point 2 to the second half of Point 5.Let me explain what I mean. For non-2wtl aficionados, Point 2 says: We all reject God as our ruler by running our own lives our own way. But by rebelling against God's way, we damage ourselves, each other and the world. Coming as it does after Point 1 (God as creator and ruler), Point 2 presents a picture of a good world gone wrong because of our rebellion against the Creator. And so there is plenty of scope to open a conversation of the Resonance-Dissonance variety. God has made a good world—and so beauty and justice and meaning and freedom and a satisfying job are indeed good things that we want and experience. But our ability to experience them is drastically compromised because of our disconnection with the Creator and his ways. So far so good. But what frequently happens next is that Point 2 is not fully enough explored, and then Points 3-4 are skimmed over too quickly—if I can put it that way—in order to get to the happy ending of Point 5. Point 5 says: God raised Jesus to life again as the ruler and judge of the world. Jesus has conquered death, now brings forgiveness and new life, and will return in glory. The blessings of forgiveness and new life that Jesus brings are the answer to our frustrated desires and aspirations. In Jesus, the freedom or beauty or justice we've been longing for can actually be found. By having a right relationship with God through Jesus, a new life can be ours, both now and forever—the life we were kind of looking for without even knowing it. However, this too-easy move from Point 2 to Point 5 can be very misleading—because Point 2 not only describes a world gone wrong, and our lives gone wrong, but the fundamental disease of which our negative experience is the symptom. The underlying problem is the wilful fracturing of our relationship with God as Creator and Ruler. Call that ‘rebellion' or ‘rejection' or ‘turning away' or ‘hostility' or ‘suppressing the truth and embracing the lie' or ‘sin', or whatever phraseology is most suitable. But the key move in Point 2 is establishing the larger problem we have with God, of which our current experience is the byproduct—and the larger judgement of God against us, of which our current negative experiences are but a foretaste (Point 3). Only by getting to Point 3 (as it were) and the reality of ‘death and judgement' as God's punishment for our rebellion against him can we coherently talk about why someone dying on our behalf is such good news (Point 4). And only by establishing God as ruler (in Point 1) whose rule we reject (Point 2), can we coherently explain how the resurrected Jesus has been established as God's ruler over all. This can be the problem with the Resonance-Dissonance-Gospel approach. Because the presenting issue (the resonance and dissonance) is often set up in terms of the frustration or dysfunction of our culturally-framed aspirations, then how Jesus' death is the solution to that frustration becomes difficult to explain—let alone how and why Jesus' resurrection is so important. Unless we zoom out from our desires and aspirations to the fundamental problem (sinful rejection of God's rule) and its fundamental consequence (death and judgement), then we will find ourselves struggling to explain the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. And these are the two central, unchanging truths of the gospel: the substitutionary death of Jesus, and his resurrection to be the glorious Lord of all (the ‘Christ'). Or as Paul summarizes it so beautifully, ‘Jesus Christ and him crucified' (1 Cor 2:2). Our framing of the human ‘problem' or situation must prepare us to present these twin truths clearly. The way we talk about our current experience (with all its problems and aspirations), must lead us to the point where:* Jesus' substitutionary death for sins is God's gracious answer to our predicament; and* the culmination of the message is the resurrected Christ, under whose rule we now gladly and repentantly live. Our conversations about the gospel will indeed start in a thousand different ways, and our friends will come to those conversations with a thousand different issues, questions, problems, aspirations and attitudes. This does mean that gospel conversations and presentations will differ from each other in all sorts of ways. There is no one form of words that we can take out of our pocket and deposit in the lap of everyone we speak to. Ironically, Two ways to live has sometimes been seen as just this—a one-size fits all form of words to blurt out onto anyone we speak to. But this was never its intended use. Quite the opposite. It was designed to equip Christians to have a thousand different conversations, starting at different points or with different topics, depending on their hearers—but all of them resolving in one direction, eventually. The one gospel will always have the same stubborn shape or form. It will always lead to an explanation of Jesus' substitutionary death for sins and his glorious resurrection as Lord and Ruler of all—along with the response that these two truths call for (faith and repentance). Might this be a way for us to conceive of gospel preaching and gospel conversation as always ‘same same but different'? PSVarious further questions and caveats come to mind. For example, must every conversation or presentation or sermon contain the whole thing every time? Must there always be cross AND resurrection in equal quantities? See last week's edition for thoughts on this.I'm not sure who first came up with the Resonance-Dissonance-Gospel framework. Tim Keller has recommended it, as has Sam Chan, and Chatraw and Allen in their very comprehensive book Apologetics at the Cross.  Like Two ways to live, I'm quite sure that R-D-G can be utilised well or poorly. Done in a certain way, it would not be so different from Two ways to live and other good gospel frameworks—it all depends on how the ‘dissonance' and ‘gospel' is done (i.e., whether or not it zooms out to the more fundamental problem of sin and God's judgement, thus making the gospel explanation of substitutionary death and resurrection coherent). But having seen R-D-G often used in the manner described at the beginning of this post, I thought it was a good foil for discussing the issue. This whole discussion also raises the interesting question of which aspects of the conversation (or presentation) are actually ‘gospel', and which bits are ‘preparation or background' and ‘response'. Regular reader Jack wrote in with a perceptive question on this earlier this week: Is the call to repentance and faith part of the content of the gospel, or is it a consequence/implication of the gospel?In favour of the latter (consequence), would be the impetus to restrict the content of the gospel to just the announcement of Christ and his work, independent of any response demanded (though such a demand is clearly still the necessary implication, e.g. in Acts 2:38)—noting summaries like Rom 1:1-4, 1 Cor 15:1-4, 2 Tim 2:8 and their focus purely on Christ.In favour of the former (content), I've been pondering what kind of news/message/speech-act the gospel is—noting that it is a message that can be disobeyed (2 Thess 1:8, 1 Pet 4:17; cf. Rom 10:16). The ‘obedience of faith' in Rom 1:5, given its proximity to 1:1-4, I think is also instructive. That a message can be obeyed or disobeyed suggests to me something about what kind of message it is—not just a disinterested announcement, but a summons. A command. And therefore the call to respond is something intrinsic to and constitutive of the message itself, not merely an implication thereof.Alternatively, is this just somehow a false dichotomy? Splitting hairs? Separating things that ought only be distinguished?Although it might feel like hair splitting, bringing this distinction into the open is valuable in my view. On the one hand, we don't want to find ourselves preaching the fruit of the gospel (our response and what it does in our lives) as the gospel itself. But neither do we want to find ourselves preaching a gospel that does not call for and require response—as Jack points out. Perhaps speech-act theory does help us a little here. The force of the gospel is to announce that certain things have happened, but also to promise that certain things are now true and will happen on that basis (that Jesus is Lord, and now grants forgiveness and new life, and will return to judge). And this same speech-act looks for an expected and appropriate response from its hearer (faith or obedience or repentance, or however we want to describe it). So yes, Jack—the content and the response are distinguishable, and it's helpful to be aware of that distinction. But (as you say) they are not separable. I think they are part of the same speech-act. This is one of the free public Payneful Truths that goes out to everyone on the list every three weeks or so. Hope you enjoyed it (and please feel free to pass it around to your friends). But to get next week's post, which of course will be an unmissable and life-changing piece of work, you have to rise to the next level … (Thanks again to all those of you who have become partners, and help keep food on the Payneful table.) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

Welcome to another a partners-only edition of The Payneful Truth. Today's ruminations concern little subjects like the nature of the gospel, evangelism and the importance of catechism. Is it worth fixing? The washing machine was flashing ‘F06', and as my eyes scanned down the list of error messages in the dog-eared manual, I knew in advance what it was going to say. Not something simple like “F03—“Turn the tap on, you idiot” or “F10—“Clean the filter like you were supposed to do every six months but haven't done for six years, you idiot”. Of course it was: “F06—Call our service department, and get ready to bleed cash, you poor sap”. And so the internal debate begins. Is it worth fixing? Do I want to pour $400 into a 15-year-old washing machine? Or pay $1000 for a new one? $400 would be good value if you got another 10 years out of it. But will we? Is this a good-money-after-bad scenario?I hate these sorts of dilemmas, but every exercise in repair or renovation raises them. I've been thinking in this vein recently about the revision of Two ways to live (2wtl). The 2wtl outline itself has been around now for around 40 years, with only minor nips and tucks over that time. The training material that utilises it is nearly as old, and had its last major revision about 20 years ago. It's certainly time for some renovation, but is it worth it? Or was 2wtl great for its time and context, but now just no longer relevant or useful? Would it be better to start again? This leads to the underlying questions: Why have a gospel outline in the first place? And how would you evaluate what a good one was like? Thinking back over the many conversations I've had about this since my involvement with 2wtl started in the early-80s, I think I'd summarize the rationale and nature of a gospel outline in the following six points (I guess it has to be six). OneAny outline like 2wtl is predicated on the idea that the gospel is a certain thing and not something else—that it has identifiable content that is capable of being summarized, learned and shared. A gospel is not a philosophy or a theory (although it has philosophical underpinnings and implications); it is not a story (although it has narrative elements, and often sits within a larger historical story); and it is not primarily an answer to a question that we have (although depending on the news it may answer certain questions). A ‘gospel' is the announcement of grand news. It's a trumpet blast declaring that something of great import has happened. In the case of the NT gospel, it is an announcement that certain meaningful events have taken place concerning Jesus Christ, leading to a particular state of affairs now being in effect, and a particular future being in store. (In this sense, the NT gospel announcement has the character of a promise—to be heard, believed and acted upon.) TwoWhat is the identifiable content of this announcement? It is that the crucified and risen Jesus has been established as the Christ, the Lord of all the world; that God now offers forgiveness of sins by Jesus' atoning death to all who repent and trust in him; and that in the future he will return to judge the world and save his people. Or something like that. We could argue about the precise way of putting it, how to connect the elements of the announcement together, and what background knowledge might be required to understand the announcement (e.g., knowing what ‘sins' are, or what a ‘Christ' is). But the gospel is a thing like this—a declaration of the meaning and implications of certain historical events. It's not a malleable set of metaphors that answers certain human longings. It's an announcement about Jesus that calls for a response from us. ThreeHow do we know this? How do we discover that the NT gospel is an announcement with this kind of content? The answer (as always) is to be good apprentices and sit at the feet of the apostolic authors—starting with the nutshell gospel preaching of the Gospels (“The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel”), through to the commission to preach the gospel to the nations in Luke 24, the actual examples of gospel proclamation in Acts, and the retrospective summaries of the gospel contained in the epistles (classically in places like 1 Cor 15:1-8). If we attend to these carefully, we discover a consistent core of content—a ‘tradition' as the NT sometimes calls it—that was to be kept, guarded, preached, taught, and passed on. This is in fact how 2wtl was originally written—through a process of looking at all the gospel summaries and gospel-preaching examples of the NT, identifying the core elements of the announcement and how they fitted together, and seeking to summarize them in a coherent, memorable, understandable form. FourThis leads me to a little sidebar. In pondering whether or how to renovate 2wtl, I've been looking over the various bits of feedback and critique we've received over the years. One of the more significant recent ones is found in Sam Chan's book Evangelism in a Skeptical World. Sam claims that 2wtl was written as a brilliant exercise in 1980s gospel contextualization. According to Sam, 2wtl was a success because it targeted the ex-Sunday-School-going prodigal-son university types of that period, who resonated with the idea of giving up their rebellion and submitting again to God. But that was then. Sam argues that 2wtl's main concepts (or ‘metaphors', as he calls them) of God being the ruler, and us rejecting or rebelling against his rule, “find little existential traction in the postmodern West, where authority figures impose their artificially constructed laws upon us to take away our freedom and authenticity. That's why in the postmodern West our moral heroes are the rebels who resist and overthrow authorities such as kings to preserve freedom and authenticity. Think of the American Revolution. Or the Australian bushranger. Or Braveheart and his cry of ‘Freedom!'” (p. 86) I have to say I'm struggling to understand how the anti-authoritarianism of American revolutionaries, Aussie bushrangers and Braveheart are evidence that what was contextually brilliant in the 1980s no longer has postmodern existential traction. Not to mention that it's simply not how things were in the 1980s (or 70s or 90s for that matter)—people loved rebellion and hated submission to authority in the 80s every bit as much as they do today. Perhaps even more so, I would say. But the point of this little sidebar is to correct the record as to how 2wtl came to be written. What drove the choice of concepts was not a contextualized discernment as to which metaphors might have the most traction, but a principled effort to capture the essential elements and logic of the NT gospel, and to express that in contemporary language for biblically illiterate Australians. (This raises an important larger issue, not only in Sam's thinking about evangelism, but for contemporary evangelism and apologetics more broadly—namely, whether or not it is the task of evangelism to identify what messages will have ‘traction' in our culture, and to craft our gospel message accordingly. I will come back to this in the near future, but it is more than this particular edition can cope with.) FiveWhy, we must now ask, is summarizing the gospel in a short memorable form a good idea? The main reason is the one that the NT gives whenever it does so—such as in 1 Cor 15:1-8. Paul wants to remind his readers of the gospel he preached, to lodge it firmly in their minds, so that they will hold fast to it and be saved. In other words, a gospel summary or outline is very useful as a form of catechesis—for teaching Christians the basic truths of the gospel in a way that they can grasp, learn and internalize. 2wtl was designed in part to serve this function: to lodge a simple gospel-shaped framework of belief in Christian heads. Interestingly, many of the suggestions we've received over the years to improve 2wtl have asked for it to be more doctrinal than it is—to be more explicit or detailed about the Trinity, the person and work of the Spirit, the nature of imputed righteousness, and so on. Our answer has always been that the ‘gospel' is not the sum total of the Christian faith, although it is the structuring, animating centre. None of the excellent and important doctrinal themes that have been suggested over the years form part of the gospel preaching or gospel summaries of the NT—which is why they never made it into 2wtl. SixThe other obvious (and related) purpose of a gospel outline like 2wtl is to give Christians confidence and competence in sharing the gospel with others—to ‘believe and therefore speak' (2 Cor 4:13). As I reflect back over the history of 2wtl as a resource, I think it's in this area that we have most consistently failed to explain what 2wtl is for. 2wtl was designed to be an easy-to-remember skeleton summary of the key concepts of the gospel. And like all skeletons, it needs flesh and blood in order to live. 2wtl is like six memorable hooks on which to hang a conversation, or six unforgettable landmarks on a map to arrive at a destination. It was never meant to be trotted out (or handed out) as a bullet-point gospel presentation. All the same, it has been criticized over the years for not being warm enough, or relational enough, or joyful enough, or existentially authentic enough—all things that skeletons can never be. The warmth and joy and relational authenticity come in the personal conversation that the outline equips you to have. (Or for that matter in the gospel talk or Bible study or relational 5-week course that the outline helps you to structure.) Any revision of 2wtl needs to make this clearer! What must I do?I think I might have persuaded myself that 2wtl is worth renovating rather than scrapping. After all this time, it remains a very effective attempt at capturing the core content and logic of the NT gospel—a gospel that hasn't changed in the past 40 or 400 years. It's worth looking again at how it could be sharpened and improved, and whether any of its language is now dated or less communicative. And in particular, it's worth going back to square one and thinking through how to utlilize the outline more effectively for catechising Christians and equipping them for gospel speech. To that end, I'm hoping you might help me. Later this week, I'll send around a draft revision of the 2wtl outline—just to Payneful Truth partners. I'd really appreciate your feedback and comments! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

In today's episode, we hear from Sam Chan on the theology of evangelism.Chan is the author of Evangelism in a Skeptical World. He is a public evangelist with City Bible Forum in Sydney, Australia, where he regularly shares the gospel with high-school students, city workers, doctors, and lawyers.In this lecture, Chan discusses the meaning of evangelism and that it is defined by its message rather than its audience. His lecture helps us to understand that we need a theology of evangelism and that evangelism means that we communicate the gospel to others. Chan points to the use of the Greek word euaggelion in the Bible which means, the amazing news of Jesus Christ. Chan encourages us to understand that there are many ways to communicate the gospel and that believers begin their journey by hearing the gospel but are able to continue that journey because they continue to hear the gospel.If you like what you hear, visit our website at MasterLectures.ZondervanAcademic.com, where you can watch more of John's lectures on the Old Testament, along with thousands of other lectures on the Bible and theology.

There have been a multitude of books written on the topic of sharing your faith, but does personal evangelism taken on a new look in the 21st century? What are the cultural challenges to preaching the Gospel now that we are post-Post-Modernism? Scott Sanders speaks with Dr. Sam Chan, author of Evangelism in a Skeptical World, to see what are the essentials when approaching a generation who no longer even consider God a question worth considering. SHOW NOTES Evangelism in a Skeptical World: How to Make the Unbelievable News about Jesus More Believable, by Dr. Sam Chan Two Ways To Live The Bridge To Life  Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Sceptical, by Tim Keller A Doubter's Guide To Jesus, John Dickson One To One Bible Reading, by David Helm The Bigger Questions podcast with Rob Martin from City Bible Forum

Australia has an increasing Asian population, a reality that many traditionally Anglo-Saxon churches are having to deal with. Should ministry to the many facets of Asian culture be left to Asian churches, or are there helpful cross-cultural ministries that ethnically different churches can plant? Scott Sanders speaks to Australian evangelist, lecturer and A.B.C., Sam Chan, to work out sensible ways of making contact with the cultures around you. SHOW NOTES Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally, by David J. Hesselgrave Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: A Guide for Home and Foreign Missions, by David J. Hesselgrave Leading Multicultural Teams, by Richard and Evelyn Hibbert The Multiply14 Conference – Multicultural Ministry, at Geneva Push Resources

There were far too many questions left unanswered, so… Following on from Episode 18, Matt Varcoe from Grace City Church returns to talk about strategies for contacting and preaching to people who identify as having ‘No Religion'. SHOW NOTES Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus, by Mack Stiles Apologetics Canada Grace City's Conversations That Matter resources Evangelism in a Skeptical World: How to Make the Unbelievable News about Jesus More Believable, by Sam Chan

According to the 2016 Australian Census, Australia is one of the least religious nations in the developed world. 7 million Australians identify as having ‘No Religion'. So how do you start ‘talking religion' to someone whose core belief system is built on the idea that religion doesn't matter? Join Derek and Scott as they quiz special guest Matt Varcoe on designing missions that target this vital demographic. SHOW NOTES Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus, by Mack Stiles Apologetics Canada Grace City's Conversations That Matter resources Evangelism in a Skeptical World: How to Make the Unbelievable News about Jesus More Believable, by Sam Chan