Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Do unbelievers need their minds changed about Christ... or their souls?

Good question. I think I began to see the answer a little more clearly from Maui.

Using a Craigslist ad, Dare 2 Share Ministries pulled together seven young strangers representing seven very different worldviews – a Buddhist, a Mormon, a Muslim, a Jew, a Seventh Day Adventist, a New Ager and an evangelical Christian. Thrown together in a Maui beach house for a week of intense and intentional spiritual conversation, we captured it all on film for the unscripted spiritual reality series GOSPEL Journey® Maui.

To launch the conversations each day, I introduced a catalytic question... questions like: Is there a Higher Power? What is the purpose of life? Why do bad things happen? Can we all be right? Articulate and opinionated, these teens and twenty-somethings eagerly entered the dialogue. Our conversations were real, raw and honest. There was drama. There was tension. But along the journey, I watched the power of “soul apologetics” unlock hearts and minds.


Traditionally, when Christians are talking with others about their faith, they fall back on good arguments. For example, here’s why I believe there’s a Creator; Jesus is either a Lord, lunatic or a liar; here’s why I believe in the resurrection. While those are legitimate discussion points, it’s not just people’s minds that need apologetics. It’s their souls as well.

Jesus was a master at soul apologetics. Throughout the gospels you’ll find phrases like: “Jesus, perceiving their thoughts” or “Jesus, knowing their thoughts.” He skillfully unlocked the why behind the lie. Consider the story of the woman at the well. The lie the Samaritan woman believed was “if I just find the right guy, my life will be meaningful and satisfying.” Through give and take dialogue, Jesus opened her eyes to the truth that the deepest relational satisfaction is found in a personal relationship with God.

Jesus knew the lie and He knew why she had bought it because He was God. While we’re not God, the Spirit of God dwells in us, and will give us the loving insight we need to help others drill to the core of why they really believe what they believe.

Take Rachel, the New Age-ish member of our GOSPEL Journey Maui cast. She was raised in an evangelical Christian church. But she’d come to hate church during her high school years because she’d felt judged there. Her authentic questions were dissed and dismissed. So each week, when her parents made her go to church, she locked herself in the church’s bathroom and developed her own belief system. What emerged became her new view of God. She saw God as a black woman who baked cookies (a la The Matrix) and reincarnated anyone who couldn’t make it into heaven on their first try.

As Rachel shared her story, I listened carefully and prayed for insight from the Holy Spirit. Using soul apologetics, I encouraged her to peel back the layers and uncover the why behind the lie of her belief system - the core emotional reasons why someone believes what they believe. In the midst of our Maui conversations, she realized that her rejection of Christianity was rooted in a deep emotional need to reject the judgment she’d felt at church. This realization cracked the door open and allowed her to consider the gospel message with new eyes as she searched for spiritual truth.

As you engage non-believers in spiritual conversations, try using soul apologetics. It will help you ask the hard questions, listen insightfully and then present the gospel message in a loving way that speaks uniquely into others’ hearts and lives.

I know how much you enjoy “Truly FREE” resources. So here’s a free download with no strings attached! -Jonathan


Relational, relevant and edgy, the GOSPEL Journey Maui reality series is all about real questions and real conversations. Seven young strangers with very different spiritual worldviews and a Preacher/Wannabe-Surfer hung out for an entire week in Maui, diving into life's biggest questions: Is there a higher power? What is the purpose of life? What happens after we die? Ultimately it boiled down to this: Can everyone be right? Follow the cast on their journey to discover the truth.

Retail Price: $149.00
9 DVD Episodes, 124 page Leader’s Guide, Poster, Invitations and much more.

If you've used TheSource4YM for long, then you've probably read some of our movie reviews from Todd and Jonathan. Right now you can catch them bantering in both of your ears as they review a movie together, share their favorite five films of 2008, talk about their favorite movie clip discussions, and share their favorite five films of all time.

JUST A SNIPPET FROM THIS PODCAST...

Jonathan: Anybody who goes to TheSource4YM.com knows that they can just go up to the top of the page at any time and access those movie reviews, and that's something we're always excited about. If you click on the ARTICLES AND HOW TO's drop down menu, you see movie reviews right there, and you and I are the two guys that always do them. We don't always agree, um, sometimes you have a bad opinion.

Todd: Oh! I was with you right until you said that.

Jonathan: Yeah. Exactly, but it's OK for you to disagree with me all the time, cause it's good to not only have a right view point, but a wrong view point.

Todd: Exactly. Well, I would encourage anyone listening to submit emails to see who they agree with more.

Jonathan: Oooh. That'd be good. You can just click the CONTACT US at The Source and let us know if you agree with Todd more, or Jonathan. Although it's funny; we do agree quite a bit on a lot of this.

Todd: That is true.

Jonathan: That's cool. Well, let me tell you where we're going with this podcast. This year what we're gonna do is review one film together. We like to do that, it will be live review of The Dark Knight, because that just came out here in December for rental, so we want to talk about that because I'm sure a lot of you guys have been renting it or will be renting it. Then we're gonna talk about the five most enjoyable films of the year. So we're gonna kinda review this year and which ones we enjoyed the most. This isn't the five films that critics say are the best, but the ones we just....

Todd: Yeah. Maybe no awards for these films, but I think if you're a movie person who enjoys films, you'll want to check out our lists.

Jonathan: Yeah. Enjoyable films. Then we're gonna go on to this year's most disappointing films. You know?

Todd: Always fun to go down that road, isn't it?

Jonathan: Yeah, we're just gonna mention a few little ones we call "Coasters," and then what we're gonna do is...some people are sitting here wondering, "Yeah, but what can I do when it comes to movies and use for ministry." So, we're gonna do what is our favorite movies you can use for discussion in ministry, and lead you toward free discussion starters we have on our website from this last year that were our favorite. Todd is gonna share one of his favorites; I'm gonna share one of mine. And then just for the fun of it, I think we're gonna each share our five top films from all time. Ever! Films ever made!

Todd: Yeah, and that is a much harder list for me to work up than the Top 5 of the year...


Listen to it this weekend for free on iTunes! (CLICK HERE) Or, if you don't have iTunes already... jump on Apple's web page for a free download, then click on our podcast page.

Wanna know what happens when two youth workers pretend to be movie critics? Then grab a bowl of popcorn and join Jonathan and Todd for The Source's annual Movie Review Podcast. This is the only sequel that's as good as the original! You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll be glad you listened.

Episode Highlights:

• The Dark Knight gets a full review by Jonathan and Todd
  
  
• Both guys share their most enjoyable movies of 2008 and lament the most disappointing films of 2008
  
  
• Jonathan and Todd offer youth workers some great examples of MOVIE CLIP DISCUSSIONS that stimulate conversation in ministry
  
  
• Hear their Top 5 All Time Greatest Movie lists