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Summary of The Book Supreme Plan of Evangelization
Summary of The Book Supreme Plan of Evangelization
APRIL 7, 2017
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SUMMARY OF THE BOOK SUPREME PLAN OF EVANGELIZATION,
DE ROBERT E. COLEMAN
INTRODUCTION
We can have a lot of activity; but if we are not helping to extend the kingdom of
God on earth, we are wasting our time. The Lord Jesus did everything for the
purpose of saving mankind and building a church that would never perish, but to
this day not much has been studied about how He did it. There are a few books,
such as The Training of the Twelve, by A.B. Bruce, published in 1871; and one
thing that has been noted is that Jesus' disciples not only saw the truth, but "the
truth changed them"1. The book will seek to follow the footsteps of Jesus in the
Gospels to learn how he carried out his redemptive plan. You can see eight
simple, yet revolutionary strategies that the Master employed to achieve his
purposes.
2
500 would be with him to the end, and only 120 appear after his resurrection,
praying in the upper room. Coleman writes, "In order that the world might
receive permanent help, it became necessary to prepare men who could lead
multitudes in the things of God" (p. 24).
This principle teaches us that the work begins by evangelizing and discipling
men so that they in turn will evangelize and disciple others. We believers in
Jesus have been slow to apply this, but the communists have not: they have
understood the value of instilling a teaching in a few, so that they in turn can
pass it on to others. In many countries, churches are not even growing at the
pace of the population, because they have forgotten this principle: TO EXTEND
THE KINGDOM OF GOD, TIME MUST BE INVESTED IN EVANGELIZING,
DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING A FEW, WHO CAN IN TURN REPRODUCE
THEMSELVES IN OTHERS. In the words of the author:
"One must say in
which sphere he wants the ministry to have value: whether in that of the
momentary applause of popular acclaim, or in that of the reproduction of
his life in a few chosen ones who will continue the work when one is no
longer there" (Fr. 28)
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surprising that about half of those who make profession of faith....grow
sufficiently in knowledge and grace to become of real service for the
kingdom" (p. 37).
The new believer must have someone to follow, until he is ready for others to
follow him.
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The truths about his new way of living, which Jesus wanted his disciples to
learn, he himself put into practice so that they could see how he did it:
a) The practice of praying: many times the Master prayed and allowed his
disciples to see him, until they themselves felt the need to ask him how
to pray; he taught them a model prayer, the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-
13; Luke 11:1-11). Without prayer, they would not be able to receive the
strength and power from above to do the work they should do.
b) Use of the Word: Jesus mastered the knowledge of the Scriptures, and
the Gospels record at least 66 occasions in which he used the Scriptures
when speaking to his disciples, and more than 90 when speaking to
others (p. 61-62). The memorization and ability to interpret the hitherto
known Word of God was an example that the disciples understood they
had to follow, if they wished to remain in the Word.
c) Winning souls: practically everything Jesus said or did had to do with the
task of evangelizing others, and this was clearly seen by his disciples. He
did not teach them theoretically, but practically, taking advantage of the
occasions that naturally arose in daily life.
The disciples saw him do things, so they learned them. "Knowledge that is
not applied to life, says Coleman, can become a stumbling block to further
learning" (p.66).
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Disciples, then, are sent people: sent into the world to share a revolutionary
gospel. Jesus delegated this task to us, through the delegation made to the
first disciples. This commission is what gives meaning to our existence as a
church: we are born in Christ to go and share the message that Christ is the
propitiation for our sins. We must assign practical work to be carried out. If
we do not evangelize, we are wasting our time.
In Mark 6:30 and Luke 9:10 we see how, after they had made their journeys, the
twelve met with the Lord Jesus to give Him news of what had befallen them, at
the same time that the Master gave them teachings on how to improve what
had been well done, and how to correct any mistakes; He also warned them not
to fall into pride, but to rejoice that their names were written in the book of
Acts.He also warned them not to fall into pride, but to rejoice that their names
were written in the book of life (Luke 9:10). 10:20).
It was the same when the disciples could not cast out a demon from a young
man, occasion in which he taught them the need to pray and fast, as when he
showed them the need not to be impatient because of those who cast out
demons or preached in his name and were not of the group; in these and other
cases, he supervised and taught them to support any work that was done in the
name of Jesus. He was always closely supervising his disciples; each thing they
did served as a basis for giving them a new teaching.
Today we need to do the same with our disciples: we must give them the
opportunity to experiment and make mistakes and successes, but always
teaching them to learn how to avoid the former and repeat and improve the
latter. This supervision should be carried out until the disciples are mature
enough to follow on their own; this prevents discouragement and potential
leaders from being worn out. One must have a clear vision of the goal, not be
satisfied with small successes: the ultimate purpose is world evangelization, not
mere local achievements. As Dr. Coleman said:
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Supervision does not end until we see maturity in the disciple; to end before that
is to spoil what has been achieved up to that moment.
Christ's ultimate victory over the world requires that we witness Christ's sacrifice
to others, and then teach them how to share the reality of this sacrifice in turn to
more people. Like branches of a vine, disciples need to reproduce in others to
have life; the sterile Christian is a contradiction, says Coleman3. In John 15:16
the Lord speaks of bearing fruit, and fruit that remains; and the word bearing is
in the present continuous tense, which means that the process of giving never
stops4.
The key to success in the Great Commission is not only to make converts, but
disciples of Christ; not only believers, but followers of Christ, who will infect
others with their devotion to the Lord and encourage them to be themselves
transmitters of Christ's teachings to others. The effectiveness of our
evangelizing task, then, is measured in how the next generation develops. How
many of the people we have shared with are now actively engaged in winning
others to Christ: that is the evaluation of our work for the Master.
If the work begun by the first disciples, by reproducing it in others, had
continued, soon the whole of humanity would have had testimony of the saving
gospel of Christ. But the development and reproduction of leaders was replaced
by the easier path of mass recruitment. Jesus' plan has not been repudiated, it
has been dispensed with, Dr. Coleman rightly states5.
Thus, the epilogue of the book takes up the need to: pray for the disciples, seek
them out, win them to Christ, stay with them, dedicate time to them, gather them
periodically in a group, give them responsibilities and expect something from
them, review how they are progressing, carry the burden of their immaturity until
the day when they can have their communion with Christ well established and
assume a ministry in their own sphere of influence. It does not matter how many
we recruit for the cause, without how many they conquer for Christ, says the
author of the book6.
Everyone follows someone: it is up to us to give them the opportunity to follow
Christ, or to follow someone else who will lead them into darkness.
3 Ibid., p. 89
4 Ibid., p. 89
5 Ibid. p. 93.
6 Ibid., p. 102
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WHAT THIS BOOK CHALLENGES ME TO DO