What I'm about to say about evangelism is so obvious, so basic, so humdrum and down-to-earth that I almost feel like not saying it. It feels like a waste of a blog post. But even though it's so obvious, it's something that I have only just realized after years and years. And I suspect (and in fact, I know) that lots of other people are in the same boat.

I'll assume that you, like me, believe that people need to saved from hell into eternal life; that God is in the business of saving people by bringing them the gospel of Jesus Christ; that this gospel is usually spoken by Christians in a context of relationship; and that it is quite likely that there are people in your neighbourhood (work, school, street, etc.) with whom you potentially could share, or are even now sharing, this gospel. I hope that you are praying for some of these people too.

Okay, so what stops us from sharing the gospel with them?

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‘Mission’ is one of those words that is common in our Christian vocabulary, but that can have a wide and often confusing variety of meanings. Narrowing the definition slightly to the activities associated with ‘going out’, rather than ‘an aim or objective’, we still have a wide usage. We go on beach mission, our church is involved in mission, we are a member of a mission society, and we pray for, send, support and even go as missionaries. But what does ‘mission’ mean in these contexts? Is it time to introduce a new word so that we can be more accurate about what these activities might and might not be and so that our support and prayers can be better informed and focussed?

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Kel Richards is a fount of wisdom and rare information about words. Today he explores the history of the word ‘environmentalism’ and challenges us to swim against the tide.

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Do you know for sure that you are going to be with God in Heaven? If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” what would you say?

Have you ever used these questions (or a variation on them) to talk about the impact of the gospel of Jesus Christ with friends or strangers? They are the introductory questions in the well-known gospel explanation associated with Evangelism Explosion (EE). They've proved themselves to be a very popular way to start a serious discussion about our relationship with God. We assume that people in our world have given at least some thought to their own death and eternal destiny. These questions help us to show how the gospel, with its strong emphasis on assurance of future salvation through Jesus (e.g. 1 Thess 1:10, Heb 9:27-28, 1 Pet 1:3-5), provides a clear answer to important issues.

But, perhaps, not any more: XEE, the next generation version of Evangelism Explosion, starts with quite a different set of questions:

On a Scale of 1 to 10, how fulfilling would you say your life is?

What makes it an X? Would it change in either direction if God were in your life?

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I'm sorry, Sandy, at the end of a fairly exhausting year, during which God has continued to show his goodness and kindness in all sorts of ways, I lack the will and strength to fill in your survey about books I've read this year. Although may I take this moment to recommend the most brilliant—and, in fact, the only—book ever released by Matthias Media under the title Encouragement, as well as the chortle-worthy, friendly but occasionally disappointing Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years by Michael Palin.

So, sorry not to have been more detailed in responding to your survey, Sandy, but let me at least mention one book and one blog that Sola Panel readers could do worse than check out.

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I was reading Titus 3 the other day. It was one of those mornings when you don't expect much from your Bible reading and you think, “Oh, yes, one of those concluding chapters in Paul's letters where he rambles on about a message for such-and-such and a gift for so-and-so”.

I dutifully prayed for God to open my eyes to see wonderful things in his word (Ps 119:18), and despite my sinfully low expectations, he did! It's astonishing, always, although it shouldn't be by now.

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What is the most polite way to refer to an old person? Have you noticed how the words we collectively use to refer to old people in the media and in private conversation keep changing? It's a strange process. We start using a word or phrase, for example, ‘old man’, ‘old woman’. After a while, we decide that this phrase is really a little derogatory, and so we change to another, more neutral phrase, such as ‘senior citizen’. But after a while, ‘senior citizen’ sounds condescending and slightly offensive. So we try another, more neutral, word—like ‘elderly’. But the same thing happens: after we use the word ‘elderly’ for a while, it starts to sound a bit insulting. So we try ‘aged’. Then ‘ageing’. And so on. The reason this keeps happening is that our underlying concept of ageing itself is negative. It doesn't matter what word we choose to express it; that word will start to take on the negative connotations that we associate with the underlying concept.

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What major anniversaries does the evangelical world celebrate in 2010?

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Okay, so I said that Sola Panel would be back online sometime in mid-January and here we are! (Come on. If 1st January is the beginning of January and the 31st is the end, then I reckon we're still somewhere in mid-January. At least, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.)

We're kicking off with a Kel Richards WordWatch on a less-than-commonly used word today: ‘cumber’ (and no, you don't have it on sandwiches).

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When this goes up, it will be Christmas morning here in Oz. May you have a blessed and Holy Christmas, giving thanks that the Son of God became human for our sakes, and gave up his life for our sins. (I can't help thinking of Easter at Christmas time).

We've really enjoyed bringing Sola Panel to you this year, and eagerly looking forward to next year. Thanks to all our loyal readers who have read and engaged and thought and prayed.

For now, we're going to take a brief holiday. We'll be back here again in mid January.

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