The Gift
From SPARK
Hands To The Plow
One-sentence summary
A booklet with Scriptures for evangelizing and teaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Description
This 24-page booklet clearly outlines the Good News of Jesus Christ, beginning with God's original purpose for mankind, and progressing through the basics of our faith. "The Gift" contains over 60 life-changing Scripture verses and is acceptable for use by individuals and ministries, both for evangelism and teaching. (Original Source Language: English)
Considerations
Level of media sophistication required to understand resource:
Medium to high
This booklet uses a question-answer and a present-the-problem approach. It follows with the 'answer' or 'evidence' by virtue of the kind of material next presented, which is often a Scripture verse. First, a question is raised, and then a verse is dropped in as an answer or as evidence for the point being made. (Note: This is commonplace among highly literate English readers, and other 'Bible-savvy' people, but not necessarily common in other cultural contexts.) This 'present-the-problem' approach is signaled by indentation, bolding, and font styles. The reader needs to recognize these different font styles as presenting different kinds of material. The narrator's comments and explanations are in regular face type. The Scripture quotes are indented, bold faced, a different font type, and put inside quote marks which are followed by book, chapter, and verse numbers.
Further, the author uses verses from all over the canon of Scripture from the Old and New Testaments. He focuses on the words and ideas contained in the references for the point he is making but without any explanation for this type of approach. In some cases, there is not even much regard for the original context of the verse or passage. (Admittedly, a lot of explanation is probably unnecessary for Bible-exposed people who understand the unity of the Bible's messages, but again, this kind of 'hop-skip-jump' presentation is something which could be confusing to a less literate people group.)
Type of audience for whom this resource might be useful:
In my opinion, biblically-knowledgeable adults or older teens and above, in places where they have had more exposure to literature. Probably best used with newer Christians who have mentor support, or it could also be used in the early parts as an evangelistic tool.
Salient actor/narrator characteristics: (accuracy to Scriptures, cultural issues etc.)
See below:
Biblical and cultural accuracy of the resource content: On the whole a good, easy to follow, sound presentation, but see comments below for problem spots noted.
One of the key strategies used by this author, and which I think is the main weakness of the booklet, is the use of "proof texts". That is, he uses verses of Scripture as evidence or proofs based on the fact that they contain ideas, thoughts, or even just key words which relate to the point he wishes to make. That is, the assumption is made that when a verse is quoted that 'matches' a point being made, that this alone is sufficient evidence to prove his point. This is not always the case, as spiritual matters are rarely so simplistically dealt within the fuller context of the Bible. In some cases the verses and passages quoted, while not unrelated, are used without much attention to their original contexts. This method of using "proof texts" is familiar in our Christian sub-culture, but may not be very effective in other cultures, or even among other sub-cultures of our own country.
Limitations
Just a few spots of concern:
The statement on the page under the heading 'Your New Nature': "Our old spirits died on the cross with Jesus. So not only did God take away our sins, he took away our sinful spirits"..."when you believe in Jesus, your old spirit is replaced with a new spirit from God--a new spirit that is the very righteousness of God".
In such a short piece as this (which is inherently part of the problem) this certainly sounds like our sinful nature has been completely removed by Christ's death on the cross and that we've been given a new spirit that equals, is the same as, or IS the very righteousness of God. I don't think this is a scripturally sound or supported notion. (Neither apparently did Paul: Rom 7:7-8:17 or John: 1Jn 1:8ff.)
The statement on the page under the heading 'The Holy Spirit': "As you learn to hear and follow His (Holy Spirit's) directions, you will find true success in everything you do". While I agree with the general sentiment, this is an overstatement/exaggeration of what the Scriptures teach. Certainly our personal experience and the testimony of people in the Scriptures confirm and exhibit that this is simply not so as stated, "true success in everything you do".
The statement on the page under the heading 'Prayer': "Many people don't see answers to their prayers because they quit believing that God has answered their prayer." This statement, especially in the context in which it is found in this booklet, could easily be misunderstood to mean: God's activity in our lives in answer to prayer is dependent on our level of consistent belief and continued prayer. Again, in my opinion, I don't believe this is accurate to the full record and teaching of Scripture.
The statement under the same heading of 'Prayer': "If you've accepted God's gift of salvation, then you are a righteous person. Therefore, your prayers are powerful and effective." While there are parts of these statements which are in accord with Scripture (in a very special/specific and somewhat limited sense), and thus I would agree with them, given just as they are in the booklet, I believe they are open to misunderstanding and wrong conclusions. The key questions to be asked are 'In what sense are we now righteous?' 'What direct relationship is there between our effectiveness in prayer, so to speak, and our personal righteousness?' 'Is the real issue God's effectiveness and power, or our faith and righteousness with regard to God's interventions in our affairs and that of the world?' Without trying to discuss the whole matter in detail, I think the truth of Scripture is that God regards/counts us as righteous on the basis of Christ's work and that practical/experiential righteousness is a continually developing and imperfect process brought about in our lives by the Holy Spirit, but which is never complete in this world. Further, I believe our prayers are effective, not based on our personal righteousness (which is not to say that a right relationship to God is of no concern in our prayers), but rather based on our prayers being in conformity to the will of God and His boundless mercy and love and grace.
The statements on the page under the heading of 'The Gifts and Power of the Holy Spirit': "In many ways, you control how much of God's power other people see. If you restrict the Holy Spirit, God's work will also be restricted. If you allow the Holy Spirit to work through you, God's work will be accomplished." This too is overly simplistic and badly overstated in its present form.
The Scriptures do not present God's effectiveness and power to work His will and purpose as solely or largely dependent on us and our submission (or lack of it) to the Holy Spirit. A possible and wrong conclusion that could be drawn from this statement is that God cannot or will not work in the world unless we are correctly, consistently submitting to the Holy Spirit. These statements could easily be taken to indicate that unless we cooperate with God and fully submit to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that God is then thwarted, impotent, and ineffective in His plans, will, and works in the world, and no one will see the power of God at work. In other words, it all ultimately really depends on us, not God. Patently untrue and simply not Biblical. (This again is NOT to say that we are not able to have any influence on the effect of God's working through the Holy Spirit in our own lives when we resist Him and are sinful, but that is a different matter to some degree, and only a part of the total picture presented in Scriptures.)
Notable interpretation or contextualization of Scripture (plausible and/or appropriate)
The author assumes for the reader a knowledge of some of the Scriptures and of characters and events in the Bible. Adam, for example and the Garden of Eden are presented almost as if anyone/everyone reading the booklet would have already been familiar with that information. The spiritual points he makes are explained in some detail, but the facts, persons, and events themselves are just brought 'onto the stage' as if anyone would know about them. This is true of course for people with some Biblical or churched background, but not necessarily so for those without that heritage. Further, a basic assumption is being made, namely, that if a verse or passage that has some relationship to the point or topic, sometimes just on the basis of a word or words, this will be taken as adequate so as to prove the point.
Point of view of actor/producer/narrator:
Teacher, evangelist, explainer-instructor, sometimes apologist.
Other noteworthy characteristics: (positives, cautions, potential mis-communications, etc.)
See above sections. The only other thing to mention as a caution is that the role of confession of sin and repentance in not mentioned, or barely so, in this piece.
Guidelines for Use
Where to Obtain
Link to Producer or Source Organization
Vernacular Media Services (VMS)
Cost
Producer/Owners
Author/Artist/Producer
Tom Kelby - Hands to the Plow Ministries
Current copyright owner
Other Information
Summary of copyright issues:
- Users must agree to usage terms.
- Written permission must be given by VMS prior to production of any materials.
- All materials produced must include appropriate copyright disclaimers (see Use of Materials License on file with VMS).
- Any change to material content, other than that required by the translation process, must be approved by Hands to the Plow prior to usage.
- Materials may be modified and used in either black and white or color format, and may be modified in terms of their actual size.
- Materials may be modified for use in flipcharts, filmstrips, slides, books, video, or other appropriate media.
- Two copies of any materials produced must be sent to VMS (one for VMS, one for Hands to the Plow).
Reviewed by
Date
Entered by Ron, 10/30/2007
