By David Geisler
Since the beginning of our ministry, our focus has been on helping believers understand how to use Christian evidence in their witness in ways that are culturally and personally sensitive.
I wrote a book with my father, Conversational Evangelism, on how to do this, and have spent a lot of time in the last 15 years teaching these techniques to Christians in different parts of the globe. But only a few years ago I realized that my efforts were falling short… There was a missing “something” that had a negative impact in ways I hadn’t fully realized.
Sixteen years ago, God called us to Asia to equip Christians in using apologetics in evangelism. While we lived in Singapore for seven years, I had the privilege of teaching in four seminaries, and in 1/3 of all the protestant churches in Singapore alone, as well as diverse churches throughout Asia. But 9 years ago, God called us back to the U.S. to do something new, which was to co-found NGIM with my father, Norm Geisler.
There was a missing “something” that had a negative impact in ways I hadn’t fully realized.
One day I asked myself a sobering question about my time in Asia: ”In all those years of teaching, how many of my former students, and how many of the church members are still practicing what I taught?”
Unfortunately, for too much of my time in Asia I measured my success in terms of the short term, and focused on outward signs of change. But I didn’t really measure whether those I taught were fundamentally changing their daily lives over a longer period of time. I didn’t measure my success with eternity in mind!
I had to be honest with myself, and admit that probably very few of them are still practicing what I taught. Unfortunately I didn’t put enough emphasis on the one element that should have been my core focus.
That missing “something…” is discipleship.
I didn’t measure my success with eternity in mind…
Now please understand what I am saying. I’m not saying that I didn’t understand that discipleship was important. I am also not saying that I didn’t make discipleship an emphasis to some degree. The problem was that discipleship was supplemental rather than fundamental to what I was doing.
Many of you know that my father was a professor for many years, and his stated focus was on “teaching teachers, and training trainers, so that the cycle would never end.” This model was inscribed in the walls of SES, the seminary in Charlotte my father co-founded. But my father’s greatest impact came about not just through what he taught, but also through mentoring and discipling his students. However, it wasn’t just his emphasis on discipleship that caused him to have such a great impact. It was because of the kind of discipleship he was able to offer because of his relationship with God.
My father was able to have a maximum, lasting impact on so many because of the way he humbly lived his life. As Dr. Ed Hindson says in our upcoming movie on my father’s life, ’Norm Geisler: Not Qualified’, my father was, “…just the Lord’s servant, doing the Lord’s work, in the Lord’s way.” That humility and Christ-first character is also an essential part of his legacy.
During that moment of honest reflection, I realized that the important thing in making disciples is not the activities involved in a discipleship relationship…instead, my focus should have been on my own character, on being the right kind of disciple first.
This is the ugly truth I was so reluctant to admit. We can learn great skills in how to witness and defend the faith, but if we don’t have a heart for God and for the lost, and if we don’t see ourselves first and foremost as a servant-leader, we aren’t going to be motivated to use any of these tools! Why? Because we aren’t the right kind of disciples!
The right kind of witnessing disciple puts Christ first in every way. I too struggle with this kind of obedience every day. I can’t tell you how many times in the last 10 years I would get on a plane after teaching somewhere, and tell the Lord something like this: “God, I’m tired, and I don’t want to witness to anyone on the plane!”
But then I would remember, didn’t Jesus pay the ultimate sacrifice for me! So I would pray a prayer like this, “Lord, if you want me to witness to someone, have them talk to me first.” Now guess what happens every time I pray a prayer like this…someone starts talking to me and they won’t shut up! Every time that happens, I remind myself “Lord I am your servant…help me to honor you.”
If we don’t have a heart for God… we aren’t going to be motivated to use any of these tools!
So what I realize now more than ever is that the difficult part in witnessing is not speaking to the culture. It is being the right kind of witness to begin with…one that sees themselves as a servant of God, or to change the analogy, to see themselves as a soldier of God first and foremost.
2 Tim. 2:4 says “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” (ESV). Looking back at my time in Singapore those seven years, I wish I had spoken less, and discipled more. It is becoming more clear to me even now that my father truly understood this. His legacy is not only the resources he developed, but also the people he discipled as he walked with the Lord!
I wish I could get back those years…but I can’t. Although I can certainly do something now! I can make the most of the time I have, even during Covid-19. I’m thankful that by God’s grace I’m able to mentor pastors, missionaries, my staff, and others God has put in my circle of influence. I’m grateful to see the difference in their lives, and also in my own! In all the things I am doing now, I am striving by God’s power to be a certain kind of Christian, who puts Christ first!
Learn how this has caused a change in our ministry’s direction in this blog.
To learn more about how we are incorporating discipleship into our training, visit the Norm Geisler Institute.
If you are in a position of leadership, learn more about my upcoming Leadership Coaching and reserve your spot for future sessions.
To play a part in continuing this legacy as a trustworthy source of information for Christians around the globe, visit the Norm Geisler Legacy Initiative.
My wife’s and I had friends that were complete opposite when we were younger. She went to bible college ( Calvary Chapel) while I was painting the town red. It would seem that my old party buddies are walking with the Lord at an equal if not greater percentage rate than hers. I want to do what I can to make Christ real for my children and whoever else that I witness to.
Thank you Dr. Geisler for your honesty in your role as a leader in the kingdom of God. it is greatly appreciated. I am truly interested in your vision on discipleship and leadership coaching. it was a blessing to hear from you.