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 Re: Thoughts on my new tract? (before I print 5000!)

On the front page, you have "thistels". Should be "thistles".

I think it's a great tract.

 2008/5/9 23:23
theopenlife
Member



Joined: 2007/1/30
Posts: 926


 Re:

Thanks everyone! Thanks, Joseph, for catching the typo. I printed 5000 tracts once with a wrong verse reference. :-?

I rewrote it once more and enlarged the font (slightly) since all of this has been discussed. If you have the patience, please read it one more time and let me know what you think so I can get this ready to print.

Here it is:

[url=http://theopenlife.blogspot.com/2008/05/revised-fruits-tract.html]Final Version of Tract[/url]

 2008/5/10 2:17Profile
HeartSong
Member



Joined: 2006/9/13
Posts: 3179


 Re:

Very nice!

 2008/5/10 3:08Profile
theopenlife
Member



Joined: 2007/1/30
Posts: 926


 Re:

Thanks, HeartSong.

For those of you who purchase or make your own tracts, I recommend Americasprinter.com.

It can be as cheep as $99 for 5000 full color tracts, or $250 for 20,000!!! (One for every person in a small town)

[url=http://www.americasprinter.com/price_guide.php?catalogid=2&stockid=3&uvcoatingid=3]Price Guide - AmericasPrinter[/url]

I usually print on 16pt (thick) glossy card stock, in the 1/8th page size. These resist moisture and are sturdy enough to stick in car window seals, and fit in my wallet. This is a little more expensive, at $129 for 5000, or $170 for 10,000. They hold up real well, though.

 2008/5/11 0:44Profile









 Re: The final cut....

I likey very, very much.

 2008/5/11 22:56
roadsign
Member



Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777


 Re: Thoughts on my new tract? (before I print 5000!)

Quote:
Very nice!


It looks like you have a general consensus from us here. We all really like your tract. Of course, we are all professing believers and are familiar with the various teachings you address. I don't think it would hurt to gain feedback from those who don't have this advantage.

I see that your main target audience is:

Quote:
It is aimed at false converts



Of course, one of the characteristics of false converts is their uncanny ability to nod in aggreement to Biblical teachings, and also assess themselves as having the character of a true convert. With that in mind, you have a tough challenge: to break through the astronomical barriers and immunities. Without the work of the Spirit preparing the soil, the seeds will likely merely fall on rocky soil. For sure, your project is totally reliant on God.

Thus, laying it on the altar is of utmost importance. Without the Spirit, it would be like trying to drive a car without gas.

May the Lord be your strength and guide. And may he give you discernment.
Wait on the Lord.


(Let us know how your non-converted friends and family members respond to the tract.)

Diane


_________________
Diane

 2008/5/12 7:36Profile









 Re:

As someone who came to Christ as an adult and a "foriegner," who lives in North America I see through slightly different eyes perhaps.Most of who I believe to be "false professors," would agree with everything on the tract. They would not identify themselves as the target audience becuase they believe that they are a work in progress and they "rely," on the grace of God.

When I attempt to adress this with people I simply ask them when they were born-again, the day and the hour. Any genuine Christian would love to share this information. Then I ask about their "experience." What did they "feel." Two dirty words amongst the religious folks. For instance, if they did not "feel," remorse for their sinful past, a sense of conviction, if they were merely purchasing fire insurance, then they probably fall into the thorns and thistles category.

If they have never "experienced," the presence of God then again, the same category. There is a difference of course, from knowing about Jesus, and actually "knowing," Him. I was born and raised a Catholic so I know all about knowing about Him. I also "gave my heart to the Lord," when I was nine. I liked God when I was nine, it was expected of me to do it since my mother was now a Christian, I had good thoughts about Jesus when I was nine, but I certainly was not saved.

My life went on to prove that. Most American Christians I know were "saved," as children. Their lives as adults prove otherwise. There are no grandchildren in the Kingdom, only children. So, when I gave my heart to Jesus when I was 26, I was actually saved. If you are a parent of a child who was "saved," as a child, do not be fooled. Their actions, their fruit, will show you what kind of tree that they are. Do not give them false hope. The importance of giving your adult life to Jesus cannot be overemphasised. There is a reason why over 90% of kids "lose," their salvation when they go to College and it has nothing to do with the College system, it simply proves that they were never saved in the first place.......Frank

 2008/5/12 9:30
theopenlife
Member



Joined: 2007/1/30
Posts: 926


 Re:

Appolus and RoadSign, I agree with both of your observations. I made it through a bible college, and was a foreign missionary to Australia for some time, before I was brought to acknowledge my need to be born again.

I can only be as clear as possible and trust the rest to the Spirit. I am certain that He will "add daily to the church such as should be saved." (Acts 2) Praise God that my role is to use means, and His to secure ends.

If I print and distribute 10,000 of these and just one person is awakened, then that is one eternally valuable person forever crowning Christ and enjoying heavenly fellowship. God's will be done.

 2008/5/13 4:21Profile









 Re:

Dear Michael,

Your design is great and I can see you have put much effort into creating this tract. You may get some good responses when all is said and done. However, there is something which a tract [i]cannot[/i] provide--it cannot substitute a testimony of Christ with "a demonstration of the spirit and of power." See what the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians:

2Co 3:2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
2Co 3:3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, [i]written [u]not with ink[/u] but by [b]the Spirit of the living God[/b][/i], [i][u]not on tablets of stone[/u] but [b]on tablets of flesh[/b], that is, [b]of the heart[/b].[/i]

What the Spirit of God has written on your heart surpasses by far any written document to an unknown person. When the Lord met with people, He discerned in the Spirit what they needed to hear and He spoke those words. They were Spirit and they were Life. It was not a sure-fire formula. There is something manipulative and dishonest about using a gospel tract, even this gospel tract. You sort of unload it on the person (who usually doesn't know what this is) and move on. So you become this impersonal messenger, which makes the preaching of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ no different than peddling commercial flyers at a street corner or gateway.

This is not about getting people to come to Christ, but about [i]showing them the real Christ[/i], not just with words which they can misinterpret, but backing Him up with a demonstration of Christ living in you, that is, [i]the adequate reality[/i]. A gospel tract cannot provide any of that. It is an incomplete and awkward attempt at converting people to the Truth, which is not an addendum to [i]being a God-sent preacher of the Word[/i] at the opportune moment, but a substitute of it.

So these are the questions you need to ask yourself before printing and giving out the tracts. Are they presenting an adequate view of the living God? Or are they cheapening the Gospel, and serving as a bail out of the responsibility to walk as Christ walked on earth, [i]in the power of the Spirit[/i]?

I have given out Gospel tracts in the past, and I can testify these have been some of the most humiliating and spiritually mortifying experiences of my life--when God even used unbelievers to speak truth into my life, showing me I had an inadequate and lesser understanding of Himself.

Whether we [i]all[/i] have to preach the Word literally to every creature is an altogether different subject.

In Christ,
Slavyan

 2008/5/13 5:48
roadsign
Member



Joined: 2005/5/2
Posts: 3777


 Re:

Quote:
When I attempt to adress this with people I simply ask them when they were born-again, the day and the hour. Any genuine Christian would love to share this information. Then I ask about their "experience." What did they "feel."



Looking back over my many years in evangelical churches, where salvation “experience” was the prime litmus test of authenticity, I now see your criteria questions in a different light. A person’s “feel” experience may indeed be a sense of God’s presence, his blessings, and like for ancient Israel in the desert, a taste of the Spirit (Heb.) There may even have been some degree of conviction, even the “appropriate” prayers, tears, and rituals. But eventually, mayby not for years, it becomes evident that the seeds fell on rocky soil.

Actually, there is no example in scripture where any of these means are used to assess authenticity. There may be a good reason for that. As humans we are remarkably chameleon-ish. That means, we can easily adapt to the environment we are in, and take in its colur, its social/spiritual expectations. And thus, it is natural to conform to the expectations. I am a good example of this.

In fact, I could use myself as a prime example of an “exception” to your model. The spiritual birth process in my life took far more than a “minute”, and often during that time I was aware of no “feel”. Much of the process involved a shedding of faulty thinking and false trusts.

Quote:
If I print and distribute 10,000 of these and just one person is awakened,


And yet, even if no one responds, does that mean it was a waste of time? (Think of Jeremiah’s life) On the other hand, I have sometimes heard people say, “All they cared about was whether I got “born again” or not. Other than that, they really didn’t care two hoots about me.” ….. For that reason, I would like to underscore the words of NotMe:

Quote:
it cannot substitute a testimony of Christ with "a demonstration of the spirit and of power.



I think people have a right to see the reality of Christ in a flesh and blood person – those who care about them, are genuinely interested in their lives, and above all model the beauty of Christ. In our emphasis on “mass” evangelism, we still need to retain the value of loving people into the kingdom: one at a time.

But, hey, don't throw out those tracts! There's a lot of good seed there.


Diane


_________________
Diane

 2008/5/13 8:46Profile





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