Making Disciples

Best-selling author, speaker, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. Best-selling author and apologist, Dylan Burrows. Together, bringing you truth.

For a new generation, this is TNG Radio. A great story related to one of my spiritual heroes deals with when D.L. Moody went to Britain in the 19th century, and word spread throughout London that the great speaker from America was going to be preaching, and people crowded in the churches and the auditoriums to hear D.L.

Moody. Well, the buzz even touched many of the street people, and there were children that were the urchins that lived in the streets of London in poverty, and there was one young man that desperately wanted to hear D.L. Moody, but he walked all the way across the city of London, going through the crowds trying to find his way to the church, and by dark he made it. He saw the crowds, but there were ushers at the door, and a man firmly said to the child, �You can�t come in here.

You�re too dirty. Go away.� And the little boy was very sad that he couldn�t get in to hear D.L. Moody, and so he went and sat on a curb and cried, and he could hear the music playing, and the people went in, and the auditorium eventually was full. And while he was sitting on the curb on the stoop, a carriage pulled up and some people got out, and a man in a suit, a big old man with a white beard and a kindly face, sat down beside the little orphan and put his arm around him and said, �What�s wrong?� And the child said, �I wanted to hear Mr. Moody from America, but they say I�m dirty and I can�t go in.� And the man pulled him close and said, �You stay with me.� And they walked in, and when they got to the door, the doorman welcomed them in and glanced down at the little child, but didn�t prevent him from coming in as he did before, and they went and they actually sat on the very first row.

And the giant old man kept his arm around the child, held him close, and then, much to the child�s surprise, the man was introduced, he went to the platform and began to speak, and the one that had come alongside him was none other than the great Dwight L. Moody himself. Now, I read that story and I think about coming around a child, but coming around an outcast, one that the rest of the society had written off and had forgotten and didn�t want. And yet, Jesus puts his arms around people, but Jesus wants to draw people close to himself, and he does that through us. We, if we�re willing to be prepared, and if we�re willing to take our assignment, we can be the arm that comes around to help draw an outcast, a lost person near to Jesus Christ. Hi, this is Alex McFarland, and I�m here with Dylan Burrows, and I open with that story because today what we�re going to talk about on the program relates to Christ�s Great Commission, the mandate that we go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. The Bible says in some very famous verses like Mark 16-15 that we are to proclaim the good news of Jesus to every creature. Matthew 28, 18, 19, and 20, the Lord, as he was going back to heaven, he told the church, �Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.� Now, it�s interesting, the verb �make� refers to building something. It�s not just a one-and-done proposition, but oftentimes bringing somebody to Christ and helping them understand the Gospel, and then helping them get up on their own two feet spiritually and walk with the Lord and overcome sin and be victorious over their past, perhaps, and they become a consistent learning follower of the Lord. That is very much a construction process sometimes. And so as people are one, the church is grown. The church is strengthened, shaped, polished, perfected, and oftentimes taken farther in their walk with Christ than they themselves knew they could go anyway. And, Dylan, this is a very, very important topic to talk about in every generation, isn�t it?

It really is. And as we talk about making disciples of all nations and of all peoples and of all stages, we are reminded this week of a new Barna Group study that was released about Generation Z, those born between 1999 and 2015, what they believe about issues of faith, how it's different from previous generations, and how we could better make disciples among this age group. I think people would be surprised to see some of these findings, but also to take away some principles that we can use to better communicate faith to the next generation. So we'll talk a little bit about this, but just introduce us to this concept of what it takes to effectively communicate the Gospel to the new generation, as we do here at Truth for New Generation.

This is a passion you and I share. In fact, really, passing the baton of faith to the next generation is really pretty much what brought us together. Because, you know, Dylan, as you and I know, and certainly a lot of people listening know, Christianity is a force, a reality that has permeated this nation all the way back to pre-colonial times. And all of the churches that we see on every other street corner, and many of the hospitals and the schools and many of our universities and many of our greatest institutions, our benevolent institutions. We know Samaritan's Purse is overtly Christian, but even things like the Red Cross and other organizations that help the human condition, it's Christianity.

I mean, really, as historians from Will Durant to Alexis de Tocqueville in the 19th century have said, it was Christianity that built America. And we really do need to pass that to the next generation. But talking about millennials and younger, Generation Z, I want to take a few moments to give some attributes. Because in some ways every generation is different.

In some ways every generation is similar. Because, you know, we're all human beings. We have emotions, thoughts, feelings.

You know, everybody, it doesn't matter who you are, we deal with six attributes. Origin, purpose, destiny. That's where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?

And then emotional needs, acceptance, significant security. Acceptance, do I fit in? Significance, do I matter?

Security, am I safe? Dylan, you know, I would submit, would you agree, every generation from the ancients to the modern world that, you know, people look at the sky and they wonder, you know, where did all this come from? Why am I here? What does the future hold?

And then the core really, and I've been throughout the world and certainly throughout America. It doesn't matter, you know, old, older people, younger people, millennials, digital natives, the people that are on their mobile devices, everybody wants to feel like they fit in. That's acceptance. Everybody wants to feel like they matter to somebody.

That's significance. And everybody wants to feel safe. And I would submit the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Christian worldview, has the answers like no other belief, like no other faith system, based on the evidence, based on the life-changing power, the infilling joy, all that Jesus does in one's life. We can say to the world, where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? God created us. We were made for a relationship with Him. And regardless of what tomorrow holds, we are safe in Christ. And then this is huge, acceptance, significance, security. Jesus has those for us in immeasurable doses, doesn't He?

He does. And I love these points that you're making, some excellent issues that we need to address, and we'll talk about these more in just a moment when we come back. Stick with us here at Truth For A New Generation radio. Attention all Christians who would like to become more effective in presenting and defending their beliefs.

Listen up! This is Alex McFarland, and I urge you to attend the 2018 edition of Truth For A New Generation, the conference on apologetics, worldview, and evidence for the Christian faith. TNG is coming to Greensboro, North Carolina, March 23 and 24. Hear an amazing lineup including Josh McDowell, apologist J. Warner Wallace, Lauren Greene and Todd Starnes, both from Fox News, and much, much more. This is Abraham Hamilton III of the American Family Association. We're in a battle for the future of our nation, and I want to see you at Truth For A New Generation as we pray and get equipped to defend the faith, asking God to save our nation. Don't miss Truth For A New Generation, March 23 and 24, Greensboro, North Carolina.

You may register at truthforanewgeneration.com. First Peter 3.15 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have. We're instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the Life Answers Teams, students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The Life Answers Teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective, like is there a God?

Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers Team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

864-977-2008 and always be ready. Hello, this is Alex McFarland, Dylan Burroughs here at Truth For A New Generation radio and we're talking about what it takes to make disciples of the next generation, some of those universal characteristics that we need to discuss from Scripture as well as how those fit the traits we see in the Next Generation Today, a new Barna survey about the state of Generation Z on issues of faith was released this week, and a couple of interesting insights that have been highlighted in the news. Two of the major issues that have been noted first is that those of Generation Z, those born between 1999 and 2015, are twice as likely as other Americans to identify as atheists. Now that may not seem like a big deal to some people, but if you look at that from a historical standpoint, this is the most post-Christian generation identified in surveys in American history. The second area that was mentioned is the issue of LGBT issues, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues, and the same generation is noted as being twice as likely to identify as something other than heterosexual. So when you look at these issues and you look at some of the other concerns noted in the study, we realize we have a battle on our hands. It's a spiritual battle, and it's something that we need to take very seriously as we communicate faith to the next generation.

And I'll give you one little antidote here from the study. It's said that about a third of the teens in the study know someone who is transgender, and the majority say it's acceptable to be born one gender and to feel like another. Now that is certainly a different flavor than what you've seen in previous generations, and it gives us just a little taste of what it takes to minister differently to this next generation of young people. So Alex, as we look at some of these issues, what do you see as being the solution to addressing some of these new changes we're seeing in our culture? Well, we are living in and watching the first generation that has actively sought to erase the moral boundaries that have shaped human civilization for 6,000 years.

I mean, it's one thing to be unaware of moral boundaries, but our culture is working hard to erase the moral boundaries. In Oakland, California recently, Mills College was the first American university to declare that it would accept undergrad applications from students who self-identify as female. Now, it's a historically women's college, but no longer do they accept females based on their genetic makeup, and Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts followed suit, and many other colleges followed, like in Lock Step, the dominoes begin to fall. The president of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts said, quote, what it means to be a woman or a male isn't static. Early feminists argued that reducing a woman to their biological functions was the foundation of women's oppression, and we will not fall back on that, end of quote.

Now, here's the point. When we say a woman is a genetic female or a man is a genetic male, that's not oppression, and that's not an attempt to subjugate or control people. That's just recognizing moral, objective, biological fact.

But Dylan, I want to submit to you, even though the average, unsaved, twenty-something may not be aware of this, for the last century as an unbelieving, secularized, hyper-secularized academic world has worked to erase belief and objective morality, it's been about throwing off the shackles, quote unquote, of Christianity and our Judeo-Christian worldview. And besides the souls of people hanging in the balance, it really does threaten our Constitution and our democracy. Let me quote Dr. Peter Lilback, a respected academic, who said this, quote, the logic of our founders went this way.

Do you want to be free? Then you need a republic, a representative republic, that is. To have a republic, you need to have moral people.

To have moral people, you must have religious teaching and belief in God, end of quote. I would submit, Dylan, that all of the transgenderism, the gender dysphoria, the confusion over sexuality and gender is really the ultimate form of moral relativism. Because what kids are being taught in the academy in the university is, look, there is no God, or if there is a God, God can be whomever you define Him to be for yourself. It's not an objective, revealed view of God, like in the Scripture.

God is whoever you want Him to be or not be, and however you decide. And this idea that maybe I'm a genetic male, but I could identify female, or there could be 60 or 70 different genders, it's the ultimate form of moral relativism. Because what people are saying is, God, you have no claim on my life whatsoever, not even over my identity or my genetic makeup. Now it's one thing to say, God can't tell me how to behave. But what this culture is essentially saying, Dylan, is God can't even tell me who I am. We're talking about winning people to Christ. I want to say on the subject that we're talking about the Great Commission and evangelizing people. But Dylan, the abandonment of moral boundaries, and just the very basic structure of any society, marriage, family, masculinity among males, femininity, embracing our God-ordained gender identity and positions, I mean, besides the spiritual implications, this has ramifications for our culture long term, doesn't it?

It certainly does. And what's interesting to me is that it's no longer an issue you faced only at the university, but it's something you see even at the grade school level now. You see recently in the news discussion about a book called George that discusses transgenderism for elementary students.

You see increasingly commercials and children's content, cartoons, animated shows that talk about male and female with no distinctions, or they blur those distinctions in some way. So when children are watching these shows, they come away with a different message than they would if they were to simply sit in a Christian family or to sit under church teaching. And it is interesting that there is a correlation between the screen time that you see among this next generation and their belief system. And the study that we talked about earlier with the Barnet group, more than half are on their devices four hours or more a day, and more than a quarter of those in the study are on their devices eight hours or more a day.

That's a full-time job of being on your smartphone, your computer or tablet or your gaming system. And over time, that influences what you believe and how you live. And when we come back, we want to talk more about these connections between influence and a young person's life and how that impacts their daily lives and how we can do something different as we invest in the lives of young people. So stay with us.

We'll be right back. Join all Christians who believe that America needs a spiritual revival, an awakening, a message of the gospel for our times. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to attend the 2018 edition of Truth for a New Generation, the conference on apologetics, worldview and evidence for the Christian faith.

Greensboro, North Carolina, March 23 and 24. Hear an amazing lineup that includes Josh McDowell, apologist J. Warner Wallace, Lauren Green and Todd Starnes, both from Fox News, attorney Abe Hamilton III of the American Family Association, music by the bands and orchestra from North Greenville University and much, much more. Sessions for all ages equipping you to share your faith confidently in any situation. Visit truthforanewgeneration.com. That's truthforanewgeneration.com TNG 2018 to save a nation.

March 23 and 24 brought to you by North Greenville University, where Christ makes the difference. Our country is falling apart. Political unrest, social upheaval, the breakdown of the family, the rise of atheism, the rise of Islam. Our religious freedoms are under attack. There's gender fluidity.

Gender identity is making a mess of freedom of expression. So we need to put some skin in the game and love this nation. As Christians, we are to stand strong. There has to be some personal investment in the living out and the preservation of America. Stand Strong America will help you take the fear that you face and the bleakness that you face, but help you become a champion, a bold champion for Christ. In Stand Strong America, Jason Jimenez and I lay out the facts about our nation, the current condition and how you, yes, you, your family, your church, your community can be involved in keeping this great republic. Stand Strong America is a guide to bring courage and hope for you the Christian.

Wherever Christian books are sold. Wherever you are, whatever you did, it's a page in your book, but it isn't the end. Your father will meet you with thoughts open wide. This is where your hope belongs. Come running like a prodigal. We welcome you back to TNG Radio.

Alex McFarland, Dylan Burrows here. Hey, we've only got a few more minutes, and before we resume our topic, I do want to mention a book called Abandoned Faith, Why Millennials Are Walking Away and How You Can Lead Them Home. This is a book I did with my friend Jason Jimenez, and it came out just a few months ago. And Dylan, you helped us with the research on this, and it's a book about passing the faith to the next generation. Or, if you and your family have a prodigal, maybe a child that was raised in church or youth group, and now they're post-high school and they've sort of wandered away or cooled off in their walk with Christ, or even become a self-identified agnostic or something like that, the book Abandoned Faith is a guide to not only helping reach out to millennials, Generation Z, and younger, the plurals, but really praying for and working to regain the prodigals in your church or in your life. It's available at our website, AlexMcFarland.com, and we are continually working to make more and more great resources available, not only the books that I've written, but other books by respected peers like Dr. Dobson, Ravi Zacharias, Joshua McDowell.

So you can go to the online store at AlexMcFarland.com and look at the book Abandoned Faith. The other thing I wanted to mention, Dylan, the first Truth for a New Generation event of 2018 is coming up very soon, March 23-24, Greensboro, North Carolina, Josh McDowell, Todd Starnes of Fox News, Lauren Green, Jay Warner Wallace, a great Christian apologist, Kamal Saleem, former Muslim, now a dynamic Christian leader and author, so much more. We hope to see you there. The theme is Save a Nation.

And if what we're talking about on today's edition of the program resonates with you, you want to know how to defend your faith, and you want to be able to just thrive spiritually. It is for all ages, and we are gathering with people to pray for America. There's going to be great music from the North Greenville University, bands and chorale.

It's going to be phenomenal. Register. Plan to attend. There is, even the night before the conference starts, March 23-24, we've got a special private dinner. We've got, within the TNG ministries, we've got a group we call the TNG Insiders, Truth for New Generation.

They're part of the people that pray for this ministry. And if you wanted to come on Thursday night, March 22, we're having a private meeting that you can register and attend. We call it a national briefing on the spiritual state of the country. I'll be there with three panelists. There'll be a dinner. It's very limited, only 100 people.

And so you can learn more about this and more. We hope to see you, because hey, Dylan, I've got to say this. As an evangelist, as an apologist, we're in it to win it. A lot of the stats and the cultural realities that we share might sound a little bit bleak, but don't hear us being defeatist or anything like that. Look, we know the Spirit of God can move a person to Christ, move a nation to Christ. If God can win Nineveh, and if God can bring pagan Europe back to himself during the time of the Reformation, and we've seen great awakenings throughout history, we know our nation can have a great awakening.

I think we're going to have, and we just want to be equipped and primed and ready to be a part of what God is doing. That's what all this is about, isn't it? Yes, and I love that you mentioned the story of Jonah and Nineveh. And I think about that many times from the perspective of people seeing it today. They see Jonah swallowed by a fish.

That's the focus. But the end of the story is much different. You think of one man who ministered in one city, and over a 40-day period, an entire city turned to God. That is the impact you can have if you seriously take the claims of God, the message of the Gospel, and are faithful to it.

You never know what God can do. And as you mentioned, our nation is filled with spiritual awakenings. The first great awakening that happened more than two centuries ago, others that we've seen in the past generation. But today, we are in a prime position to pray, to prepare, and to present the Gospel in a fresh way with all of the tools, with all of the technology, with all of the tenacity of the next generation to see a revival and an awakening take place in America that we have not seen in our lifetime. I'm excited about it.

Well, I am too. Here are several thoughts. Number one, pray. Number two, pursue Christ's likeness. Number three, equip yourself. Number four, recognize opportunities. There are opportunities all around to be a representative for Jesus. Number five, influence others. And then finally, live a life of truth promotion. Because, you know, Dylan, you mentioned screen time, which is very influential. And even so many of the search engines and social media sites, I mean, it's been, you know, a lot of them have been outed and busted for using their analytics to oftentimes promote a liberal progressive message and to squelch a conservative biblical message.

So the screen time of the disease is a formidable challenge. But here's the deal. People are still hungry for relationship, and deep down hungry for truth. And so we can pray. We can be equipped. We can use our influence and our testimony and the relationships all around us. And we, for God's glory and empowered by His Spirit, rooted in His word, I think our calling, Dylan, is to live a life of truth promotion.

Yes, and I love Ezra 7.10 that talks about, in his own life, his goal was to study the Word of God, to live it out, and to communicate it to others. And I think that summarizes well what you've been saying, is that as we grow personally, we have a calling to live out our faith, but that calling to live it out doesn't stop with just our own lives, but with equipping those around us, whether it be the next generation or the person next door or the person next to you at work or at school. So Alex, as we wrap up our final minute here, if you could just perhaps end with an encouraging word or a prayer to help inspire those who are listening today to be faithful to the Lord and to take that step of bold action to communicate it to someone near to them.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the great commission to go into all the world and make disciples of every generation. And Lord, we know that you love people, that you still are in the business of saving souls and changing lives. We know that the Holy Spirit is still raising up voices and empowering the church. And we know that your Word, the Scriptures, still pierce the heart and soul and open the eyes of people in every generation. So Lord, help us to go and tell this generation about a risen Savior, a life-changing gospel, and the message of our Lord that whosoever will may come. Father, cleanse us, fill us, send us, use us. In Jesus' name and for His glory we pray.

Amen. Truth for a New Generation, in association with Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, exists to equip Christians with a biblical worldview through conferences and camps. For information about upcoming events, visit truthforanewgeneration.com or give us a call at 877-YES-GOD-1. That's 877-YES-GOD and the number 1. TNG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, P.O. Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. That's P.O. Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. Or give online at alexmcfarland.com or truthforanewgeneration.com. Thanks for listening and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG radio.