The Way of the Master
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The Way of the Master is a Christian evangelism training ministry, with several other groups related underneath it. It is headed by Kirk Cameron, of Growing Pains and Left Behind, and evangelist Ray Comfort, though there are several other key figures within their ministry. It also involves a TV show, radio broadcast, book, online school, Sunday school program, and Web site of the same name. It is a ministry of Living Waters Publications.
Their ministry is headquartered in Bellflower, California.
The Principle
The basic principle of evangelism taught is using the Ten Commandments to show someone their sin and, by implication, their need for God's forgiveness. The main Scriptures for proving the validity of this approach are Mark 10:17-22; Romans 3:19-20 and 7:7-13; and Galatians 3:24.[1] The acronym WDJD in the ministry's logo stands for "What did Jesus do?" (versus WWJD, the question "What would Jesus do?" from some years ago) as well as the first letter of each of four points:
- "Would you consider yourself to be a good person?"
- "Do you think you have kept the 10 Commandments?" followed by asking specifically if the person has broken commandments, with questions like "Have you ever told a lie?" (9th commandment), "Have you ever stolen anything, no matter how long ago, no matter how small?" (8th commandment), "Have you ever lusted, which is called adultery?" (7th commandment), "Have you ever taken the Lord's name in vain, which is called blasphemy?" (3rd commandment).
- Judgment: "If God judges you by the 10 Commandments on the Day of Judgment, will you be innocent or guilty?"
- Destiny: "Based on that, would you go to heaven or hell?" and if hell, then "Does that concern you?"
However, these questions are usually an outline, with more in-depth questions and commentary given by the "witness" during the conversation. After the 10 Commandments are used to "bring the knowledge of sin" (based on Romans 3:19-20). the gospel is usually presented to the "witnessee" to describe the Christian belief in Jesus Christ's death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins, and inviting the person to respond by repentance and faith in Christ. If the interviewee is especially stubborn or antagonistic, the witness might return to the 10 Commandments or engage in other topics.
The Television Show
The television show, first aired in December 2003, is a half-hour show hosted by Cameron and Comfort, teaching principles of biblical evangelism, and then showing examples through "man-on-the-street" interviews. As of May 2006, two 13-episode seasons have been produced, aired, and sold on DVD. [2] The third season is currently in production. [3]
The Radio Show
Beginning in January 2006, Cameron and Comfort began co-hosting with Christian talk show host Todd Friel to produce a daily live radio show. Comfort and Cameron host from the ministry headquarters in California, while Friel hosts alongside producer Tony Verkinnis in Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Evangelism Training Courses
The Way of the Master has begun to gradually produce three series of training courses for small groups, Sunday school classes, and churches to teach Christians in their concept of "Biblical Evangelism". The video portions include clips from selected episodes of The Way of the Master television show. As of May 2006, only the "Basic Training Course" has been released.
School of Biblical Evangelism
Another branch of their ministry is an unaccredited school of 101 lessons on their teachings, called The School of Biblical Evangelism (also called SOBE or SBE). This school is available both online, and in textbook form, though only the online form of lessons leads to graduation. As of early February 2006, roughly 6,500 people have taken or are taking the school. The history of SBE is chronicled in the preface of their textbook:
- In 2001, we decided to create an online Bible school called "The School of Biblical Evangelism," in which we would systematically equip Christians to share their faith. It would have a total of 120 lessons. We couldn't wait to get it underway, so we placed the first ten lessons online, thinking we could write the others before students caught up with us. We were wrong. Almost immediately students were banging on our door asking, "Where is the next lesson?"
- The experience of trying to outrun hungry students was a taste of what was to come. Within a short time we were delighted to find thatover 2,000 students from 18 countries had enrolled in the school. [4]
Criticism
The ministry and T.V. show have collected a small amount of reportable controversy.
The Way of the Master website has some things to say about evolution that many evolutionists might dismiss off-hand as misguided, such as where the website states "Evolution is not a good theory—it is just a pagan religion masquerading as science." [5] The page also contains a list of 15 questions designed to disprove evolution from the Creationist Kent Hovind, though many evolutionists claim some of the questions have nothing to do with the theory of evolution.
Furthermore, on March 17, 2006, Comfort and Cameron were featured on a segment of Nightline, being interviewed by Martin Bashir about their ministry. Bashir asked each of them questions relating to evolution, their credibility as ministers, and their motive in speaking of things such as Judgment Day and hell, whereas others in Christendom often refrain from publically addressing such topics.
Key Figures
Though not considered a cult, sect, or denomination, there are several "headliners" in the ministry who are often cited by those who follow the Way of the Master:
- Kirk Cameron, co-founder, TV and radio show co-host
- Ray Comfort, co-founder, TV and radio show co-host
- Todd Friel, daily host of the radio show
- Darrel Rundus, founder and leader of The Great News Network
- Mark Spence, the dean of SOBE
- Emeal "EZ" Zwayne, Comfort's son-in-law and general manager of the ministry headquarters.
Notes
- ^ "Biblegateway.com", Mark 10:17-22, Romans 3:19-20, Romans 7:7-13, Galatians 3:24" Accessed March 20th, 2006
- ^ http://www.livingwaters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=DVDs Living Waters DVD ordering site
- ^ http://www.wayofthemaster.com/tv/season3/index.html Information on 3rd season from Way of the Master website
- ^ http://www.livingwaters.com/Merchant2/graphics/pdf/SOBE_TOC.pdf SOBE textbook, pg. ???
- ^ http://www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/questionsforevolutionists.shtml Question for Evolutionists from the Living Waters website.
See also
External links
- The Way of the Master - the main "The Way of the Master" Web site for his ministry with Kirk Cameron.
- LivingWaters.com, the ministry of Ray Comfort - an evangelism resources Web site, originally known as RayComfort.com
- The Way of the Master Radio
- needGod.com - their gospel presentation Web site.
- The School of Biblical Evangelism
- The Great News Network - A ministry which has teamed up with "The Way of the Master" to create a worldwide network of Christians using the principles of "biblical evangelism", as well as run "evangelism boot camps" across the world.
- The Way of the Master Minute - Daily one-minute short devotionals compiled by Cameron and Comfort, in written and audio formats.
- The Evidence Bible Online