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The Way of the Master

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Template:WOTM The Way of the Master is a Christian evangelism training ministry, created in 2002 and headed by Kirk Cameron and evangelist Ray Comfort, though there are several other key figures within the organization. Key aspects include a TV show, radio broadcast, numerous books, online school, small group training courses, and Web site of the same name. The television show in particular was the recipiant of numerous awards from the NRB association, including the "People's Choice Award" and the "Best Program Award" during the years of 2004-2006.[1][2]The Way of the Master is a limited liability company[3] and a closely intertwined sister organization to Living Waters Publications.

Their ministry is headquartered in Bellflower, California.

The Principle

Main article: Biblical Evangelism

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.[4] 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 Jesus called adultery at heart?" (7th commandment), "Have you ever taken the Lord's name in vain, which is called blasphemy?" (3rd commandment), "Have you ever hated, which Jesus called murder at heart?" (6th 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 interviewee 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

File:Wotm seal.jpg
The Way of the Master logo.
Main article: The Way of the Master 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. [5] The third season is currently in production. [6]

The Radio Show

Main article: The Way of the Master 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

Main article: The Way of the Master 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 abbreviated as 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 that over 2,000 students from 18 countries had enrolled in the school. [7]

Criticism

Cameron and Comfort use what some describe as flawed or misleading arguments to prove the existence of God, or their discussions with the general public may be more colloquial than strictly scientific. For example, in the pilot episode, "The Firefighter," Comfort stops a group of people on the street and claims to be able to prove the existence of God.

"When you look at a painting, how do you know there was a painter? The painting exists. When you look at a building, how do you know there was a builder? The building is proof there is a builder. And creation proves there is a creator. And your conscience tells you when you do right from wrong."

Some say that this does not technically qualify as actual proof of a painter or a builder; following David Hume who pointed out that one only knows from experience that paintings have painters, buildings have builders; but not that universes have creators. [citation needed]

In one instance, Comfort uses a banana to prove a creator's existence, citing its ridges perfectly fitting the human hand, and its curvature towards the mouth. However, the type he had in his hand was a product of selective breeding by people to achieve its desired attributes. In one interview, Comfort later admits that his comments concerning the banana were "tongue in cheek", and that they "shouldn't be taken too seriously," in addition to Friel stating that many critics of this took Comfort's comment on this episode "out of context".

The Nightline Interview

On March 17, 2006, Comfort and Cameron were featured on a segment of Nightline, being interviewed by Martin Bashir about their ministry. Bashir, voicing over clips of the television show, called them "deliberately confrontational" and "unafraid to offend other faiths in the process." In an interview, he asked the evangelists questions relating to their show on evolution, their credibility as unordained ministers ("Why should anyone believe an itinerant evangelist without any qualifications, and a former child actor without any qualifications?"), and their motive in speaking of things such as Judgment Day and hell, whereas others in Christianity refrain from mentioning such things, at least in the public eye. However, at the end of the segment Bashir called it a "fascinating second act" for Cameron. [8]

Key Figures

There are several "headliners" in the ministry who are often cited by those who follow the Way of the Master:

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ http://www.livingwaters.com/newsletter/february2005.htm
  2. ^ http://www.livingwaters.com/newsltr/2006-02.htm#025
  3. ^ The copyright "© year Way of the Master, LLC. All rights reserved." can be seen at the end of the DVD copies of the television show.
  4. ^ "Biblegateway.com", Mark 10:17-22, Romans 3:19-20, Romans 7:7-13, Galatians 3:24" Accessed March 20th, 2006
  5. ^ http://www.livingwaters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=DVDs Living Waters DVD ordering site
  6. ^ http://www.wayofthemaster.com/tv/season3/index.html Information on 3rd season from Way of the Master website
  7. ^ http://www.livingwaters.com/Merchant2/graphics/pdf/SOBE_TOC.pdf SOBE textbook, pg. 9
  8. ^ Nightline television segment. Viewed March 10, 2006.
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