Now, why would you read a post on Evangelism and Discipleship during a debate that concerns the Mission of the SBC that breaks across denominational heritage, age, politics, culture and the rights of dissent while holding to the bond of cooperation?
Hopefully because you find it refreshing and encouraging. I also think that it applies to the debate. I believe that our distorted view of winning the world locally has spilled over into a distorted view of winning the world globally. This distorted focus has led us to the situation in which we now find ourselves.
The problem is that as a Christian culture – an evangelical culture, even – we have gotten the idea that evangelism is the job of the professionals. In church, it takes various forms. Of course, we expect that our ministers visit prospects and lead them to the Lord. This is an appropriate thing to expect, but not appropriate at all to expect this to the exclusion of the laity’s participation.
Still, the expectation is that the preacher will do this because it is his job. We expect visits and also we expect evangelistic services that have people flooding the altar on Sundays. We treat church as if it were the Billy Graham Crusade.
Now let me assure you that I am all for the BGC, but it is not church. It is a special event that happens on special occasions and draws the lost of a community because they are already interested in what is being said. If we run churches like that, we would have to expect that the congregation would be made up of about 50% lost people who are already seeking God – like the crowd at the crusades.
Is that the case on Sundays? No. Rather, we are made up of Christians who need discipling. I am not saying that evangelism can’t happen in the church service, but it does not happen best there. It happens best when individual Christians share who God is and what He is about with people around them. Instead, we more often settle for inviting the lost to attend church. However, the lost are incapable of worship. Church makes no sense to them, nor can it. The church is for nurturing Christians and sending them out to win the world.
When we treat our services like crusade events, we create shallow Christians who are not discipled because when they gather, they hear the Gospel preached – which they now already know and have accepted. Is it not a waste of “God’s time” to preach the Gospel to a room full of people who are already convinced of it? Meanwhile, the lost are outside the walls and hear nothing but our occasional media driven statements that we would like for them to quit fornicating, drinking, gambling and get into church.
Our message has become that we want them to look and act like us and if they will, they can hear the Gospel in church and might be saved. Cart before the horse? Yes.
We have misplaced the individual passion for winning the lost. We need to turn our church’s view outward to the lost and look on them with the compassion the Lord has for them – making it each of our business to win them. We can help our churches turn to that view when we disciple the body as we gather. Discipleship works best when Christians gather. Evangelism works best when Christians disperse.
What’s that got to do with the IMB, NAMB or the SBC?
We have applied a wrong minded cultural norm that exists within the church to the mission efforts of our denomination. I believe it is our responsibility to go through any door open to us to take the Gospel – whether across the street or across the ocean. Instead, we send others. Like we do at church, we expect them to do the job, and because we pay them, they should do it the way we think it ought to be done. When the lost are our heartbeat, then we will lay aside these distinctions and go on with the Mission.
Can I get an “Amen” right here, or what?
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Kdawg
on Mar 7th, 2006
@ 12:16 pm:
I’ll give you all three! We take Matt 28:18-20 and only fulfill half of it. Discipleship is more than just leading someone to Christ!
Alan Cross
on Mar 7th, 2006
@ 3:02 pm:
I agree with you, Art. I would just add that I think that most Christians do not understand the gospel at all. On the streets of my Southern city, if I did a poll, over half of the city would say that to get to heaven you need to be a good person. That is the American Cultural Christianity that we are always having to work with. Moralism never saved anyone. Perhaps what we need is a better understanding of the Gospel and what grace really means. Col. 2:6 say, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” You’re right, we need discipleship. But we need to teach people to live in the same way that they came to Christ – with a complete focus and dependence upon Him, and not upon themselves or upon tips and techniques to better and happier life. The Cross cuts through all of that and drives us to Jesus as our Savior everyday. So, I agree with what you are saying – I just wanted to elaborate upon it a bit.
art rogers
on Mar 7th, 2006
@ 3:13 pm:
Guys,
I agree with you both. Of course, my post is broad sweeping, but I want to focus everyone’s attention on this:
If we believe that the spreading of the Gospel is the job of people paid to do that, and we are the ones paying, don’t we break down by coming to the conclusion that since we are sending them (to the community or to the 1040 window) we can tell them how to do it and how not to do it?
How would this be different if we felt it was our responsibility to go to the community AND the 1040 window? I think the bonds of cooperation would be greatly increased.
Kiki Cherry
on Mar 7th, 2006
@ 7:54 pm:
We view it a little differently in our association up here, and I love the new perspective I’ve gained since being in PA.
Evangelism is something we ARE, not something we do. 2 Cor. 2 says that we are the “aroma of Christ.” To some we will bring the fragrance of life, and to some the smell of death.
But evangelism is part of our DNA once we accept Christ. We carry around in us the presence of Christ, just as the ark of the covenant carried the presence of God in the OT.
Everywhere we go, every interaction we have, in everything we do, we take Christ with us. That is why we have to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have. (1 Pet. 3:15)
I think if lay people realized the awesome responsibility of WHO they really are in Christ, they would see evangelism differently.
Jeff Richard Young
on Mar 7th, 2006
@ 8:55 pm:
Dear Art,
I’ve had at least two members drop out and several more express dissatisfaction because I don’t preach “you’re going to hell if you don’t get saved” every sermon.
It’s easy to see, however, by their adoption of the unChristian culture and their ignorance of the Bible’s teachings that they don’t need to hear how to be saved for the 5,000th time. They need to hear what to do and how to believer once they are saved!
Thanks for expressing this truth so well.
Love in Christ,
Jeff
Kdawg
on Mar 7th, 2006
@ 10:15 pm:
Kiki is right! Evangelism is who we are! I’m tired of doing evangelism. I’m living it!