Open Ears?

"If anyone has an ear, let him hear:" (Rev 13:9)

This past Sunday, I attended the North Carolina Baptist Pastor's Conference in Greensboro where my friend, Alex McFarland, an apologist and president of Southern Evangelical Seminary was speaking. Alex quoted a statistic that to me was quite eye opening.

According to a 2008 survey conducted by the General Social Survey, 89% of those aged 18-30 "would be willing to listen to a Christian explain their faith."

WOW!

What does this say about the idea that post modern's are not open to the Gospel? For my international readers, I am not sure how these statistics compare to those of your culture, but the statistics support what I believe to be true: people are much more open to the gospel than we give them credit for.

This openness doesn't mean that they will necessarily embrace our faith right away. As Alex pointed out in his message, the gestation period for faith is much longer for this age group than it has been in the past. Imparting our faith to this group requires a relational witness reinforced by a holy life. It requires an investment of time.

But at the same time, we need to recognize that reaching this younger generation for Christ may not be as difficult as first thought. I believe this generation is looking for a faith worth believing. They are disenchanted with the church and organized religion but intrigued by Jesus. Further, they are not looking for the way to heaven, but are seeking to have a meaningful life and to make a difference here and now.

Jesus offers everything they are looking for. We must present His timeless message in these truth-less times with boldness and relevance. We must be willing to listen and to dialogue - not to lecture. And our efforts must be Spirit-empowered and guided.

In Acts 16, the Bible says that the Lord opened the heart of Lydia to pay attention to the things that Paul was saying. She was baptized and eventually became a great help to Paul and his ministry. If we want to share the gospel with people in our day, we must depend upon the Holy Spirit just as Paul and the apostles did.

REBELLION!

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Rom 1:21 ESV)

Recently, I reestablished contact with a younger person that I watched grow up. (I am deliberately leaving their name and many of the details out for sensitivity reasons.) They attended a strong church as a child and youth. Even though this person was exposed to the gospel many times they have now, as a late teenager, chosen a totally different path. They now claim to be an atheist among other things.

While it would be easy second guess and ask, "what went wrong," it is more important to consider how this person might be reached again with the message of Christ. Here are some of my thoughts...

PRAYER.
I am not trying to be overly simplistic here. I truly believe that prayer is absolutely essential to reaching the heart of a person that has rejected everything that they have heard about Christ. We must pray that their spiritual eyes and ears might be opened and that whatever is hindering them from believing would be removed.

KNOWLEDGE
What events have transpired in this person's life that may have caused them to reject God? Has there been a major tragedy in their life? Has this person been hurt by a professing Christian or group of Christians? What do you know about their family life? What do you know about their lifestyle? Did this person ever make a genuine profession of faith in Christ?

Many of these factors may give you an idea why the person has chosen the path they have chosen. I believe that a majority of atheists/agnostics have either a moral reason or emotional reason for rejecting belief in God. In other words, they are either living in open sin and refuse to acknowledge their condition or they have been hurt by people or life in general. (I am reminded of the young lady that my wife had the opportunity to lead to Christ in Wichita, KS earlier this year.)

This knowledge is not to be used as ammunition to condemn them, but as background information to help you understand and reach them.


COMPASSION
Compassion should be the hallmark of the Christian life. Unfortunately, we as Christians can be some of the least compassionate people around. To be compassionate toward a lost person is to love them while they are yet sinners. It was said of our Lord that, "a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench..." (Mat 12:20) By no stretch of the imagination did Jesus ever condone sin. But He compassionately reached out to the lost with the truth. we must do as Jesus did.

PATIENCE
I know of no one who rejects God overnight. It is going to take time and lots of relation building to reach them with the gospel. The Holy Spirit must be allowed to work in their hearts and break down the walls they have built-up.

I am interested in your thoughts. What do you think it would take to reach someone has been exposed to the gospel message, but for whatever reason, they have rejected it's truth?

"Cold" Evangelism

I would like to start a dialogue in regards to what some people have termed "cold" evangelism. Recently, a well known evangelist, Greg Stier wrote an article entitled "Does Street Evangelism Work." In the article, he expressed his struggle with street evangelism in terms of it's effectiveness in making disciples. I would encourage you to click on it, read it and reflect on it. I respect what he said there and agree in many ways, but...

First of all, I really don't care for the term, "cold" evangelism. I believe this is a term used primarily by those who question the effectiveness of this type of evangelism. I would prefer using the term intentional evangelism or encounter evangelism. I believe this reflects the true nature of the methodology being used. The witness is being intentional in sharing the good news. Or, we could look at it from the perspective of the person encountering the message of God through the witness.

Basically this method of evangelism advocates the sharing of the gospel with as many people as possible even if you do not know the person. A number of people today are of the opinion that evangelism can only occur in the context of an established relationship. They advocate building the friendship first, then sharing the gospel.

First of all, I believe both types of evangelism are needed. There are some people who you will only reach in the context of a relationship. The problem comes when we build the relationship and fail to share the gospel.

let's just say you start building a relationship with a person with the intention of sharing the gospel with them. After three months, you feel that the time is finally ripe for telling this person about Christ. You make plans to share the gospel with them when you get a phone call; your friend was killed in a car accident. Where will they spend eternity?

You say, "Oh, that probably will not happen that way. You are just using fear tactics." Really? Are you willing to take that risk with a friend's eternal salvation?

We should never assume we will have tomorrow to tell someone about Jesus. As it says in James, "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." James 4:13-14

Secondly, let me give you some reasons why I believe that intentional evangelism works:

1) I believe in the power of the gospel. Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." When the gospel is proclaimed, I believe it can change a person right then and there. They don't have to be taken through the ten steps to the purpose driven better life to be saved. God is still sovereign and still saving people. He is powerful enough to get his message through.

2) I believe in the work of the Holy Spirit. His job is to draw people to Christ. He is the best friend of the witness and whenever the gospel is shared, He works through the witness and in the heart of the hearer. If the person hearing the gospel truly repents and puts their faith in Christ, do you think the Holy Spirit says, "Praise God, another soul saved," and then abandons the person??? NO! I believe He takes up residence in the person's life at that point and continues to draw them close to Jesus. This does not excuse our need to begin to discipleship process with the person by any means. In fact, we must do everything possible to help the convert plug into a local congregation.

3) I believe in divine encounters. God is at work redeeming a lost world. He has invited us to join him in that work. I believe that if we are faithful in looking for opportunities to share the gospel, God will send people to us who are ready to hear the gospel. This may not mean that the hearer is ready to receive Christ, we may be one link in the chain that God uses to draw a person to Christ. Still, God sends up clear opportunities to influence other with our words and we must seize those opportunities.

4) Jesus and the Apostles practiced intentional evangelism. How well did Jesus know the Samaritan woman at the well, or Zachaeus, or the man on the pallet brought to him by the four friends or the thief on the cross before He shared the gospel with them? How well did Paul know the Philippian jailer? How well did Phillip know the Eunuch in Acts 8. Did Phillip say, "Hey Eunuch, I would love to explain that scripture you are reading. Let me first go back to Ethiopia and get to know you better." Now, all of this intentional evangelism was done in a relational manner - as is the case with all evangelism. But it was all "cold" evangelism.

5) Intentional evangelism has a rich history of success. Well known Christians like D.L Moody, St. Patrick, George Whitefield, Charles Finney and many other well know evangelists believed in and practiced intentional evangelism effectively. It has worked for nearly 2000 years. It still works today when it is practiced.

6) Try as we might, no method of evangelism is 100% effective in producing disciples. I don't mean to rain on everyone's parade here, but Jesus didn't have 100% success with everyone he came into contact with either. (Judas, the rich young ruler, many of the ones who heard him speak, etc.) Read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-23. Jesus compared four types of ground to the human heart. The seeds landed on all four types of ground, but only one soil successfully produced fruit.

I am interested in your comments and thoughts on this matter.

The Great Commission - Coming to a Church Near You.

I am an unashamed Southern Baptist. If you cut me, I bleed the cooperative program. I believe that my denomination has the best mission sending capability of any Christian denomination in the world. This does not mean that God doesn't use other denominations by any means; in fact, I do work with other denominations all the time.

Recently, leaders in our denomination have called for a Great Commission Resurgence - a return to gospel-centeredness and active proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ. Considering the current state of decline in our denomination - evidenced by the fact that we have reached a 22 year low in baptisms - I say it's about time!

So many churches have lost confidence in the power of the gospel message. We are often told that evangelism doesn't work anymore and we have to use other methods to reach people. Of course evangelism doesn't work when you don't do it.

I believe we need a revival of confidence in the power of the gospel to save whosoever, whenever wherever it is proclaimed.

I have been privileged to share the good news in 10 different countries and 16 different states. I have shared the gospel with many people in places like Mombasa, Kenya, Los Angeles, CA, San Antonio, TX, Kampala, Uganda, Indianapolis, IN, Denver, CO, Cartagena, Colombia, Portland, OR, St. Johnsbury, VT and Raleigh, NC - just to mention a few. I have shared in every kind of context you can think of from refugee camps, to special events, to churches, to the streets and so forth.

In every context that I have ministered in, I have seen God at work in the hearts of people. I have seen people experience genuine life change through Christ. I have seen people become followers of Jesus. It was not because of me, but in spite of me. It was all about God.

I believe that every church and every denomination can experience a Great Commission Resurgence when we become the resurgence that we long for. In other words, enough talk - now is the time for action. It's time to get out there and obey God.

As John Piper said, "Go, send, or disobey."

Power Failure

Recently, I received a well meaning, but sad e-mail from a missionary couple with a particular organization which dismissed proclaimation evangelism and advocated a long term approach to preparing people before presenting the gospel. Their concerns stemmed from the difficulty of following up on people who made decisions during the harvest event. Furthermore, they claimed that mass evangelists were the exception in the New Testament.

Well, here we go again! I can't tell you how many times I have heard the argument that proclaimation evangelism doesn't work these days, or never worked at all. I often wonder if they have actually read the New Testament.

The Apostle Paul said, "For since, in God's wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message PREACHED." [Emphasis added] 1Co 1:21

They have somehow missed the fact that the church, on the day of Pentecost, was birthed out of mass evangelism through the preaching of Peter. They have missed the preaching of Paul, Steven and Phillip the Evangelist in Acts.

I try to imagine Paul, as he approached Athens and was provoked by the spiritual condition of the city, thinking,"I really need to build a relationship with these people, share some Old Testament stories with them, and maybe, just maybe I'll get to tell them about Jesus!"

One of the greatest needs in the church today is a revival of the confidence in the Gospel to save whosever, wherever whenever it is proclaimed. The Gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. Salvation is God's business. Our business is to proclaim the message of salvation and believe that God will honor that by saving the person who responds to the invitation.

let us renew our confidence in God's message to save.

Tis the Season...

OK, first of all I admit...I am a lazy blogger. I didn't post anything this week although I had good intentions to do so. So flog me with a wet noodle...

Now for the post...

This is one of those times in the life of the church where we are presented with a wonderful opportunity to reach people with the good news, yet we fail to seize the moment. I am talking about the annual Easter (Or Christmas) cantata that many churches put on.

For several years, my home church music ministry, led by my wife, put on an elaborate program at the local Christian College. We had great sets, wonderful lighting, acting, lots of wonderful singing and special effects including an accession scene where Jesus was lifted up on a hydraulic lift camouflaged by lots of smoke and special lighting. For a small country church, it was quite an impressive show.

The biggest thing we had going for us was the strong gospel message presented through the drama and music. I know smoke and mirrors doesn't draw people to Jesus, but a clear presentation of the gospel coupled with the convicting power of the Holy Spirit does.

There was one thing missing however...lost people.

The audience was primarily made up of people from our church and other churches in the area. Rarely did any of the believers bring their lost loved ones and friends to see and hear the gospel message. It wasn't as if we were asking believers to witness to their friends - we were asking them to bring their friends to be witnessed to.

Most churches never take advantage of the opportunities that fall in their lap to get people to Christ. They spend lots of money to entertain the saints when they should be evangelizing the lost. Churches don't think with an evangelistic mindset.

It may be too late to change your program now - to make it more seeker friendly. (I use that term in the sense of planning and presenting our programs with the lost in mind, not in the current sense and usage of the word.) Here are some suggestions on how to make your program into an opportunity to reach lost people.

• Hold the event at a neutral location. Lost people are more likely to come to a program being held at a local high school gym or civic auditorium than at a church.
• Advertise your event through secular media as opposed to Christian media. It may cost more, but lost people generally don't listen to Christian media outlets.
• Emphasize the fact that this is an opportunity to reach lost family and friends to the congregation. Challenge believers to invite and offer to bring at least 5 of their lost friends with them to the event.
• Always have a pastor or lay leader give an invitation to follow Christ at the end of the program. Make sure that attendees have a reply mechanism such as a guest card so that follow up can be made for decisions.
• Make sure the gospel is clearly presented in the program; not just some pretty music.

Let's not waste the opportunity to present the greatest message of all - the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Building Friendships for Eternity

FriendFluence: actively pursuing relationships with people in order to win them to Christ, build them in faith and send them back into the world to influence others.

One of the most distressing things I have seen in modern Christianity - at least in the western world - is our apathy toward sharing the greatest message of all - the good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in the gospel of John that He "came so that people might have life and have it in abundance."

According to the teaching of the Bible, Jesus died on the cross, was buried, rose from the dead on the third day and ascended to the father in heaven so that the sins of the world could be forgiven. By faith, anyone who turns from their sins (repents) and believes in Him can find that abundant life which is for now and forever more. In my book, that qualifies as good - no...GREAT news!

Yet, I am baffled when I meet Christians who say that they have met Jesus, yet have no desire to see other people experience the joy of knowing Jesus personally. Could it be as Billy Graham once said: "the greatest hindrance to evangelism today is the poverty of our own experience." In other words, Christians don't tell others about Jesus because they never met Him in the first place. God forbid...

FriendFluence is about teaching believers to look for ways to build relationships with people who have never met Jesus Christ in order to introduce them to Him, build them in their faith, and teach them to influence others in the same way.

This Blog is dedicated to the development and teaching of a Bible based curriculum called FriendFluence which was created by Evangelist Darrel Davis of Foundation Ministries. The goal of this curriculum is to change the mindset of believers when it comes to spreading the message of Jesus Christ and equip them to take an active role in reaching people.

I welcome your constructive input through comments and suggestions. Keep checking back for more posts and updates on the development of this curriculum. My desire is to equip Christians to build Friendships for eternity.