Tag Archives: evangelism

Does your leadership prioritize reaching the lost?

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seekingI’m reaching that age where I’m transitioning from criticizing what the church has been to criticizing what the church is becoming. Actually, I’m right at that sweet spot where I can criticize both!

Seriously, one thing that worries me about today’s church and tomorrow’s leadership is a de-emphasis of the concept of salvation. It may just be a pendulum swing that will eventually correct itself, but I know many church leaders who aren’t really concerned about helping people hear about Jesus. Let’s clothe them, feed them, provide housing, and send them on their way. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but if we look closely, we have to admit that many church leaders are uncomfortable with the idea that non-believers need salvation.

Don’t believe me? Many people are talking about a research project that is being published in next month’s Review of Religious Research. The study shows that more conservative churches are growing more than their more liberal counterparts; in today’s Links To Go I refer to an article about that.

But that’s not what caught my attention. Here’s the survey question that caught my eye:

“It is very important to encourage non-Christians to become Christians”

In churches that report their numbers to be dwindling, only 50% of respondents agreed with this statement. None of them marked “Strongly Agree”! In growing churches, 99% of the leaders surveyed agree, with 77% strongly agreeing.

Here’s another:

“Only those who believe in and follow Jesus Christ will receive eternal life”

In declining churches, none of the leaders marked “Strongly Agree” with this statement. 6% agreed. In growing churches, 77% of leaders agreed or strongly agreed. I would admittedly nuance my agreement and mark “Moderately Agree,” for I believe that a sovereign God can still save anyone he chooses. Yet the Bible is pretty clear in saying that Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Folks, if your leadership doesn’t believe that non-believers need to be taught about Jesus, your church is doomed. No need to pull punches on that one. Your church is doomed.

Sharing with those who celebrate the election results

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one-stepThese past few days I’ve been talking about how to deal with the people around us now that the election is past. The idea is to be able to help shift attention from politics to eternal matters. Our goal is to be used by God to help others move closer to an imitation of Jesus; I’m focusing my attention this week on non-believers, but many of the same principles are helpful in our conversations with believers.

I mentioned last week that before speaking we need to listen. That’s a pretty good general rule in life, but it’s especially true when discussing evangelism. We spend way too much time focused on what we’re going to say and not enough time being ready to hear what others are saying.

As we approach those who are jubilant about the election, we listen to see what the source of their joy is. Again, this isn’t the time for recrimination nor accusations; that may make you feel better, but it rarely does any good in the long run. Focus on the motives for their happiness, and you’ll often find an open door to talk about God.

Maybe their motivation was a return to traditional values. That invites us to get them to express what they see as traditional values and talk about the source of legitimate morality. Help them see that God is the authority, in every way. Outside of him, no standards have a solid base.

If the driving force for these voters was a desire to return to greatness, get them to define what greatness looks like. If it’s about strength and security, help them to see that only God can give lasting security. If it’s economic concerns, help them to balance temporary and eternal riches. In the end, we want them to see that only God can give greatness.

For many, abortion is the major issue in every election. Life comes from God, as does eternal life. Protection of life, from conception to grave (and beyond) is one of the major values of God’s kingdom; those who value life can come to value the giver of life.

None of these ideas are meant as snappy responses to conversation in an elevator. These are general directions for conversations that will be played out over days and weeks. What we learn from listening to others can shape the direction for future conversations, ones in which we will speak of God and his values.

Our goal for everyone is to move them closer to God. If we can keep that in mind, we will find that evangelism is not as scary as it often seems.

One step closer

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one-stepLast week I talked about listening to people after the elections. Hopefully you’ve been able to hear those around you; hear their fears, hear their values, hear their priorities. Now I suggest that you look for opportunities to speak.

First, let me repeat a point that I’ve made here and in my book Church Inside Out. Conversion is a process. For many, it’s a long, step-by-step journey from unbelief to discipleship. There are milestones along the way, like the acceptance of the concept of a supreme being, the acknowledgement of the authority of the Bible, the understanding of the exclusive claims made by Jesus. It’s rare for the complete unbeliever to become a dedicated Christ follower after a conversation or two. It happens, but it’s rare.

I would argue that our mindset should always be that we want to move people one step closer to the imitation of Christ. For some, that means getting them to accept that truth exists and can be found; that may seem like an obvious point, but for many in our world today, that’s a foreign concept. For others, their step closer is coming to see that religion is not a malignant force in our society.

For others, that necessary step will be understanding the personal nature of the gospel; many more will need to grasp the communal nature of the gospel. For some, it will be about how to live as believers.

That’s part of what we’re listening for as well. We want to know where people are and how to help them move one step closer… followed by another step and another. Along the way, we hope to take another step ourselves.

As you think about speaking about Jesus to the people around you, recognize that yours is a simple sharing of what you’ve experienced and come to believe. Don’t worry about being prepared to answer every question nor to present a full-blown theological system. Your task is to tell your family and neighbors what the Lord has done for you.

After all the talk, it’s time to listen

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Late afternoon yesterday, when I felt that most people had already voted, I posted the following on Facebook:


I’d like to tweak that thought a bit. I don’t think today is a day for talking. I think today is the day we listen. Based on what we hear, we hope to share some things… later.

I’d like to encourage you to listen today to the people around you. Not the talking heads on TV, but your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and others around you.

Listen to them. They’ll probably be talking about the elections. Are they happy? Listen as to why. Ask them why. Are they upset? Listen as to why. Ask them why.

You may hear general comments about how ugly the campaign was or how wrong the pollsters were. You may statements about truth, about ethics, about justice. You may hear comments about race, about gender, about religious freedom.

Do they want to make America great? Ask them what greatness is. Do they want to return to former values? Ask what those values are.

What you’re listening for are opportunities to speak truth, God’s truth. You’re looking for what is important to that person, what gives them hope, what scares them. All of this will give you an idea about the sorts of things that you can share to them.

You’ve shared your political ideas. Now put that same energy and conviction into sharing your faith. Begin by listening. If you listen today, you’ll know what to talk about tomorrow.

Evangelism Inside Out

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CIOOne of the main reasons that I wrote Church Inside Out was to help churches and individual Christians grow in their concept of evangelism. More than that, I wanted to help everyone see that we can all be involved in the evangelistic process. Here are some excerpts to give you a feel for what I talk about in the book:

When we are talking about reaching out to others, be they teens or octogenarians, most of what we need to think about can be boiled down to what Jesus called the greatest commands:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37–39)

We have to love God and love our neighbors. We have to show our neighbors that God loves them and help our neighbors come to love God. (p.17)

If a church is focused on building itself rather than growing the Kingdom, it’s not doing the Lord’s work. If a church is focused on making a name for itself rather than making God’s name known, it’s not doing the Lord’s work. If a church postpones outreach and evangelism “until the time is right,” it’s not doing the Lord’s work. (p.35)

There are lots of good things that churches can do, lots of important ministries that need to be performed. But we must never forget that the unique mission of the church is to share the good news of Jesus Christ. That’s the task we’ve been given as ambassadors of the kingdom of God. As Paul said, we beg people to reconcile themselves to God. (p.73)

Too often we approach our communities like marketing executives, coldly analyzing demographics and statistics to put together the ideal plan for reaching out to the people around us. We forget that the Bible tells us time and again that prayer is an essential part of evangelism. It’s an essential part of every aspect of the Christian life. (p.82)

Research done in the 1980s showed that anywhere from 75 to 90% of new converts came to church through the influence of a friend or relative. Five to six percent came through the work of the preacher. Less than one percent were reached through campaigns. Only four or five percent started coming to church through Sunday school. The vast majority came because of the influence of someone they knew and trusted. That hasn’t changed. If we aren’t forming relationships with people who don’t know Jesus, we won’t be able to effectively bring them to the Lord. (p.93)

As we talk about the process of conversion, we run the risk of de-spiritualizing the new birth. God draws people to Him and convicts them with His Word. It’s not a question of our skill nor our ingenuity. God gives the growth.
At the same time, He has given us the task of proclaiming the gospel and helping people know how to respond. In the above text, Paul makes it clear that the whole process depends on God; he also makes it clear that God uses people like Paul and Apollos in that process. (p.122)

I think one mistake that the church has made at times is to consider the new birth to be the goal. Remember how Jesus instructed His disciples:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19–20)

The command is to make disciples. We do that by baptizing those that believe in Jesus, but we also do that by teaching them to obey the teachings of Jesus. In the journey to discipleship, baptism is a critical step, but it’s not the final step. (p.130)

One problem with many of our evangelistic methods is that they are only focused on taking someone the last step to new birth. To continue the metaphor, we’re trying to sow the seed in a field that hasn’t been cleared or plowed. There was a time in the United States when most people were already several steps into this process. They believed in God. They accepted the Bible. They wanted to follow Jesus. They just needed to be “shown the way of the Lord more perfectly.”
That isn’t true today. We have to be willing to look at non-Christians and determine where they are in their journey toward God. And we need to deal with those people accordingly. Sometimes we’ll be the ones that get to rejoice as the harvest is brought in. Other times we’ll merely clear some stones so that others will one day be able to sow. (p.134)

Before planning what we’re going to say, we need to plan on listening. We build relationships. We are present in people’s lives. And we listen for the kairos, the right time for speaking a word for God. (p.142)

How do we know when someone is ready to hear a presentation of the gospel? If you have built a relationship with the person with whom you’re working, there shouldn’t be too much pressure at this point. That is, even if you jump the gun and share with someone who isn’t ready to hear, that won’t be a big problem if you’ve established a friendship. If she knows you and trusts you, she won’t be offended that you decided to share with her something that’s important to you. (p.147)

When we’re ready to share the gospel, it’s important to keep in mind what we’re wanting to talk about and what we’re not looking to discuss.
What we share can be summed up in one word: Jesus. People need to know about Jesus. (p.156)