Whose story are we telling?

Good stuff from the White Horse Inn:

When sharing the faith with others, should we primarily focus on what happened to Christ, or what happened to us? In other words, should we focus on the gospel of Christ as we find it unpacked in the New Testament, or should we emphasize our personal testimonies, explaining to others what God has done in our own lives? We put this question to a number of attendees at a Christian convention, and you might be surprised by their answers.

Have a listen HERE.

Don't Deny Muslims The Son...

It is evangelistically disastrous when, in an effort to reach Muslims, references to Jesus as "the Son of God" are removed from New Testaments. To tamper with the Sonship of Jesus is to undermine such essential doctrines as the Trinity, the incarnation, the deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, the atonement, etc. And yet amazingly there are major players within evangelicalism and missions who are advancing this deadly tactic.

Here are a few helpful links:

"Forty-Year-Old Light on How to Translate 'Son of God' for Muslims" by John Piper

The Bible for Muslims - A Difficult Strategy

More on Bible Translations to the Muslims

Will the Insiders keep the outsiders outside? 2

Apparently, the Insider Movement is a loose coalition of some who are involved in Christian outreach to Muslims. Those within the Insider Movement claim that since Muslims are offended by language that proclaims God as Father and Jesus as the Son, efforts to reach them ought to eliminate that familial language.

In response to the Insider Movement the Reverend Scott Seaton of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Arlington, VA has introduced "Overture 9." Overture 9 calls for PCA presbyteries to pull funding from any missionaries or missions agencies which alter the familial language found within the Scriptures.

You can read Overture 9 HERE.

Will the Insiders keep the outsiders outside?

Just recently I have become aware of a particular movement to make evangelism to Muslims more effective. Now, who in their right mind or heart would oppose good efforts to reach Muslims with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? But the movement to which I refer is proving to be controversial, and that, for good reason.

This group (?) is known as the Insider Movement. The reason they are causing so much heart burn is that they believe that in order to best reach Muslims, all references to Jesus Christ as God's Son must be removed from any Bible or Gospel presentation offered to them. The rationale behind such a move is that Muslims do not have a category in which God could have a Son apart from sexual intercourse with a woman.

This raises issues about the nature and importance of Christ's sonship. It also begs the question, "How far do we go to accomodate the false ideas of unbelievers?" When does evangelistic zeal become Gospel-distorting accomodation? Just how flexible is our message?

I am going to take some time with this issue. So, over the next few days and weeks I'll be addressing in on my little 'ol blog.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts? Is this a legitimate approach to evangelism? How central is the sonship of Jesus to the Gospel? How central is the sonship of Jesus to His very identity?

Evangelism, Conversion, and the Local Church

Mark Dever delivered the a helpful message at Boyce College this week. Check it out HERE.

Doing good deeds but leaving out the good news?

The Wall Street Journal has included an article by Brad Greenberg concerning the tendency in modern missions to do good deeds but neglect the good news. Certainly good deeds are the fruit of the good news. If there are no good deeds then something is desperately wrong in our understanding of the Gospel. What is more, if we neglect those who are suffering then we are showing a reckless disregard for the commands of the Lord Jesus.

But it is also true that if we fill the bellies of the hungry but leave their souls empty by not proclaiming to them the crucified and risen Christ then we have neglected to give them what it is they need above all else. In other words, to alleviate physical suffering (a good thing) but withhold the Gospel is actually to be guilty of spiritual violence against the ones we presume to help. Doing good deeds apart from the clear proclamation of the gospel will not draw the suffering to Christ. Rather we will be pointing only to ourselves.

In his article, How Missionaries Lost Their Chariots of Fire, Greenberg writes:

The 1910 World Missionary Conference was a watershed moment for Protestantism. Meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, the assembled 1,200 Protestants believed that Christianity was on the cusp of spreading to every corner of the world, and that Christ would come again once every ear had heard the good news of salvation. Their master plan for missions would hasten his return.

But Edinburgh 2010, the centenary conference that concluded last month, drew only about a quarter of the crowd and received attention only from a few Christian publications. The modern master plan was less ambitious as well: a call to global missions and "to witness and evangelism in such a way that we are a living demonstration of the love, righteousness and justice that God intends for the whole world."

This dramatic change was summed up at a small gathering of academics and missions professionals at Fuller Theological Seminary in late May. "At (1910) Edinburgh, people thought they were going to take over the world," said C. Douglas McConnell, dean of Fuller's School of Intercultural Studies in his opening remarks. "And now many of our students wonder if they should even try."

Indeed, colonialism is dead (thankfully). But the term "missions" itself now carries with it a negative connotation, even in politically and theologically conservative circles. Christians today typically travel abroad to serve others, but not necessarily to spread the gospel.

While meaning well and certainly doing good, this form of outreach has allowed the pendulum to swing too far from 1910. Today, Christian missionaries need to balance both actions and words. The overwhelming majority of American missionaries today are "vacationaries." Joining mission trips of two weeks or less, they serve in locales where Christianity already predominates.

The purpose, then, of their visit is to battle the ills of poverty and to stretch their own spirituality. According to studies by Robert J. Priest, a missiologist and director of the doctoral program in intercultural studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 82% of short-term missions today go to countries in the most-Christian third of the world. Only 2% land in the Middle East.

Greenberg goes on to cite David Livermore, Executive Director of the Global Learning Center at Cornerstone University who believes it is a good thing to shift away from "proselytizing." He says that the "millenials" see efforts to convert unbelievers to Jesus Christ as "al Qaeda in Christian wineskins." And, in the context of his comments, Livermore seems to agree with this assessment.

Greenberg also cites Scott Moreau of Wheaton College who estimates that nearly half of his graduate students once believed that planting churches overseas was a top priority. "Today, it might be 10%." It is clear that the good work of alleviating suffering, instead of being an accompaniment to, is now replacing the matter of first importance - the proclamation of the Gospel.

Spreading Christianity through deeds alone aligns with a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." But research suggests that non-Christians often miss the message without the words.

A 2006 study by Calvin College's Kurt Ver Beek found "little or no difference" in the spiritual response between two groups of Hondurans—one which had its homes rebuilt by missionaries who did not proselytize and the other by local NGOs. Intuition would suggest as much. Unless foreigners explain that they are motivated to help by their religious beliefs, locals may be grateful for the new home but they should not be expected to connect dots that they may not even know exist.

The reality is the Church should be doing both: serving the needy and spreading the gospel. This is what makes the humanitarian work of Christians different than that of the American Red Cross. Both are motivated by the desire to help others, but Christians are spurred by that Jesus thing.

"That's a good question Larry."

Most of us have seen it. The evangelical preacher appearing on Larry King Live who is asked the inevitable "gotcha" question: "Do you believe that everyone who does not believe in Jesus will go to hell?" There have been many cringe worthy responses over the years to that question.

Kevin DeYoung has posted, what I think, is a very worthy response to that question. So if you are a well-known evangelical who may end up on Larry King Live then please takes notes.

“You know, Larry, that’s a huge question. On one level it’s hard to answer because it feels like a trap. ‘Will he or won’t he condemn everyone to hell?’ Well, it’s not my place to give the final evaluation for anyone. And I don’t want to sit here and say that I deserve to go to heaven more than someone else.

“Because the fact of the matter is none of us can merit heaven. God is holy and we are not. No matter how sincere we are or how many good things we do, we can’t begin to approach the purity and perfection of God. So we need a Mediator, a go-between.

“The Bible teaches that God sent his Son to be our Mediator. He lived the life we couldn’t and died the death meant for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says he was counted as sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. This great exchange is only possible by faith. Even Jesus said that those who don’t believe in him stand condemned already.

“And not because they don’t believe. God doesn’t punish people for not hearing about Jesus. He punishes us for being sinful sinners, for twisting what he has revealed to us in creation and what our own consciences tell us we should do. Without Christ, there’s no bridge between God and man, there’s no hope for a personal relationship with God, there’s no chance of being forgiven.

“Look, I realize that’s offensive to many people. But our desire is not to exclude anyone. That’s why Christians believe in sharing their faith and starting new churches. We want everyone to put their faith in Christ and be his disciples. That’s what Jesus told us to do before he ascended into heaven. But I can’t accept that good Buddhists or sincere Hindus are doing just fine, because I don’t believe Jesus is someone’s personal God. I believe he is God. He is more than a personal Lord. He is the Lord over everyone and everything whether they recognize it or not. I can’t fully honor Christ if I pretend he is just one option among many. To say what I think your viewers want me to say would be to deny all that I believe is glorious, precious, and unique about Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him.

“See, the good news is Jesus is not just my personal Savior. He is the Savior of the world. That means he’s not my possession that I try to monopolize. No, he possesses everything and will gladly forgive all who turn to him in faith and repentance. Apart from Christ, no one can be right with God, no Hindus, no Buddhists, no Muslims, least of all this sinful pastor. There is no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved. But in Christ, there is salvation, joy, and new life for all who believe."

Keller, Piper, and Carson on caring about the suffering of hell more than poverty

Take time to listen to the following conversation between Tim Keller, John Piper, and Don Carson on the priority of evangelism.

Check it out HERE.

"An Awfully Freakish-Sounding Story"

You can be sure that if we remove the offense from the Gospel then what we will lose is the Gospel itself. Let us not, in our attempts to bring the Gospel to our culture, present a positive but ultimately powerless message to those whose greatest need is the crucified and risen Savior.

From Russel Moore:

Often at the root of so much Christian “engagement” with pop culture lies an embarrassment about the oddity of the gospel. Even Christians feel that other people won’t resonate with this strange biblical world of talking snakes, parting seas, floating axe-heads, virgin conceptions, and emptied graves. It is easier to meet them “where they’re at,” by putting in a Gospel According to Andy Griffith DVD (for the less hip among us) or by growing a soul-patch and quoting Coldplay at the fair-trade coffeehouse (for the more hip among us).

Knowing Andy Griffith episodes or Coldplay lyrics might be important avenues for talking about kingdom matters, but let’s not kid ourselves. We connect with sinners in the same way Christians always have: by telling an awfully freakish-sounding story about a man who was dead, and isn’t anymore, but whom we’ll all meet face-to-face in judgment.

"I am not ashamed of the Gospel..."

Euan Murray is a Scottish rugby player that has been making a few waves lately for refusing to play on the Sabbath. Murray is a Christian and will not be playing with his team as they face France this Sunday.

The Guardian interviewd Murray.

He suggests that the path many professional sportsmen follow is "rotten". He tries to explain. "All the shiny bubbles," he says, holding out his big hands and shaking his head in sadness. "The money, the possessions, the fame, the great elusive relationship – all bubbles that appear perfectly spherical, all the colours of the rainbow. They're bright and shiny and light as a feather, and you chase them because it's good fun, but the minute you get them they burst and they're empty." He pauses. "I'd had enough of chasing bubbles."

What were the "bubbles"? "The attraction of all the glamour and glitz that society puts up on a pedestal and says is the be all and end all. All the tinsel, you know? The success. There are many ways of measuring success – it could be in popularity, the funniest guy, or the guy with the best scores, it could be money, it could be getting the best-looking girl, lifting the most in the gym, having the best clothes, it could be being the best rugby player in the world." He trails off. "It's not wrong to be funny, or have a great-looking wife. It's not wrong to have money and to want to be the best player in the world, but if that is your idol then that is wrong."

In finding God, he says, Murray was able to change his path. He picks up a mug of tea and a glass of water and holds them out in front of him. "This is the tea, all dirty and horrible, this is me, yeah? That's Jesus," he says, motioning to the water. "Pure. He's taken that filth upon himself and before God he says, 'Punish me for it'. He's been punished and look what he's given me. That perfect goodness in the eyes of God. He's declared me innocent." He swills the dregs of the tea and smiles. Can it be that simple? "I'm ashamed of the things I've done. Of course I am. But I'm thankful I have a saviour. He's saved me from that lifestyle. He's given me a new life."

What I love about Murray's witness is that there is no apologizing or "this works for me" explanations. There are no vague references to God or "the man upstairs." In just a few short statements Murray explains the doctrines of substitutionary atonement and justification. This is not "Jesus will give you your best life now." This is the proclamation of Jesus as Saviour.

Read the entire article HERE.

HT: Martin Downes

An Example of Christless Christianity

The phrase "Christless Christianity" sounds strange. How is it possible for Christianity to be Christless? It is actually quite common. Christless Christianity is preaching, evangelism, worship, or ministry that presents Jesus as anything other than the Christ. In Christless Christianity Jesus is helpful. He will fix your marriage and your kids. He will give your life meaning. He will bless you financially. The only thing that is left out is the most important thing; the central thing. What is left out is that Jesus is the Saviour, the sacrifice for guilty sinners, the propitiation put forward by God to bear His wrath as he bore our sins. You see, in order to exalt Jesus as the Christ instead of Jesus as the great life coach in the sky then we must recognize both our sin and God's wrath. This simply will not do in many of our churches.

Gene Veith offers the following observation:

Have you seen the “Receive Jesus” ad on national television? (I can’t find it on the web. If any of you can find it, please post a link.) It has a rather cool-looking guy with a goatee and a black t-shirt against a white background. He says how life is hard. But that Jesus can make an amazing difference in your life. He tells viewers, wherever they are, to “receive Jesus.” It’s rather well-done, better than my description makes it sound.

But the ad nowhere includes the Gospel! He doesn’t say anything about sin or forgiveness or who Jesus is or what He accomplished for us on the Cross.

This is not uncommon, trying to be evangelistic while leaving out the evangel. Just telling someone to “receive Jesus” and encouraging a rote prayer to that effect without proclaiming the Gospel doesn’t make anyone a Christian, does it? I’m sure the makers of this ad do believe that Jesus died for sinners and that His death and resurrection grants forgiveness. So why did they go to all of the expense of this ad without saying that?

I’m all for using the media like this for evangelism and salute the effort, but the Gospel of Christ crucified for sinners surely has to be in the message, doesn’t it?

Pray for Muslims During Ramadan

A good way for Christians to be engaged during Ramadan is to pray for Muslims. Check out this helpful guide.

HT: Justin Taylor

Desiring God Pastor's Conference

Check out the audio of this year's Desiring God Pastor's Conference by clicking HERE.

A bit of wisdom from an atheist

"The megachurch story is not really about growth"

Check out this interesting article from USA Today.

The unchurched remain untouched. While the number of people who say they attend at least once a week hovers around 30% year after year, the number who say they "never" go to church climbs.

The tally of "Nevers" varies from 16% in Gallup surveys to 22% in the General Social Survey, conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, to 32% in an Ellison Research survey this year. The new "Nevers" come from the pool of people who once attended monthly or a few times a year.

Many slide away from church to find other answers to their spiritual quest or another church where the preaching or music or family programs better suit their style.

"The megachurch story is not really about growth, it's about shifting allegiances. People want to feel good about who they already are," says Philip Goff, director of the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University in Indianapolis. "If church is too challenging or not entertaining, they'll move on."

Soul Winning for Dummies

I found this posted over at Paleoevangelical. Mark Dever read this same passage at the Gospel Growth conference in October. It’s from C.S. Lovett’s little book “Soul Winning Made Easy.” It represents so much of what was wrong in evangelism training in the past. It also raises some important questions about the way many evangelicals understand regeneration and conversion.

“You have just said to your prospect . . . "Jesus is waiting to come into your heart. Will you open the door? Will you let Him come in?" He makes no reply. Great forces are at work inside him. His soul is a battlefield. The Holy Spirit and Satan want his decision. You wish you could jump into his heart and help him, but you can't. So you do the one thing you can do . . . press him to make a decision . . . one way or the other.

“CAUTION: You can't leave him in "no-man's land." The Longer you wait, Satan's advantage increases. So silently start your countdown . . . 5-4-3-2-1. That's it. You wait no longer. Lay your hand on his shoulder (or arm if a man is dealing with a woman) . . . and with a semi-commanding voice say . . . "Bow your head with me."

“Note: Do not look at him when you say this. He won't act if you do. Instead, bow your head first. The sight of your bowed head, the authority in your voice, the touch of your hand on his shoulder and the witness of the Spirit combine to exert terrific pressure. Out of the corner of your eye you will see him look at you with wonder. Then, as his resistance crumbles, his head will come down in jerks. When your hand feels the relaxation of his shoulder, you'll know his heart has yielded.

“Note: If your man is going to say, "NO," he has to do it now. You've brought him to the place of decision under terrific psychological pressure. If he can't bring himself to receive Christ, he'll say to you ... "I can't do it." Then deal with him as you would the person who says, ‘NO.’”

Many of us can’t help but laugh a little at Rev. Lovett’s instructions. However, we see this same sort of “regeneration by technique” repeated often in the church today. The corporate gatherings of God’s people have been transformed into variety shows for bored church shoppers. Evangelism is left up to the professionals on Sundays who, combined with cool stage lighting, props, and hip musicians will convince seekers to “pray the pray” whereupon they will immediately be assured of their eternal salvation. Been there, seen that, and, unfortunately, done that.

Wagner Vs. The Facts

Timmy Brister posts an effective rejoinder to Bill Wagner's assertions about Calvinists and evangelism.

Advancing the Gospel

As I studied for last Sunday’s sermon on Luke 8:1-3 I was both convicted and challenged. I was convicted because of my own lack of impact when it comes to advancing the Gospel deeper into Wichita. Luke’s words are so simple. Jesus went to the cities and villages preaching the good news of the kingdom. The twelve followed Jesus in this vocation. As Luke continues his gospel narrative on into the book of Acts he traces the apostle’s work of bringing the Gospel of Jesus to bear upon the various communities to which they traveled. It is not a complicated model. Cultures, on the other hand, can be and often are complicated. But what Jesus has called us to do is not. We are to make the Gospel known. We are called to go where the people are.

Luke’s words challenge me to think intentionally about how Metro East can better introduce the Gospel into our surrounding culture. As a pastor I receive a lot of advice from “experts” who tell me if I will just jazz up the worship and tone down the preaching then we will reach “seekers.” This perspective flows from the faulty premise that theater lighting, expensive stage props, and slick videos will somehow be the key to reaching our culture: “Sing songs about human longing and preach to felt needs. Quit boring people with the Bible. That’s the key!” The problem is, the more our worship and preaching mirrors the culture the more we disguise the radical alternative that the Gospel represents. It becomes a kind of bait and switch: “See how cool we are? Being a Christian is fun and impressive! Come to our church, sit back and relax. Oh, by the way, Jesus demands and deserves total allegiance.”

The gospel is not advanced by removing the other-worldly nature of our worship and preaching so that lost people can comprehend every aspect. Indeed, when the church is fortunate enough to host lost persons in their services, they ought to observe the worship of a God who is awesome and holy and they ought to be confronted with preaching that clearly declares the Gospel and the radically counter-cultural claims of Christ. The Gospel does not move into the culture by “worshiptainment.” The Gospel is advanced into the culture when, through transcendent worship, Christian’s hearts and minds have been captivated by a grand vision of a great God and, through careful instruction in the Scriptures, have been equipped for ministry.

So I am asking myself a lot of questions these days. Are our current programs and schedule advancing that end or hindering it? Are our times of worship and instruction in God’s Word making us ready to effectively engage the culture with the Gospel? Is our fellowship charged with a level of encouragement and accountability that helps make each of us grateful ministers of Christ’s Gospel in the city where God has planted us? Will Metro East be a Christian ghetto offering a trivial sub-culture or a true church (a community of called out ones) calling people to God’s transformative counter-culture?

Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan knows a thing or two about the gospel and about how it advances into the culture. Redeemer Presbyterian has planted over 75 churches with a plan to start 200 in the next 20 years. Resources from Dr. Keller and Redeemer are available through this blog site. I would encourage you to check them out.


In one article entitled “Preaching in a Post-Modern City” Keller contrasts the Gospel and ‘Religion.’ I found his words very helpful as I considered the reality that one of the reasons we are not very effective at advancing the Gospel is because we don’t much believe it ourselves. Keller writes:

“The gospel is ‘I am accepted through Christ, therefore I obey’ while every other religion operates on the principle of ‘I obey, therefore I am accepted.’ Martin Luther’s fundamental insight was that this latter principle, the principle of ‘religion’ is the deep default mode of the human heart. The heart continues to work in that way even after conversion to Christ. Though we recognize and embrace the principle of the gospel, our hearts will always be trying to return to the mode of self-salvation, which leads to spiritual deadness, pride and strife and ministry ineffectiveness.
“For example, ministers derive more of their joy and a sense of personal significance from the success of their ministries than from the fact they are loved by God in Christ. Why? Their hearts are still operating on the principle – ‘If I do and accomplish all these things – then I will be accepted.’ In other words, on one level, we believe the Gospel but on another we don’t believe.
“So why do we over-work in ministry and burn out? Yes, we are not practicing the Sabbath principle, but the deeper cause is unbelief in the Gospel! Why are we so devastated by criticism? The person whose self-worth is mainly in his or her ministry performance will be devastated by criticism of the ministry record because that record is our very self and identity. The fundamental problem is unbelief in the Gospel.
“At the root then, of all Christian failures to live right – i.e. not give their money generously, not tell the truth, not care for the poor, not handle worry anxiety – is the sin under all sins, the sin of unbelief, of not rejoicing deeply in God’s grace in Christ, not living out of our new identity in Christ. This means that every week in a different way the minister must apply the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith through Christ’s work. Thus every week the non-Christians get exposed to the Gospel, and in its most practical and varied forms not just in a repetitious ‘Four Spiritual Law’ way. That’s what pragmatic post-moderns need.”

How will they know unless someone tells them?

The following is a message recorded by the actor Kirk Cameron and played to the pastors gathered for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention last week. It bears repeating:


Can I speak to you from my heart for a moment? I realize that, theologically, I’m not worthy to wash your socks. But imagine this scenario with me, if you will: Imagine I’m a “seeker”- I’m a non-Christian, sitting in your church week after week after week listening to you. Am I ever going to hear the message that will save my soul from Hell? Will you ever tell me the truth clearly enough so that I realize that my sin has made me an enemy of God: that I am currently on the path that leads to destruction, with the wrath of God dwelling upon me, and that unless I repent and put my faith in the Savior, I will perish? Or have you decided that it’s better to simply entertain me, and on Sundays I can come to have my “felt needs” met with good music and good advice? Pastor, while I would appreciate that, it’s the ultimate betrayal of my trust in you if you don’t tell me the truth. Will I ever hear the words “repent,” “surrender,” “turn to the Savior,” “be born again”? If you don’t tell me those things, how will I ever know to do it? Please don’t leave it up to the Wednesday night small-group leader. They’re taking their cues from you. You’re leading the flock.And now I speak to you as a Christian. If you and I fail to teach the whole counsel of God, and we don’t warn sinners to flee from the wrath to come, and run to the love of Christ on the Cross to save their soul, we make a terrible mistake. It doesn’t matter how happy a person is- how much a sinner is enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season- without the righteousness of Christ, he’ll perish on the Day of Judgment. The Bible says, “Riches profit not on the Day of Wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” You see, that’s how Kirk Cameron realized he needed a Savior. I had riches, but I knew that it was the righteousness of God that I needed in order to be saved from my sin.

The Gospel - Part 3: "Still the Power of God"

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…
Romans 1:16

What a great promise on which the church may cling! When the power of God has been identified with everything from “holy laughter” to big budgets it is good to be reminded of the true locus of God’s power. Think of it: The conversion of sinners, the most extraordinary of miracles, is brought about by the Holy Spirit through the simple means of the Gospel made plain. What is more, proclaiming the Gospel does not require money, social status, priestly vestments, or an impressive resume`. Rather, to proclaim the Gospel we need only to understand what it is and then be willing to go and tell. We can be sure that God’s power is present, whether we feel it or not, whenever the Gospel is faithfully proclaimed in churches, living rooms, and front yards.

Unfortunately, when it comes to evangelism the church has come to rely too heavily on technique and not enough on the simple means that God has prescribed. There are I believe two primary reasons for the ascendancy of technique-driven evangelism. The first reason is a lack of confidence in God’s power to regenerate a lost heart. The second reason why evangelism tends to become technique-driven springs from a mistaken notion that the Gospel needs to be made more palatable if people are going to accept it.

A Crisis of Confidence
In recent years the church seems to have been suffering from an increasing lack of confidence in the Gospel. I fear that all too often God’s own people are not aware of the primary means by which He converts the lost. This then leads to an unhealthy reliance on techniques and a tragic neglect of the very thing God has promised to use to reach unbelievers.

Paul makes very clear in Romans that proclaiming God’s Word is the primary means by which faith is generated in the unbelieving heart: “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’…So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (10:13-17). The proclaiming of God’s good news from pulpit, in Sunday school, in small groups, and in one-on-one conversations is God’s design for the conversion of the lost. Why is it then that so many pastors and churches seem to have confidence in almost everything but the clear proclamation of the Gospel?

Of course this trend to rely upon technique is nothing new. In his days as an evangelist during in the 19th century Charles Finney advanced the idea that many “excitements” or “enthusiasms” were needed in order to gain a response from those attending evangelistic meetings. He taught that revival was wholly the work of man and that conversion was not the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in the human heart but was instead the work of man to change his own ways. Clearly, any theology that so diminishes God’s power in salvation while at the same time exalts man’s power will lead to a technique-driven approach to evangelism. Among the new excitements that Finney pioneered was the altar call which was almost unheard of prior to his time. Don’t misunderstand. I am a strong believer in calling people to respond to the Word of God when it is preached. Indeed, the preaching of God’s Word always demands a response. But it seems that the altar call, along with a host of other traditions and techniques, has been invested with near sacramental powers.

There is no doubt that techniques will often deliver quick and quantifiable results. But what is the fruit of such work? In or own denomination the statistics are not encouraging. Over 50% of Southern Baptist Church members do not attend church with any regularity. For all or our success in getting people to pray a prayer or walk an aisle we have not fared as well in seeing genuine converts to Christ.

Making the Gospel palatable
The second reason for the ascendancy of technique-driven evangelism arises from the conviction that the only barrier between a lost person and salvation is the church’s ability to make the Gospel attractive. However, Scripture tells us that the message of the Gospel will be downright offensive to many. Paul makes it clear that for some the Gospel is sweet while for others it is thoroughly unpleasant. Speaking of those who are privileged to proclaim the Gospel Paul writes, “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life” (II Cor 2:15-16). Also, we know that the apostles were routinely driven out of towns, arrested, beaten, and eventually killed because of the message they preached.

The message the apostles preached was the matter of “first importance” that Christ died, was buried, and rose again to save sinners (I Cor 15:3-4). Mankind will not come to know Christ through intuition or effort. In his own wisdom man will always wander away from the knowledge of Christ. “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (I Cor 1:21-24).

Preaching is folly. After all, aren’t there more relevant methods available to the church today? I recently read an article about a new church where the pastor never preaches but rather produces dramas each Sunday. Their reasoning is that no one wants to listen to preaching anymore. But this has always been the case. God’s means will never make sense to our world. To make matters worse, the message we are called to proclaim is either foolish or offensive depending on who is listening. It is true that we must not allow our own foolishness to interfere with our message. But the only way to make the Gospel palatable to the world is to remove the cross.

Over one hundred years ago J.C. Ryle wrote with characteristic clarity:
The Gospel in fact is a most curiously and delicately compounded medicine, and is a medicine that is very easily spoiled. You may spoil the Gospel by substitution. You have only to withdraw from the eye of the sinner the grand object which the Bible proposes to Faith, - Jesus Christ; and to substitute another object in His place,…and the mischief is done…
You may spoil the Gospel by addition. You only have to add to Christ, the grand object of faith, some other objects as equally worthy of honor, and the mischief is done…
You may spoil the Gospel by disproportion. You only have to attach an exaggerated importance to the secondary things of Christianity, and a diminished importance to the first things, and the mischief is done. Once alter the proportion of the part of the truth, and truth soon becomes downright error…

The Gospel is still God’s power for the salvation of all those who believe. Faith still comes from hearing the word of Christ declared. God’s gospel will always be the effective means by which Christians are birthed and upon which churches are built.