There’s nothing worse than a long delay between a two-part series, albeit you’re not refreshing the home page every hour in suspense of part 2. In part one, I summarized Christianity Today’s recent article about the new, “cutting edge evangelism. I now want to give a brief assessment of it.
1. Evangelism methods are often controversial and continually being revised. This is just the reality we live in. Billy Graham is nearing the end of his life and thousands, maybe millions, of people have been affected by his ministry. But his methods weren’t sheltered from criticisms and controversies. The same could be said of the endless list of personal evangelism tracts and methods. There may be many reasons why criticism and controversy is inherent to evangelism methodology. For example, it can be attributed partly to the fact that Scripture just isn’t very specific about how one ought to fulfill the Great Commission. The command is very clear but the method isn’t. The apostles’ example is descriptive but not entirely prescriptive. Therefore, we should not be surprised by this article. I’m not saying the new trend is right or wrong. I’m just saying that given the pattern of the last half century and the lack of Scripture’s specificity then one ought not be taken aback by evangelism that would be called “new” and “cutting edge.”
2. Church planting and church reform should go hand-in-hand. This article never talks about church reform per se, but it does mention the difference between “established” and “newly planted churches. ” Here’s the logic: According to the research, most churches stop looking out after about 15 years; thus, they stop growing. Church plants, however, are looking out; thus, they are growing at a faster rate. Churches, therefore, need to plant churches in order to reach out. The article then went on to describe the similarities between domestic planting and overseas planting.
Well, I’m all for planting churches. But what about the thousands of dwindling churches that are planted but need reforming and reviving? What about the thousands of seemingly unattractive churches that have buildings and membership but need strong leadership and biblical preaching to become once again a bright light? Can those churches be a means of “cutting edge” evangelism? I think they should be and by God’s grace can be.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a false assumption that church reform is to the exclusion of evangelism. In other words, reform looks “in” and planting looks “out.” When in reality, reform looks inward and outward. Just take expositional preaching, the most essential component of reform, as an example.
Expositional preaching reorients a church’s worldview, priorities, purpose, and the list could go on. The Holy Spirit transforms lives through the preaching of God’s word. That transformation causes churches and Christians to be “salt” and “light.” In addition, they mature in brotherly love so that all men know they are Christ’s disciples by their love for one another.
I’ve been meaning to note an article by Christianity Today that was published about a month ago. Due to busyness I’m just now getting time to comment on it. It’s entitled “Go and Plant Churches of All Peoples” by Tim Stafford. Let me briefly summarize.
Mention the word “evangelism” and what comes to mind? Fifty years ago it would be evangelism crusades such as the Billy Graham Crusades. Thirty years ago programs like “Evangelism Explosion” and “Four Spiritual Laws” would come to mind in personal evangelism. Well, that was fifty and thirty years ago. Today there are fewer and fewer crusades and many churches are still teaching personal evangelism. But the new “cutting edge” evangelism is church planting.
This new or, depending on your perspective, old form of evangelism stems from a few things. First, many churches with younger leadership are frustrated with the lack of growth from current methodologies. Second, church planting networks like Acts 29 Network are rethinking biblical evangelism and its methods. They see church planting as essential to the local church’s nature. Third, researchers have found a trend that new churches are growing at a faster conversion rate than older churches. The trend is for churches to look “inward” instead of “outward” after about 15 years. Whereas church plants have to look outward in order to survive.
And yet church planting doesn’t look the same as it did in the second half of the 20th century. Many church planters are targeting immigrants, “which means adjusting church traditions to diverse ethnic cultures.” Furthermore, it produces “niche audiences.” The SBC’s NAMB effort in California is a prime example. And this isn’t a manufacturing of diversity. It simply reflects the “neighborhood’s” changing nature. Emerging church plant efforts have been extremely successful because of their “unconventional” and “non-institutional spirit” and methodologies.
Church planters also have a different perspective than their predecessors. America is seen as a “mission field” with the same barriers as those overseas - “religion, language, tribe, caste, and socioeconomic status.” Church planters are learning from missionaries overseas and using their methods to penetrate the culture with the gospel and provide places for disciples to mature. Thus, planters are domestic missionaries with the “same sociological perspective” as their overseas counterparts.
In addition, they believe it’s a faulty assumption that the U.S. is a post-Christian nation. It’s half-Christian and half post-Christian. And these new “missionaries” are penetrating the “post-Christian pockets.” Although some new churches fail, all face the same “demographic” difficulties. And it’s here where the “entrepreneurial, independent, and stubborn personalities” that mark the “new” missionaries persevere in obedience to the Great Commission. Therefore, “a church that seeks to obey the Great Commission will keep sending out missionaries” even if that means “they never leave home.”
Bruce is right - be present! Be present! Be present! I know I’ve told this story a number of times but it’s routinely worth repeating.
Immediately following my acceptance into membership nearly 6 years ago, I was standing by the piano downstairs talking to Bruce and expressing my thankfulness and eagerness to be involved. He too was thankful and said something I’ll never forget. He said, “Your main ministry is the ministry of presence. There’s not much for you to actively do but to show up.” (Then he gave me that look like “Was that what you were expecting to hear?”) Mind you, the church was alot different then and the church’s future was contingent on such advice. But those words are timeless and transcend all contexts. You fight against unbelief and help others do the same as you regularly spur one another on to greater maturity in Christ. And you do that primarily by attending the church’s main gatherings together.
Brad’s last post was interesting and helpful. He is right that one rarely moves from belief to unbelief all at once. It is a series of many little steps. I read an essay by Nicholson Baker in his collection of essays entitled The Size of Thoughts that described well the process of changing one’s mind — it is many little changes of mind that culminate in one larger change . . .
In additional to Brad’s suggestions, I would add that being present with the church routinely is a great aid to preserving one’s faith. Also, it’s essential to pray that God would continue to give us the grace to believe. As Josh M. mentioned last night, we should all be like the father who cried out, “I believe, help my unbelief.”
Depending on when you read this post, one of our members will be preaching or has already preached from Hebrews 6 reminding us that the way to unbelief is a slippery slope. Apostasy is not usually a grandiose event or, to continue the analogy, a walk of a cliff’s edge. A Christian doesn’t just wake up one day and decide not to believe the Gospel. It’s not the same explosion of a Mentos dropped in a Diet Coke. It’s more like a Coke that sits in a freezer for hours on end, slowly building pressure, until it suddenly burst. There are small steps that we take each and every day that if not carefully placed, we will find ourselves on our way to not believing the Gospel.
So what can we do to prevent such a thing from happening? What are some small steps we can take when we realize we are on a slippery slope? Well, let me try to speak as elder that has been charged with shepherding God’s flock.
1. Talk to someone immediately. This is probably the most important step. But unfortunately, it is too often neglected. As soon as you find yourself deeply struggling with a particular sin, questioning your church’s Statement of Faith (SoF), or find yourself enticed by a some teaching outside your SoF, go to someone immediately and talk to them. That may be another member, elder, or pastor. If it’s been said once, it’s been said hundreds of times by the elders of this church - “Why didn’t he or she say something earlier? Why are we just finding out about this?”
A delay in talking to someone usually indicates a couple of things. First, it indicates a misunderstanding of church membership and it’s benefits. Second, it shows the naivety in thinking you can handle “it”, whatever “it” may be, by yourself. I recognize in my own sinful heart the temptation to keep silent. But as an elder, I can’t emphasis enough the value of immediately talking to someone despite any awkwardness or embarrassment you may experience.
2. Realize this is a perilous slope. If you can be tempted to be silent then you can also be tempted to down play the seriousness of your situation. Spiritually speaking, sin disorients our senses. We think we have 20/20 vision when in reality we are blind. Apathy and indifference are two of our biggest spiritual enemies. They are not a help to nor an indicator of spiritual life. They will only deceive you into thinking that what you are believing, doing, or not doing aren’t serious nor urgent. In addition, we can be tempted to excuse our sin because of our circumstances. For example, I may excuse my neglect of properly leading and caring my wife to my “busy” circumstances. I may be busy but it doesn’t excuse me of my responsibilities.
I completely agree with everything that’s been said, and I’m not adding anything new here either. I just wanted to repeat what Mark Dever said at T4G. He was speaking to a group of pastors, but I think his comment is applicable to all Christians in a local church. He asked, “When was the last time you inconvenienced yourself for another member?” I think he’s spot on. Our comforts can so often be an aid to our laziness and sin. They can wrongly make us think someone else is taking the intuitive.
This is why I love the biblical image of membership being a building (1 Cor. 3.9; 2 Cor. 6.16; Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Pet. 2.5). As bricks in this building we have to help support and rest on one another. You have to inconvenience yourself because the spiritual well-being of the brick above you depends on it.
Greg’s talk of inputs and outputs was starting to sound like some bad business text, but he saved it in the end. One quick comment about his discussion in the context of 3ABC is that it can be admittedly hard to turn the *output* switch on when you first come to a church. We have a fair amount of turnover in membership and new folks may find it difficult to walk in and start giving right off the block. Let me encourage you to do so anyway. You may be new, and it may not seem like there are any needy people here. Don’t be fooled. Start giving of yourself.
And with regard to Keith’s need for a sidekick, you need to write a personal ad. For example,
Athletic, intelligent MWM ISO, suitable companion for fun, laughs, etc. — be Tom to my Jerry, W. E. Coyote to my Roadrunner, etc.
OR you could just create a fictitious sidekick like they do on the Ref 21 blog. I’m thinking you might like a friend named Mr. I. M. Needy, Herr E. Tick, etc. It could be so much fun.
