My latest post on the Lifeway Board:
I'm not saying anything that y'all don't already know, so don't be surprised when you get to the end of this and say, "well, duh!"
Even so, I can't help myself.
Our dearth in evangelism has nothing to do with a lack of knowledge about "how." It has nothing to do with a lack of resources. And I also believe it has nothing to do with a lack of emphasis from a denominational perspective (highlighted by our current president's tour to highlight the need for commitment to evangelism).
So why are our churches not doing it? I'll give you a few reasons why I think its not happening.
1. The pastors aren't modeling it. They can't effectively challenge the body to do the work because they aren't doing the work. Too many are expecting lost people to come to worship, where they'll hear the Word and answer the call. This is functional hyper-calvinism, though few would ever cop to it.
Answer these questions honestly before the Holy Spirit: How faithful are you to sharing His message? How many did you share with this year? How many witnessing relationships did you build or pursue? Who are the lost people in your daily prayers?
If your conscience is clear before the Lord, well Amen! If not, then welcome to my world, because even as I rant, I'm convicted that I didn't do everything I could have done.
2. The body isn't being challenged to do it. I don't know which came first in this chicken/egg predicament, but the majority of our SBC churches are stagnant in their dysfunction. As Pat Morley has said, your organization is perfectly designed to accomplish exactly what it is accomplishing. If a change is desired, then change must take place.
3. Too few churches have an intentional *strategy* for winning the lost. Sunday school has been historically defined as "the foundational strategy in the local church for winning the lost..."
I'll wait while you choke on your laughter. How many churches do you know that actually use Sunday school or small groups to win the lost? Instead, it's being used as a discipleship-lite program to fill a traditional time of socializing and incidental Bible study.
Yet, in a few churches, Sunday school is used as a strategy to win the lost, and it works. Where it's not working, its not because the system is broken, but the expression of it is not functional.
So, in its stead, many churches try evangelism programs for a season. And they might even experience a modicum of success. But like any program, it becomes cyclical in nature and participants begin to operate within the cycle. It's not a lifestyle, it's a commitment to a program. And like even the best programs, it comes to an end when people either tire out or the next "big thing" comes along.
On a related tangent, I laugh (although not out loud, because that would be rude) when I hear people gripe about SBC Sunday school material not "being good" or "being too light." The point is, it is designed to be basic, open for a lost person. It's not designed to be used in closed groups, even though many of our Ss classes are closed (despite how much they claim a newcomer would be welcomed).
Anyhoo, I think we as pastors need to take responsibility here. First, we must be committed to evangelism if want to expect our church members to be. We must be leaders in impacting our communities. We must be the leader in evangelism training, in mentoring evangelistic lifestyles, with faithful participation in evangelistic efforts, and with constant, continuous exhortation and encouragement for people to be witnesses in their Acts 1:8 realms. We must be consistent, creative, and adaptive. We must be highly relational without compromising a commitment to being highly confrontational. People need to *hear* the good news that Jesus offers the redemption of God by faith, and that the wages of sin have been purchased by His sacrifice.
As it was said earlier, the Holy Spirit doesn't *need* us to do His Work. He's showing us every day all around the world that He's drawing people to Himself. However, even though He doesn't need us, He has chosen to include us and use us. If we lead as imitators of Christ, God's children will follow.
God has proven himself faithful. If we do what He tells us to do, He will do what He has promised to do.
Rock On!
Psalm 95:1