Pastor Mike's Weblog

I have recently been thinking and praying about evangelism and evangelistic efforts through the local church. I believe that this was at least in part sparked by Dr. Bobby Welch's effort as SBC President to emphasize evangelism by any and all means throughout our Southern Baptist Convention. I am endebted to him for his tireless efforts and stunning example of personal evangelism. For several years evangelism has been the topic of frequent discussions among my pastor friends, close and otherwise. Pastors talk shop, too; what else would we talk about? Our discussions always seem to lead to laments over the lack of evangelism in our churches, even in our personal lives, and what we can do to change that sad situation. Programs are reviewed and success and failure stories are shared about each. But all of us seem to agree that what we need is not another program, but a passion for souls like unto Jesus' passion that would drive us to sow, nurture, and when ready, reap a harvest of souls.

Today while reading my normal regimin of blogs I came across a fantastic piece by missionary David Rogers, son of the late Dr. Adrian Rogers. David serves as an IMB missionary to Spain. I re-post part of his article here.

We have been told that baptisms are down in the Southern Baptist Convention. We have been told we need to re-double our efforts in witnessing. We have been told the reason for the decline is our lack of commitment and relaxed attitude toward soul-winning. Some have suggested that perhaps we need tweak our methods.

PLEASE HEAR ME CLEARLY!!! I AM NOT AGAINST ENCOURAGING OUR PEOPLE TO BE MORE FAITHFUL IN THEIR EVANGELISTIC EFFORTS! AND I AM NOT AGAINST WORKING TO IMPROVE OUR METHODS IN COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL MESSAGE!

However, I am not so sure that lack of evangelistic zeal or poor witnessing techniques are mostly to blame for the decline in baptisms.
Several years ago, I came across the little book 'Sowing, Reaping, Keeping', written by Lawrence Singlehurst, Director of Youth With a Mission, England. In this amazingly simple yet profound book, Singlehurst cogently makes the point that evangelism is made up not only of "reaping", but also of "sowing" and "keeping". And, in order to be most effective at the evangelistic task, it is necessary to analyze the context in which one finds oneself, and adapt the strategy accordingly.

Another book with a similar message is 'Finding Common Ground', by Campus Crusade for Christ worker Tim Downs. I cannot recommend these two books strongly enough. In order to capture the force of the arguments made, you must get the books and read them for yourself.

Many of our modern churches and evangelistic movements were founded during a time when the American fields were abundantly white for harvest. But the fields of the fifties and sixties, like the fields of Jesus’ time, were ripe for harvest because of countless sowers who had worked to create a soil that was conducive to the growth of the gospel. The "soil" of our society is the whole environment in which Christians seek to live and minister. It is the culture, the atmosphere, the worldview, the zeitgeist—the "spirit of the time" in which we live. In each generation, Christians must attempt to plant the seed of the Word of God in the soil of the prevailing culture. Historically, some soils have been better than others. In each case, the nature of the soil determines what kind of life it will support…

There is no doubt that the soil of our society has eroded significantly in a short period of time. Over the last forty years, many para-church organizations and churches have struggled with a thinning harvest in America. In an attempt to recapture the glory of past harvests we have recruited more harvesters, sharpened our sickles and scythes, and challenged our workers to greater commitment and longer hours.

Maybe it’s time to analyze the soil. Maybe it’s time to sow. (pp. 16-17)

Penetrating words that merit our meticulous consideration. How can we model, teach, and lead our churches to focus on the work of sowing and keeping, while keeping them prepared to reap when that opportunity arises? For a start, dramatically increasing our emphasis on intercessory prayer and sharing the gospel at every opportunity. But then, how to stay at the task?

This will begin a new thread, or topic category, on evangelism. I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for June 25, 2006

Timothy: Faith Keeps God First  2 Timothy 1:3-8,13-14; 2:1-7

From time to time, all of us need a little time off. We need to rest physically as well as to pause and recharge our batteries mentally and emotionally. But we are not merely physical, mental, and emotional beings; we are spiritual beings also. And living with commitment to God and His purposes isn’t easy, for ungodly influences can tempt us to turn from putting God first. This week’s lesson concerns recharging our lives spiritually. Even mature believers may need to renew their commitment to God and His purposes.

In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Jesus clearly desires us to keep first things first. God and the work He gives us to do should be “job one”—our priorities. We exist on this planet primarily to serve Him (not self) and to bring Him glory (not merely bring ourselves pleasure and contentment). If we seek God’s kingdom first, He promised to add whatever else we need: “and all these things [food, drink, clothes] will be provided for you”. In this week’s study passage, Paul reminded Timothy to keep first God and the work He gave him to do, to finish well, to fulfill his ministry to God’s glory. As we seek to develop strong, enduring lifestyles of faith that honor God, each of us would do well to pay close attention to Paul’s words to Timothy. Each of us has a ministry, and God desires each one of us to finish well and to glorify Him. This is our design function; it always was and always will be.

I cannot remember who my pastor quoted, but I remember growing up hearing him quoting another pastor who would often say to young ministers: "Do right! Do right! If the stars fall from Heaven, do right!" This is, I believe, the mandate issued to our Convention by the election of Dr. Frank page as SBC President. We are tired of nepotism and cronyism (see a discussion of these terms and their implications, and several notable examples here).  We are tired of kingmakers running the show and choosing each other for positions of power in the SBC. A motion dealing with such measures was introduced at the SBC meeting in Greensboro, and was misrepresented and defeated. Read stunning comment about it here.

Wade Burlison's motion (read it here) was referred to the IMB Board of Trustees for action. This is the same board of trustees that have the problems that need dealing with. They are to report back at the 2007 SBC meeting. Don't hold your breath for anything substantial. Wade, however, remains positive and you can read in his post here.

Dr. Page has committed to instruct the Committees on Nominations and Boards to deliver to him lists of names of people who have not previously served, and I believe that he will, and they will. Indeed, Dr. Welch issued similar instructions and this year only 3 names on the lists had served on a board or committee previously. Well done!

Summation: I am cautiously optimistic about developments and am taking a prayerful wait-and-see attitude. Join with me in praying for our convention and its work for the Kingdom.

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for June 18, 2006

Philip: Faith Leads to Witnessing  Acts 8:26-40

Trusting God to lead and empower them, believers can effectively share their faith with others. This lesson is designed to help you develop a strong, enduring lifestyle of faith by understanding that a lifestyle of faith includes telling others about Jesus; and determining to remain ready to tell about Jesus in any circumstance.

This week the Southern Baptist Convention gathers in what is shaping up to be an historic meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina. For the first time in many years there are several candidates for the top leadership offices and not just the one presented for each by the long-time SBC 'kingmakers'. Dr. Frank Page is the favored candidate among younger leaders and others who fear a narrowing of paramaters that will affect cooperation and our international witness and effectiveness.

All three candidates for president were interviewed by Baptist Press and that article can be found here. Most astonishing was a comment made from candidate Dr. Jerry Sutton of Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, TN. In his statement he shared: "Southern Baptists need a level playing field,” Sutton said, citing the new policy for missionaries while the IMB president holds to the practice. “This is going to have to be addressed in the Baptist Faith and Message. I think there will have to be an amendment to it.”

This, I am sure, will send shock waves throughout the SBC and it has truly distressed me personally. Instead of stopping the unwarranted narrowing of cooperation by convention entities, Dr. Sutton is suggesting that this narrowing be embedded into our confession of faith. What is next? Only Landmarkists or Dispensational Pre-Milennialists may serve as missionaries or trustees or whatever? Next it will be only those who are clean shaven and wear ties, no tatoos, etc.

Perhaps the strongest statement to come out so far has been from Joyce Rogers, wife of the late Dr. Adrian Rogers. The Baptist Press coverage can be read here but I want to reprint a portion of her statements here:

At this point in her remarks, Rogers urged the Pastors’ Conference audience to listen to her carefully.

“Adrian Rogers would not have been a part of what is going on in some parts of our convention today, getting narrower and narrower about very highly interpretive issues,” she said, touching off about 15 seconds’ worth of applause.

“He would try to convince you of his view, but not to exclude you from service and fellowship, or to prevent you from going around the world with Southern Baptists to share the Gospel if you disagreed on these controversial issues,” Rogers said. “And I challenge you on his behalf to graciously work for unity in the body of Christ.”

Well said Mrs. Rogers, well said.

Family Bible Study Sunday School Commentary for June 11, 2006

Daniel: Faith Refuses to Compromise  Daniel 6:3-5,10-13,16,19-23,25-27

Compromise. The word raises conflicting emotions in the minds of different people. For some it is the only way to live in a modern society. For others, some things are negotiable and some are not. For believers, the issue has always been 'How can I live with uncompromised faith even when I pay a price for doing so?"