Failure to count the cost

Why are there 16 million registered members in the SBC, yet only 6 million can found in our churches on Sunday? I believe many of these members responded to an "easy believism" gospel invitation, but sadly, they never truly counted the cost of becoming a disciple of Christ.

Jesus warns, "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" (Lk. 14:27-28).

Over 100 years ago, J. C. Ryle described this tragic phenomenon:

For want of counting the cost, the hearers of powerful evangelical preachers often come to miserable ends. They are stirred and excited into professing what they have not really experienced. They receive the Word with a “joy” so extravagant that it almost startles old Christians. They run for a time with such zeal and fervor that they seem likely to outstrip all others. They talk and work for spiritual objects with such enthusiasm that they make older believers feel ashamed. But when the novelty and freshness of their feelings is gone, a change comes over them. They prove to have been nothing more than stony–ground hearers. The description the great Master gives in the parable of the sower is exactly exemplified: “Temptation or persecution arises because of the Word, and they are offended” (Matt. 13:21). Little by little their zeal melts away and their love becomes cold. By and by their seats are empty in the assembly of God’s people, and they are heard of no more among Christians. And why? They had never counted the cost.

For want of counting the cost, hundreds of professed converts, under religious revivals, go back to the world after a time and bring disgrace on religion. They begin with a sadly mistaken notion of what is true Christianity. They fancy it consists in nothing more than a so–called “coming to Christ” and having strong inward feelings of joy and peace. And so when they find, after a time, that there is a cross to be carried, that our hearts are deceitful, and that there is a busy devil always near us, they cool down in disgust and return to their old sins. And why? Because they had really never known what Bible Christianity is. They had never learned that we must count the cost. (Ryle, Holiness, chapter 5).

It was for this very reason the SBC passed a resolution on Regenerate Church Membership last year at the 2008 convention. O that God would awaken hearts before it is too late.

New GCR website has launched

The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force recently launched a new website, prayforgcr.com. I encourage you to pray regularly for this team and for the Holy Spirit's awakening in each of our churches. No amount of meetings can bring success if we do not humbly seek the Lord's face and find His blessing.

On the site, the task force explains why a "Great Commission Resurgence" is needed for such a time as this:

• The churches of the Southern Baptist Convention are yearning for a new day of Great Commission awakening and commitment. They sense both a need and a rare opportunity to come together to reclaim the missional vision that brought us together from the first.
• A new generation of Southern Baptists is ready for deployment in the service of the Great Commission – and waiting to see if Southern Baptists are ready to send, support, and propel this generation out to the nations. Will we do what it takes to send those God is calling?
• Many of our churches –- perhaps 70% — are plateaued or declining. They need a Great Commission Resurgence starting right where they are. A Great Commission Resurgence has to start right at home.
• Southern Baptists have much work to do reaching America in a multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual era. We need a Great Commission Resurgence that will make us do whatever it takes to reach America with the Gospel.
• Southern Baptists need a Great Commission Resurgence that will reorder our priorities, refocus our vision, reclaim our mission, and set our hearts on seeing the nations exult in the name of Jesus.

This movement is bigger than any one denomination. The GCR may be a Southern Baptist initiative, but it's something many other churches and denominations are watching expectantly to see what the Lord will do.

Will you commit to pray today?

Related posts:

• 10 highlights from the SBC convention
• Pastors: the key to a great commission resurgence
  

A frightening thought

"It's frightening to think about how many people have not tasted the goodness of God and his salvation, not because Christians have not had opportunity to share, but because we have been so shallow in what we did share."

- Thabiti Anyabwile, What Is a Healthy Church Member?, chapter 5.

Steering a conversation toward the gospel

Years ago, when I worked in a customer service call center, we were instructed to always "control the call." In other words, as salespeople, we were to steer the phone conversation as much as possible through questions and suggestions to help lead the customer along and determine what product would best suit them. Some customers were notorious for just "chatting" on the phone, not realizing that other customers were often on hold, waiting to be served.

In our evangelism, the stakes are infinitely higher, because souls are involved. We too as Christians must learn to better "control the conversation." I don't mean forcing the gospel into a conversation in an inappropriate way, but learning through questions and answers to steer a conversation in the right direction, toward spiritual things and eventually toward a presentation of the gospel.

As I said last week, there are four common steps in evangelism: raising awareness, initial contact, pre-evangelism, and evangelism. For those who are not particularly sociable, and who struggle to make conversation, or perhaps are just terrified of being confrontational, it can be very daunting to move from pre-evangelism (relationship-building) to evangelism (actually sharing the gospel). Here are a few tools that may be helpful.

Years ago, in an evangelism class, I learned the acronym ROCI. This is a helpful way to facilitate conversation in any setting, and stands for:

• Residence - Are you originally from this area? How long have you lived here? Where did you grow up?
  
• Occupation - Where did/do you work? What's your dream job?
• Children - How many kids do you have?
  
• Interests - Do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time? I noticed you like...

Some of these may naturally lead into a conversation about church, religion, values, and spiritual beliefs.

In the book Building on Firm Foundations, New Tribes Missions list many possible topics that can be intewoven into conversation and prepare a person for the seed of the gospel:

• Creation (ask their beliefs about the world, its orderliness, bad things that happen)
• God (ask their beliefs about His existence, location, activities, attributes, requirements)
• Unseen spirits (ask their beliefs about their existence, what they're like, relationships with people, requirements)
• Human beings (ask their beliefs about origin, differences, characteristics, sinful behavior)
• Life after death (ask the reason for sickness and death, their beliefs about place of the dead, basis of knowing where a person goes, contact between living and dead, resurrection)

Finally, here are ten great questions from Donald Whitney that can help turn a conversation toward the gospel:

1. When you die, if God says to you, "Why should I let you into Heaven?", what would you say?Are you interested in what the Bible says about your answer?
   
2. If you were to die tonight, where do you think you would spend eternity? Why? Are you interested in what the Bible says about this?
   
3. Do you think much about spiritual things?
   
4. How is God involved in your life?
   
5. How important is your faith to you?
   
6. What has been your most meaningful spiritual experience?
   
7. Do you find that your religious heritage answers your questions about life?
   
8. Do you have any kind of spiritual beliefs? If what you believe were not true, would you want to know it? Well, the Bible says . . . .
   
9. To you, who is Jesus?
   
10. I often like to pray for people I meet; how can I pray for you?

Related posts:

• Reaching the lost
• How to live in the world
  
• We are called to "Go"
• Do you love lost people?
  

Reaching the lost

As I said several months ago, the mission of our church is to "to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and love people, by reaching and teaching everyone."

I have already examined the overarching mission of the church (to make disciples) and have seen what a disciple should be (one who loves God and loves people). Now it's time to consider the process by which a disciple is made.

Matthew 28:19-20 breaks discipleship down into two stages. First, Jesus tells the apostles to preach and evangelize, which culminates in some hearers believing and new converts being "baptized." Second, the apostles were to train these new disciples through a life-long process of "teaching them to obey." This two-step process that Jesus outlined two thousand years ago still continues in His church today. At First Southern Baptist, we call these two steps "reaching and teaching."

For the sake of strategic planning in the church, I've found Peter Bolt's little book Mission Minded (available through Matthias Media) to be extremely helpful. He breaks down evangelism (reaching) and edification (teaching) into several sub categories. Let's look just at the "reaching" phase today.

Bolt observes that most non-Christians naturally progress through four phases in evangelism:

• Raising Awareness. This is the very first an unbeliever hears about Jesus, the Bible, the gospel, or a particular church. At this point, there's no personal contact. A church may raise awareness in their community by having a church building, church sign, website, door hangers, an ad in the paper, sending out mailers, etc.
• Initial Contact. For the first time, an unbeliever now meets a real person. He no longer associate Christianity merely with a church building, a book, media reports, or a local advertisement, but with a flesh-and-blood person he has actually met. Churches can facilitate contact by being friendly to their neighbors and co-workers, canvassing a neighborhood with surveys, hosting a booth at a local fair, doing service projects, joining local clubs and organizations, etc.
• Pre-evangelism. The unbeliever is now getting to know his Christian friend better and a stronger relationship is forming. Deeper issues may start to be discussed like family problems, fears, hopes, dreams, and spiritual beliefs. The Christian may start to drop seeds and respond to some of the common objections or confusing aspects of Christianity. At this point, the Christian is trying to show the love of Christ and "earn the right" to share his faith in a spirit of love and trust.
• Evangelism. The ultimate goal of steps 1-3 is to get us to the point where the unbeliever actually hears the good news. If this never happens, then the person has never truly been evangelized. All the good deeds and acts of social justice in the world are impotent to rescue a soul from hell. Only the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16-17). Evangelism may happen in one event, or over a series of conversations. But e need to know, explain, and biblically support the basic gospel outline: God is the loving and holy creator of the universe; man has rebelled against God and become separated from Him; Jesus, God's Son became a man to rescue us; He lived perfectly and then died in our place, rising again on the third day; He now calls us to turn from our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the only proper response, and the only way to eternal life.
  

Obviously, there's no "formula" to saving the lost. There are times when steps 1-3 happen almost instantaneously, or when steps 2-3 can be bypassed altogether. Most importantly, we recognize that while man plants and waters, only God can give the increase. And so our church humbly uses this ministry model, while praying and relying completely on God to do His miraculous work of changing hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.

How to live in the world

Jonathan Dodson gives some great practical ideas on how we should be living "in the world, but not of the world" (John 17:15-18), aka living missionally, or engaging our culture:

• Eat with non-Christians
• Walk, don't drive
• Be a regular
• Hobby with non-Christians
• Talk to your co-workers
• Volunteer with non-profits
• Participate in city events
• Serve your neighbors
  

You can read the whole article here.

Some related posts I've written on this topic:

• We are called to "Go"
• Why we don't obey Christ's call to "Go"
  

Why we don't obey Christ's call to "Go"

Marty responded to last Thursday's post with this question:

I know that I too often fail to go. Part of my omission is that I feel under prepared. However, that sense of inadequacy should drive me to pursue with violence to be prepared to give an answer of the hope that is within me. Do you think that preparation is the biggest reason that people do not go? What can we do to be prepared?

I can relate to feeling unprepared and inadequate for the task. Which is pretty convicting. Because if I (a pastor who has been saved for over 25 years; has listened to countless sermons; has read books and attended workshops on evangelism; has graduated from a Christian college and seminary; and has shared my faith on many occasions), if I feel unprepared, HOW MUCH MORE unprepared will most laypeople feel!

I think the #1 reason we don't go is fear. Fear of talking to strangers. Fear of what to say. Fear of how to say it. Fear of when to say it. Fear of being misunderstood. Fear of questions we can't answer. Fear of sounding like a Bible-thumping fundamentalist. Fear of putting ourselves in compromising situations. Fear of rejection. Fear of persecution.

Some of these fears can be remedied through better study, practice, and preparation. Others demand more spiritual courage. All of them require prayer, wisdom, and an utter dependence on the Spirit of God. Some of these fears will only subside as we begin to obey Christ and repeatedly share our faith.

Another reason we don't "go" as we ought is busyness. We get so caught up with the busyness of jobs, of family, of commuting, of ministry, of studying, of hobbies, of entertainment, that we leave little or no time for purposeful evangelism. We get so busy doing stuff -- even good stuff -- that we miss the divine appointments all around us. We must be careful. Busyness can actually be a Satanic strategy to sear our consciences and disguise our fear of obeying Christ's command to Go. If we're too busy to share our faith, then something else needs to be cut out of our schedules.

We are called to "Go"

I'm thinking a lot today about Christ's commission to "Go therefore and make disciples" (Matt. 28:19). Jesus did not command us to draw people into our settings, but rather, to go where the people are, in settings that will be natural and comfortable to get to know them to discuss the things of God.

Notice how this command to "Go" applies in a tribal setting. New Tribes Missions says, "While there may be situations when it is preferable for the people to gather at the home of the missionary or in a specially-erected building, it is usually better to conduct pre-evangelism sessions in the peoples homes or wherever the villagers most naturally and commonly gather. It may be under a large shady tree in the center of the viallage or at the town plaza during the hottest time of the day...The locale may change according to the seasons and the work being done by the people...By going into their homes, sitting where they sit, and communicating within the framework of the tribal culture, we are showing them, by example, that the message of the Scriptures is meant to be taught and practiced within the structure of their culture..." (Building on Firm Foundations, Vol. 1, p. 111, 124)

But what about 21st century America? How do we obey Christ's command to "Go"? If most of our church's pre-evangelism and evangelism is happening in Sunday School, Sunday morning worship, mid-week Bible study, or door-to-door visitation, it would seem we are asking people to interact in a setting that is completely unnatural and uncomfortable to them. How much better it would be for us to engage the culture by building relationships and sharing the gospel in their own natural environment.

I don't know how this will work itself out practically in our church, but I'm growing concerned that we must be much more aware of the cultural barriers we face as we seek to reach our own neighbors with the gospel.

One new resource I'm very excited about is a little booklet put out by Matthais Media called The Essential Jesus. It's an attractive version of the Gospel of Luke with three introductory pages and then a closing summary of the gospel at the end. You can download a preview of the entire book here. If you buy them in bulk, they're available for as little as 95 cents each.

I'm eager for creative ways to use this tool in the future, perhaps as a free giveaway at a local fair booth or as a possible book study at a local coffee shop. But even with this great tool, I realize there is now a whole generation of people who will not even spend the time to read a free, 80-page book. So, we must constantly explore newer and more effective ways to connect and reach unbelievers.

Why you should join Facebook

Yesterday, Natalie and I enjoyed listening to Al Mohler's recent radio program "Five Years of Facebook: The Moral and Cultural Impact of Social Networking."

Like all technology, Facebook and other "social media" (blogs, MySpace, Twitter, Skype, Flickr, etc.) have both opportunities and pitfalls.

I've really enjoyed connecting with friends on Facebook, sending notes of encouragement, and browsing new pictures. Facebook also keeps me informed of new prayer needs and reminds me of upcoming birthdays.

But social networking can easily become self-centered. It can be a tremendous time-waster. It can serve as a cheap imitation for genuine, life-on-life relationships. It can open a door for internet predators. It can expose us to images and ideas that are spiritually lethal. In fact, avoiding raunchy content on the internet sometimes feels like navigating a minefield. (Though the free Firefox download Adblock Plus does help cut down on unwanted ads.)

Yet in spite of its dangers, social networking applications like Facebook can offer a lot of clean fun and can even be a tool to advance the gospel. Mohler gives eight practical suggestions to set up safeguards and redeem this technology for the glory of God:

1. Never allow social networking to replace or rival personal contact and communication.

2. Set clear parameters for the time devoted to social networking.

3. Never write or post anything on a social networking site that you would not want the world to see, or anything that would compromise your Christian witness.

4. Never allow children and teenagers to have independent social networking access (or Internet access, for that matter).

5. Do not allow children and teens to accept any "friend" unknown to you.

6. Encourage older friends and relatives to sign up and use the technology.

7. Use the social networking technology to bear witness to the Gospel, but never think that this can replace the centrality of face-to-face evangelism, witness, and discipleship.

8. Do all things to the glory of God, and do not allow social networking to become an idol or a display of narcissism.

Now five years old, Facebook and other social networking sites are here to stay. We must remain vigilant in using this new technology, but it would be a tragedy to miss this chance to encourage one another and to reach the next generation. So if you're not already on Facebook, why not sign up?

Illustration by: Matt Hamm

Fishing with finesse

Recently, I saw a local "Christian" picketer carry a sign with these words: "Life without Jesus is Hell." Now, this statement does have a degree of truth, but what message does this really send to the unbeliever? Is it possible for Christians to share about the exclusivity of Christ and the offense of the cross without preaching "hellfire and damnation" and provoking our neighbors to wrath?

The Sola Panel is doing an interesting series right now on the challenges of personal evangelism. Here's an excerpt which captures the dilemma Christians face:

We want to tell people of the gracious loving Father who has given up his Son to make them his children, but evangelists are perceived as narrow-minded, bigoted, moralistic ratbags who infringe upon other’s civil rights.

Later, they observe,

Fishing requires a certain subtlety and finesse. We could blast the river with a few kilos of nitro, but that’s not exactly fishing.

Read the whole thing here.

Is door-to-door evangelism still effective?

Ed Stetzer has released some new research on how unchurched people feel about door-to-door evangelism in the 21st century. The results might surprise you.

After showing the chart, Stetzer writes,

These stats tell an important story--many people are open to an invitation to your church and some are open to hearing about heaven. Even 40 percent of the most unchurched are open to an invitation to your church, which is something that the whole church can do-- something that's much less scary for the typical believer and takes less training. It is helpful to know that many people are open to a church event invitation where, perhaps, they can hear the gospel in an understandable way. Imagine how many more houses your church group could visit if every person could be convinced to make one visit and one simple invitation.

But this method still has its shortcomings:

The fact remains the unchurched are far less interested in being invited to church by someone they don't know knocking on their door. Only 39 percent of those surveyed who attend church rarely, on holidays, or never would be okay with someone coming to their door and inviting them to church, according to the survey. The numbers are consistently worse when asked about "counseling" for "heaven," or what we would call personal witnessing. In other words, the very people we say we want to get into our churches the most are the people least likely to be impacted by one of our favorite outreach strategies.

While door-to-door evangelism may have its place, our most effective strategy for evangelism is still to build personal relationships with unbelievers, to repeatedly sow and water the gospel into their lives, and to pray for God to bring them to repentance and a saving knowledge of the truth.

On a personal note, I can remember a few years ago being part of a team that canvassed a whole neighborhood and passed out over a thousand flyers inviting them to a 6-week Christianity Explained Bible Study at a home in their area. Not a single person responded. Perhaps this was due to a couple reasons: (1) it was in a very upscale part of Valencia, California, where people love their privacy and have little time for religion. (2) the length of the study and sense of commitment involved may have put some people off.

Our church is currently targeting an area in our neighborhood to focus our prayer and outreach over the next year, and we do plan to designate some days for door-to-door outreach. Stetzer's research confirms there is still value in this method. It may not work for everyone, but it is still one of the best ways of reaching people who live close to the church, and who we would otherwise never meet personally.

Is the term 'Southern Baptist' a stumbling block?

The church that I pastor is Southern Baptist. But the funny thing is, we're not in the South. I remember being at a conference last April back in Kentucky and told someone I pastored a Southern Baptist Church in California. With a puzzled expression he replied, "You mean they have Southern Baptists out there?!" So, what's in a name? Ed Stetzer has just released some new polling data from pastors about the term 'Southern Baptist':

Among Southern Baptist pastors, 7 percent strongly agreed - and another 20 percent somewhat agreed - with the statement, "Having the name 'Southern' in the 'Southern Baptist Convention' is a hindrance to the work of SBC churches." Forty-one percent strongly disagreed with the statement while 27 percent somewhat disagreed and 5 percent "don't know."

To further clarify opinions on the denomination's name, Southern Baptist pastors were also asked their level of agreement with the statement, "Having the name 'Southern' in the 'Southern Baptist Convention' is a hindrance to the work of SBC churches outside of the South." As the focus shifted to Southern Baptist congregations outside the convention's historic strongholds, 16 percent of Southern Baptist pastors strongly agreed and 26 percent somewhat agreed, while 29 percent strongly disagreed and 21 percent somewhat disagreed. The remaining 9 percent "don't know."

In other words, 42% of pastors agree or strongly agree that the name 'Southern' is hindering the work of churches here in Southern California. Many churches in our area are trying to overcome this barrier by using names like "Pathway Church," "Sandals Church," and "Cloudbreak Church." But according to research by Thom Rainer, pastors might actually be more paranoid about this than unbelievers:

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises in our study was that the name of the church had very little influence on reaching the unchurched. For the most part, neither the presence nor the absence of a denominational name influenced the formerly unchurched's decision to join a church...Over 80% of the formerly unchurched told us that the church name had little or no influence upon their joining a particular church...Nearly 2/3 of those respondents indicated that the denominational name had a positive influence on their decision. (Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, pp. 38-39)

I don't see anything sacrosanct about including the name of the denomination in the name of the church. Nor do I see any hard evidence that proves churches should be swift to change or avoid it. This is a decision each church must make. The most important thing is that whenever we have contact with the world, that they recognize us as churches that belong to Jesus Christ.

Praying for the lost

I'm currently preaching on Sunday mornings on the Gospel, and how God has commissioned every believer to evangelize the lost. I think most of us would agree we need to evangelize more, yet often, when the opportunity arises, we break into a cold sweat and suddenly become like Moses -- "slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Ex. 4:10).

To help us grow in our understanding and ability to share the gospel, our church is learning a simple outline together: God, Man, Christ, and Response. At the same time, we are each praying for three unbelievers in our lives that we could be a witness to. I've chosen a neighbor, a local friend, and the person who cuts my hair.

Tonight, I came across this prayer, which would be a great one to use as we intercede for our unsaved friends. May God be pleased to answer the prayers of His people.

Father in heaven, I come to you humbly and yet boldly because of my salvation, which has united me with your Son. Your grace is reaching more and more people and calling them home. Therefore I pray for _____ . Hear my prayer even as you heard the pleading of your friend Abraham and spared his nephew Lot from terrible judgment. Your Son invited the spiritually tired, burdened and thirsty to take of the free water of eternal life. Lord, will you please open still another heart as you did mine? You alone can break addictions to self-righteousness, unbelief and sinful desires. Would it please you to provide repentance and faith leading to a new birth? Magnify your glory by delivering _____ from spiritual death. Lord, bring fame to your name by once again showing mercy. My plea is not based on my own goodness but on the sovereign love of Jesus Christ. Lord, I desire that you use me in telling the gospel of grace to others. Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. Make your name famous. Amen. (Will Metzger, Tell the Truth, p. 237)

Do you love lost people?

On Monday, I asked the question, "Do you love the church?" Now, it's time to consider the flip side of the coin. Do you love lost people?

I'm not talking here about "loving the world and the things in the world." 1 John 2:15 forbids such worldliness. I'm talking about loving lost people. Do you love spending time with the lost, talking with them, getting to know them, and serving them? Does your heart burn with compassion for their souls? Or do you, like the Pharisees, turn your nose up at the "sinners" of this world and avoid them like the plague?

Are you interested enough in lost people to build a relationship and bring the gospel to them? Be warned: evangelism is a messy business.

Ed Stetzer, in his book, Comeback Churches, has this to say:

Most Christians don't like lost people. We wish it were not so, but it is. Lost people don't think like us; they often don't vote like us; they influence our kids; they don't know our inside references to Dobson, Left Behind, and Dave Ramsey. They are not "our" people. Let's face it: people outside of Christ can be messy! Most of the time there is at least one or more divorces, meaning blended families. Their credit card debt is so high that they cannot be financial givers to the church. Their kids can be unruly, putting marks on the clean walls of the church building and running around unrestrained. They do not often know the unspoken "cues" in "our church" - when to stand; how we act; what version of the Bible we read from; that when the pastor asks a question from the front, usually we are not expected to call out an answer; and so forth. Comeback churches made the hard decision that they will love the lost as much as Jesus did." (p. 62)

Now notice how Jesus ministered to the lost. He mingled with them. He treated them with dignity and compassion. And this resulted in many of them hearing and accepting the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ:

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. 9:11-13)

May the church share in Jesus' strategy to reach the lost by loving them and serving them, in order that we might more effectively bring the gospel to them.

Photo credit: goofegal

The American mission field

"You are now entering the mission field." This message has been posted above the exits doors of countless church buildings. And there's a lot of truth in it. Perhaps now more than ever, as illustrated by David Wells:

"The United States," writes Gordon Melton, "is currently home to more than 1,500 different religious organizations - churches, sects, cults, temples, societies, missions," each the primary focus of spiritual allegiance for its adherents. Some of the more conservative Christian groups continue to speak of America as a Christian country, or at least that it should be... The reality, however, is that America is the world's most religiously diverse nation now and from a Christian point of view it is as fully a mission field as any to which churches now are sending their missionaries. This is true, not only because of the arrival of these new immigrants with their diverse religions, but also because of the post-modern decay in American culture." (Above All Earthly Pow'rs, p. 108)

This doesn't undermine our great need for foreign missionaries, but it does remind us of the spiritual darkness of our own country. It should also cause us to rethink our strategies for global evangelism. Let's not be deceived into thinking America is a "Christian nation." Time is short, and the need for the gospel in America is perhaps greater than ever before.

Bad tips are a bad testimony

A couple years ago, I read an article called "The Dreaded Christian Table" that has been forever etched into my mind. It testified to the careless, stingy manners of many Christians in restaurants, and that Christians, in general, have a bad reputation as being terrible tippers. Here's an excerpt:

When other servers got word that I had the "Church table" they all immediately patted me on the back and told me everything would be all right. My “non-Christian” co-workers automatically volunteered to help me out because they knew what was coming. They told me that I might as well not waste my time by trying hard at this table, because they were going to be rude and leave me next to nothing. The entire staff at the restaurant, including the manager on duty, had nothing but contempt for this group of people—the Church people—because time and again they come in and treat the staff like second-class citizens.

In a separate blog, a young man writes,

When I delivered pizza in college, I had a rotten feeling everytime I went to a door that had a fish outside or one of those ‘as for me and my house …’ plaques outside the front door.

Another guy I went to school with worked parking at what was then Starwood Ampitheatre in Nashville. He said his worst experience ever wasn’t Metallica or the rock shows but an Amy Grant concert.

What a tragedy! The Bible says "whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). Surely, behaving rudely or leaving a lousy tip is not honoring to God. In 1 Timothy 6:16-18, Paul exhorts, "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share..."

If I leave a shabby tip, I might rationalize it is good stewardship, but in all reality, I'm missing an opportunity to give generously and reward a laborer who is worthy of his wages. Worse yet, I'm damaging my Christian witness. Our actions speak louder than words. I can smile, be friendly, pray in public, and leave a tract at the end of the meal. But if I don't accompany all of those little gospel seeds with a reasonable tip, then I've probably just driven that person further from the gospel. Not sure who deserves a tip, or how much is "reasonable?" Check out this "Tipping Etiquette" article. I have bookmarked it and refer to it often.

Generosity is important for all Christians, but especially for us pastors. We must model good tipping. God is watching. Our church members are watching. And that waiter is watching. Why not surprise him by tipping a little extra? Let's tip to the glory of God, and for the spread of the gospel!

Fridays are often dedicated to practical church ministry issues. If you have a question or suggested topic for the future, please email me.

The urgency of evangelism

Here's a touching story about John Harper, a man who loved the lost and shared the gospel, until his very last moments on earth. I first heard this story while reading The Gospel & Personal Evangelism, by Mark Dever. Since we never know the day or hour when God will take us home, we should always be mindful of the urgency of evangelism.

The importance of creation

In our evangelism Sunday School class, we’ve been studying through the Two Ways to Live curriculum. It’s an excellent presentation that breaks the gospel down into six basic points. Interestingly, rather than starting with sin, or God’s “wonderful plan” for our lives, The Two Ways to Live outline begins with creation. The first point says “God is the loving ruler of the world. He made the world. He made us rulers of the world under Him.”

Creation is a vital doctrine that we often sell short. In an age of enlightenment, creationism is usually portrayed as primitive, superstitious, and unscientific. Richard Dawkins, for example, calls creationism a “preposterous, mind-shrinking falsehood.” The Bible, on the other hand, actually begins with creation. It’s the first building block of an accurate worldview. Without creation, the rest of the gospel is absurd.

The first verse in the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). There is a remarkable amount of theology and scientific data wrapped up in this verse.

• The phrase “in the beginning” confirms that all matter did have a beginning. It had a first cause. And there was a pre-existent, intelligent Being who initiated the “beginning” of the world.

• The statement “God created” is a declarative, matter-of-fact statement. Elohim, the all-powerful God of the Bible, created without using any tools or supplies. He created ex nihlo, “out of nothing,” by the power of His word (Gen. 1:3).

• The last phrase tells us precisely what God created: “the heavens and the earth.” This is a Hebrew figure of speech called a “merism.” By mentioning the two extremes, it captures everything in between (cf. “morning and evening”). It’s a poetic way of saying “God created everything,” and it summarizes what the rest of chapter one will describe in closer detail.
  

Now, the question is, are you willing to accept this bold claim in Genesis 1:1? “But it requires a leap of faith,” you say. Yes, I agree. Hebrews 11:3 even states, “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” But faith does not contradict reason. We don’t need to jettison our heads in order to believe with our hearts. In fact, I would contend the leap of faith in creationism is far more reasonable than the leap of faith in evolution. When we look at the universe through the interpretive lens of Scripture, we find that every scientific detail makes perfect sense from a creationist worldview. And there are three implications that result:

• Because God created the universe, it was very good. Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good...” Since God is holy and morally perfect, all the work of His hands must have been good. It is comforting to know that all the sickness, pain, injustice, and disappointment in this world were not part of God’s original design, but a result of man’s fall (Gen. 3). But as God continues His work of redemption through Jesus Christ, He is reversing the curse of the Fall, first in our hearts, and ultimately upon the earth itself.

• Because God created the universe, it is very sophisticated. The Bible depicts this world as the handiwork of a highly skilled and powerful God. In Psalm 8:3, David writes, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man?” The heavens are just one aspect of God’s creation, but they provide ample proof for an intelligent Creator. Take our sun for example. Jonathan Sarfati explains that our sun is an extremely powerful object, often throwing out flares, and occasionally belching out coronal mass ejections (CME). These CMEs cause huge electric currents in the earth’s upper atmosphere and disrupt power grids and satellites. But compared to other stars, the sun turns out to be ‘exceptionally stable.’ If the sun were to erupt as frequently or intensely as most other stars, the ‘superflares’ would destroy the earth’s ozone layer with catastrophic results for life. It is no coincidence that we are located at just the right distance from such an exceptionally stable star. This is the handiwork of our Master Architect.

• Because God created the universe, we are answerable to Him. He made us, and thus He has the authority to tell us how to live, what to do, and what not to do. God had the prerogative to command Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28), then later to stipulate, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Gen. 2:16-17). Likewise, as our Creator, God has the right to command us to “be holy, as He is holy” (1 Pet. 1:16), and to judge us when we rebel against Him. As His creatures, we are answerable to Him, and deserving of His punishment when we fail. And this, of course, explains why so many reject creation today: because creation involves accountability to a Creator.
  

Next Wednesday, I will continue this study on creation, considering how God created the world, and whether or not He did it in six literal days.

Let your light shine

Matthew 5:14-16 says, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

When Natalie taught Kindergarten a few years ago, she taught her children the classic song, "This little light of mine." Some of the other stanzas begin, "Hide it under a bushel? No!" and "Don't let Satan (puff) it out." But my wife and her co-teacher thought up a new stanza for this song: "Shine your light at Christmastime, I'm gonna let it shine." I like that.

So, how are you letting your light shine this Christmas? Christmas is one of the best opportunities you will have all year to shine for Christ. Here are a few ideas:

• Invite a friend to church next Sunday. The North American Mission Board reported that 61% of Americans plan on attending a religious service this holiday. Maybe your friend is just waiting to be asked to come with you.
  
• Invite an unsaved friend to your house for dinner on Christmas
• Have an open house and invite some neighbors
• Include a Christmas tract in your Christmas cards, or smile and hand one out to the clerk while Christmas shopping. (It's probably a little late to order for this year, but it's something to keep in mind for the future.)

Any other suggestions out there? Just add a comment below. And be sure to shine your light at Christmastime!

8 reasons I don't share my faith

We're starting an evangelism class this Sunday morning at church called "Sharing our Faith." Here's a fun (yet convicting) video that gives some of the common excuses we use to disobey God by not telling others about Christ.