Rice Broocks's Blog

The "Hitch" in Evangelism

The death of outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens last week was mourned by both believer and non-believer alike. There was something about this man that people loved – even those whose faith he tried to destroy.

He wrote how “religion ruins everything” – pointing out excesses in various religious practices that were wrong. His attacks, for the most part, were drastically biased and philosophically flawed - yet at times were justified, especially when pointing out extremists blindly following ideologies that produced terror and death.

Yet, he met very competent and strong opposition when it came to the Christian faith. Debates with men like William Lane Craig, John Lennox and Larry Taunton showed that Christianity was not only rational but a more plausible worldview than atheism. Instead of assailing Hitchens, these Christians engaged in dialogue with him, showing  compassion towards him (especially after he was diagnosed with cancer) and praying for him persistently.

My friend Larry Taunton of the Fixed Point Foundation, who had debated Hitchens publicly, became a close friend of “Hitch” as well. Through their many debates in public and private, Taunton demonstrated patience and kindness as he consistently shared about belief in God and faith in Christ. At one point they took a car trip together from DC to Birmingham and studied the Gospel of John. Though they were worlds apart in terms of beliefs,  they were mysteriously joined together through the Gospel in friendship.

This is a critical point – the Gospel is our bridge to unbelievers.  So much of the current thinking surrounding evangelism is that we should build relationship first before ever bringing up the Gospel. In Hitchens and Taunton’s case, it was the Gospel that brought them together.

We all need this kind of a ”Hitch” in our evangelistic efforts, i.e. a meaningful dialogue and friendship with an unbeliever. After all, Jesus was called “a friend of sinners”. We must expand our efforts beyond those who already believe and intentional seek and save the lost. Remember, it is those that seem the hardest to reach that many times are the most open to talk.

If we believe that salvation is real and found only in Christ, we should possess a sense of urgency in these matters.  In the end, we will deeply benefit as well as we are challenged to prepare more, pray more, love more, and reach out more.

May this coming year, 2012, be the year we have this kind of personal evangelistic breakthrough.

Evangelists of Unbelief

I’ve been deeply challenged by the tireless efforts of the men and women that advance the cause of the “new atheism” into the empty hearts of postmodern westerners.

Nature abhors a vacuum so in the absence of faith, unbelief or atheism becomes the anti-cause. The mission of these atheist crusaders is to rid the world (especially the young) of religious faith and “superstition.” They carry their message with zeal and with the confrontational style that rivals any fundamentalist preacher. In short, they seek converts – people who will “repent” of religion and follow the secular path to freedom.

Caricatures of the worst aspects of religion make it easy to gain people’s attention. Lumping all religions together, it becomes one monstrous “straw man” that can easily scare the average listener more than hell itself. Tragically, they are gaining momentum, especially in the arena of the university campus and the media.

If this were a boxing match, the Church would be sitting on a stool in the corner of the ring, dazed and confused and doubting whether we were really “called” to this fight. What can we learn from their efforts?

Talking to Ourselves

First and foremost: We must start engaging our culture with the Gospel beyond the church walls and stop just talking to ourselves. The majority of the effort we exert as Believers is talking to fellow Christians about being better Christians.

“Missional Church” is a term we debate vs a real mission we do. We have deceived ourselves by not obeying the Word ( James1:22).

Most of the people in our churches have heard enough to be teachers themselves, but are defenseless against the basic arguments and accusations of the opposition.

The Gospel is the answer to the cries of the human heart, but the lack of zeal to proclaim it demonstrates our lack of faith in its power.

We can also see that if we don’t step up and speak a clear message, the enemies of the Gospel will gladly take our place.

History has shown that God will allow a Goliath to taunt His people, knowing that someone like David will be provoked into action.

May we be shaken out of our stupor, get off the stool and get back into the fight for this generation.

Evangelism Is Not Just Relationship

“You don’t have to know a drowning person to save their life.”



There has been enormous emphasis placed on the need for relationship with people as the prerequisite for evangelism. So much so that some go as far as saying that relationship with others should be the only motive and not the hidden agenda of evangelism.



Relationship-Relationship-Relationship…






This seems to be the word of the hour. I spoke to church planters who had not succeeded in their efforts to launch a ministry. As I dug deeper it became apparent that they made a lot of friends and very few disciples. In fact they admitted, they rarely got to the Gospel. “We focused on building relationships first.”



So here’s the question: how soon should the Gospel be introduced in a relationship with someone?



Looking at the ministry of Jesus, many times He spoke directly to people in their first encounter:


The woman at the well
Nicodemus

Legion - He cast the devil out of him during their first meeting.  Jesus called people to follow Him with no relationship at all.  (It doesn't appear that He even had introduced Himself fully yet.)

Paul had a similar pattern in his witness.



He preached immediately after his salvation.



He was beaten and suffered as a result.



He confronted strangers in Athens, in Macedonia, in much of what was recorded in Acts.



I believe that the Gospel comes sooner in biblical examples of witness not later. For me, the Gospel has actually produced authentic, lasting relationships with others.






Things to remember:



Preaching the Gospel takes boldness. 



The Spirit must fill us with His passion and power. If we are honest, our reluctance to preach the Gospel may just be a case of being a man pleaser or being ashamed of the Gospel. 



Preaching produces persecution. 



It’s much easier to say nothing. If the Apostles would have only done community service or waited on tables they would not have been persecuted as severely. If they hated Him they will hate us. We are an aroma of life to the saved and an aroma of death to those who are perishing. 



Preaching the Gospel produces faith. 



Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. No preaching means no faith. In order for them to believe they are going to have to hear the Gospel. 



I certainly believe building relationships is important. 



Many times it takes a number of hearings of the Gospel to be saved. I also believe there is wisdom in knowing when we should speak to people about Christ and how we can maximize the impact of our witness. 



Someone recently told me “We must earn the right to be heard.” As I pondered this statement, something didn’t sit right with me. As much as I tried to understand what he really meant I couldn’t help but think that according to the Scripture, Jesus earned that right for me as well. We preach in the authority and righteousness He earned through His life and death. 



In fact if a person’s eternal soul is at stake then we should have some sense of urgency in our efforts. Remember, you don’t have to know a drowning person to save their life.

Witness or Witless?

2000 years ago the preoccupation of the disciples seemed to be the establishment of the physical, visible Kingdom of God. Christ’s crucifixion temporarily dashed the hopes that He was indeed the triumphant Messiah they thought the prophets had spoken about (rather than the suffering servant). After His resurrection, the disciples still hoped these expectations would be fulfilled.

Jesus explicitly admonished them to not worry about times or dates of God’s plans. Instead they (we) will be given power to be His witnesses to the “ends of the Earth.” Their focus is to be our focus: Preaching the Gospel and being His witnesses.

After 9/11, Time magazine’s Nancy Gibbs posed the question, “Why do Christians spend so much time trying to read the signs and break the code – trying to know what can’t be known rather than do what must be done – helping the poor and needy and preaching the Gospel?”

When we ignore Christ’s call to make our focus the advancing of the Gospel, we lose our way and ultimately our ability to reason soundly: literally, we lose our wits. We may not go as far as trying to set a specific date for Christ’s return or some impending cataclysm, but we establish priorities that aren’t the ones of heaven. In America, the Gospel is indistinguishable from other calls to success and happiness.  True conversion accompanied by repentance as well as faith is getting harder and harder to find.

Pastors are now Life Coaches and Success Therapists rather than preachers of the Gospel. When leaders diminish the Gospel, it’s only a matter of time until the followers do the same. We have lost our way, and our wits as well.

Today, many will rightly denounce the lunacy of those that foolishly tried to predict those things that can’t be known. Yet, when anyone digresses from the priority of being witnesses for the sake of the Gospel, they start down the same wrong road.

The Evangelist and the Missional Church

 

Following is a blog Ps. Rice Broocks wrote for Ed Stetzer's Blog about the relationship between the Evangelist and the Missional Church.

The ministry gift of the Evangelist is given by the Holy Spirit to women and men to preach the gospel to unbelievers and to equip other believers to do the same, while leading the entire community of faith (to which they are connected) to expand their borders as well as plant new churches."

Ephesians 4:11 says He gave "some as evangelists." In my research, that number is around 1% of those in a congregation. Identifying, training, and empowering those with that gift is vital to see the church reach its missional potential.

The Evangelist is the catalyst that makes the missional church missional.

Their calling is to preach the gospel and equip the saints to do the same. When an evangelist is practically connected to a local church and in a working relationship with the pastor and ministry team, there is a dynamic power released into the life of that community. When this gift is missing, the fruit of evangelism and outreach diminishes.

Imagine traveling to a foreign country and visiting the churches and noticing there were no Pastors in any congregations. There would instantly be the awareness that those churches would be lacking in a vital grace that God intended to give them through that gift. In the North American context, this scenario is true where Evangelists are concerned. They are virtually missing from the day-to-day life of the church.

Restoring the gift of the Evangelist to the life of the local church should be a top priority for every leader that wants to have a missional congregation that impacts their community with the gospel.

Take the example of C. H. Spurgeon. When he dedicated the Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1867, he said he desired to plant 100 churches in London before he died. He employed two strategies. First, he built a Pastors' College. Second, he also started an Evangelist Association that had over 100 Evangelists. These Evangelists preached in over 600 places in the city on a regular basis. Whenever there was a breakthrough, he would send in a Pastor from the college to preserve the fruit. The result? When he died in 1892, they had planted over 200 churches in London!

The Role of the Evangelist

The mistaken notion is that the Evangelist is primarily a revivalist or someone who conducts evangelistic crusades. They stir the church temporarily, yet the fruit is said to not last. However, when an Evangelist is properly functioning in the life of a church they are helping to identify and train other evangelists that will be connected to that body of believers and providing daily encouragement and help in equipping God's people. Gospel meetings are wonderful if they are able to be a part of the Evangelist's role rather than the only thing they do.

An overview of the job description of an Evangelist:

A preacher of the Gospel - the greatest form of evangelism is simply preaching the Gospel.

Can be male or female - this gift is given to women as well as men. The first evangelists were women instructed to tell the good news to the Apostles that Christ had risen. The Samaritan woman in John 4 was the evangelist to an entire region.

Is a gatherer - that seeks the lost and gathers them to be a part of Christ's church.

A builder - that lays the foundations of true discipleship. They should go beyond giving an invitation and having people pray a "sinner's prayer" and make sure that Christ is fully preached and that the foundations of repentance and faith are laid.

An equipper - the Evangelist must mentor other Evangelists as well as train believers to make disciples.

A strategist - they can devise tools and strategies that attract the lost and enable believers to share the gospel more effectively.

A pioneer - they should lead the faithful beyond the church walls into the harvest field. They are able to see outreaches turn into new church plants.

Overall, the Evangelist is a vital part of any church team that desires to be missional.

What is the G.O.S.P.E.L.?

 

The Gospel. It's the message we hold out boldly for the world to see. But do we know what it is? Furthermore, do we explain it clearly so that those we share it with can comprehends its validity?

The Return of The Evangelist

Below is an article written by Ps Rice Broocks featured on ChurchPlanting.com.

"It is estimated that only 3% of US churches are growing through evangelism. The majority of churches that are growing are doing so through the migration of Believers from one congregation to another.

One of the most glaring reasons for the lack of evangelistic growth is that there are precious few evangelists that are properly recognized and  functioning in the leadership of most churches.

The evangelist is gifted by God to do several things:

To preach the Gospel to Unbelievers,
To equip Believers to do the same, and at the same time,
To lead the community of faith to which they are connected beyond the Church walls into the harvest field.

The Church will fall short of its call to be missional if it fails to recognize and utilize the very catalyst God gave to make it missional: the evangelist. In other words, no evangelists, little evangelism.

Church planting literature has asserted that 10% of Christians have ”the gift of evangelism.” While no Biblical references point to a ”gift of evangelism” it does reference the evangelist (Eph 4:11). Research has shown that to be about 1% of the Church’s population. When those with this gift are trained and properly connected to the local church, an amazing impact takes place. The people of God are equipped and empowered to share their faith and advance the Kingdom.

Like Gideon, who found 300 out of his 30,000 (1%) that were called to lead the charge, let us do all in our power to see the return of the gift of the evangelist to the life of the local church."

What is The God Test?

The God Test is a simple tool designed to help believers start conversations about God with other believers, atheists, agnostics, and those of any other religion. We'd love to hear how you are using The God Test on your campus and in your city.