Keep it Simple
Paul said in I Corinthians 2:4, “my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” Although Paul was an extraordinarily intelligent man and a well educated man, he did not come with a superiority of speech. He came with a simple message empowered by an almighty God. He said, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (I Corinthians 2:2).
My uncle, who has gone on to be with the Lord, was a very intelligent man and knew his bible well. He was an active member of his church in south east Louisiana for many years. After his pastor of thirty plus years retired they called a young man fresh out of seminary as their pastor. After the pastor was there a few months I asked my uncle what he thought about his new pastor. My uncle’s response was, “I love him! I’m getting in great physical shape because of him.” I then asked, “How are you getting into physical shape?” he said, “Because I have to carry all my books to church now.” My only response was, “Huh?” He said, “Yes, I now have to bring my dictionary, thesaurus, and sometimes my encyclopedias just so I can understand what he is saying.” He was being facetious of course. However, if my uncle who has been a faithful church member all of his life and was one who knew his bible well was unable to understand all the deep theological language how can we except the unchurched and unregenerate to understand?
This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way as a church planter dealing with people who are totally unchurched. I honestly had no idea that I had a churchy language that was totally foreign to the unchurched world. For instance, terms as simple as “books of the bible” are foreign. They view the bible as one book. Another word is “invitation.” I once had an individual who accepted Christ into his heart and came to church for the first time to make his profession of faith public. I told him that he needed to come forward for the invitation. I thought I was very clear on the matter. However, he walked forward during the offering. It didn’t take me long to figure out that he had no idea what the invitation was.
When dealing with a lost and unchurched culture we need to be mindful of our language. Is it churchy? Is the message resonating? Do they understand the lingo? We don’t need to think of them or speak to them as though they are ignorant; they’re not. They just don’t know the church language just as we may not know other languages or sayings from other cultures.
We need to keep the message simple. If we are speaking words that are foreign to them we are of no value. In our former century one can hardly argue that Billy Graham has probably had more influence and impact on reaching the lost for Christ than any other individual. People also regularly say of Billy Graham that his messages were always simple enough where the smallest child could understand. To me, that is a great complement.
The gospel in and of itself is powerful. We don’t need to butter it up or sugar coat it. We need simply to share it in its simplicity. It is only our job to share. The power of the Holy Spirit will convict and draw the lost. When we try to share with our superiority of speech and our persuasive words of wisdom we only bring attention to ourselves. However, when we share the gospel in its simplicity with the focus on Christ and Him crucified we bring attention to the one who can save the most wretched of souls. Therefore, as we share the gospel with this lost world, let us determine to know nothing except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. For, He is all that matters. Rusty Kuhn
My uncle, who has gone on to be with the Lord, was a very intelligent man and knew his bible well. He was an active member of his church in south east Louisiana for many years. After his pastor of thirty plus years retired they called a young man fresh out of seminary as their pastor. After the pastor was there a few months I asked my uncle what he thought about his new pastor. My uncle’s response was, “I love him! I’m getting in great physical shape because of him.” I then asked, “How are you getting into physical shape?” he said, “Because I have to carry all my books to church now.” My only response was, “Huh?” He said, “Yes, I now have to bring my dictionary, thesaurus, and sometimes my encyclopedias just so I can understand what he is saying.” He was being facetious of course. However, if my uncle who has been a faithful church member all of his life and was one who knew his bible well was unable to understand all the deep theological language how can we except the unchurched and unregenerate to understand?
This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way as a church planter dealing with people who are totally unchurched. I honestly had no idea that I had a churchy language that was totally foreign to the unchurched world. For instance, terms as simple as “books of the bible” are foreign. They view the bible as one book. Another word is “invitation.” I once had an individual who accepted Christ into his heart and came to church for the first time to make his profession of faith public. I told him that he needed to come forward for the invitation. I thought I was very clear on the matter. However, he walked forward during the offering. It didn’t take me long to figure out that he had no idea what the invitation was.
When dealing with a lost and unchurched culture we need to be mindful of our language. Is it churchy? Is the message resonating? Do they understand the lingo? We don’t need to think of them or speak to them as though they are ignorant; they’re not. They just don’t know the church language just as we may not know other languages or sayings from other cultures.
We need to keep the message simple. If we are speaking words that are foreign to them we are of no value. In our former century one can hardly argue that Billy Graham has probably had more influence and impact on reaching the lost for Christ than any other individual. People also regularly say of Billy Graham that his messages were always simple enough where the smallest child could understand. To me, that is a great complement.
The gospel in and of itself is powerful. We don’t need to butter it up or sugar coat it. We need simply to share it in its simplicity. It is only our job to share. The power of the Holy Spirit will convict and draw the lost. When we try to share with our superiority of speech and our persuasive words of wisdom we only bring attention to ourselves. However, when we share the gospel in its simplicity with the focus on Christ and Him crucified we bring attention to the one who can save the most wretched of souls. Therefore, as we share the gospel with this lost world, let us determine to know nothing except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. For, He is all that matters. Rusty Kuhn
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