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Don’t KNOW Nobody?? Can’t REACH Nobody!

Don’t KNOW Nobody?? Can’t REACH Nobody!

Excuse the bad English in the title, but I’m making a point. Distance is dead in evangelism. If you are going to make an impact on people you must have contact with people. It is arguably the weakest feature of Adventist evangelism. We have often isolated ourselves to the point of irrelevance.

There is no Impact without Contact

I just left a powerful Ministers Conference at Hampton University in Virginia. Over 9000 ministers were in attendance from various Christian denominations. For years I have attended this conference and others for the amazing preaching, insightful workshops, and fellowship. Yes, the fellowship. I have developed valued personal and professional relationships with ministers of other denominations as we worship and study together.

This year the new African American hymnal by GIA publications was introduced at Hampton. The previous hymnal was a classic. It’s an ecumenical/non-denominational hymnal that pays particular attention to contributions by people of color. It will be enjoyed by tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Christians across the globe. Dr. Jason Ferdinand was on the organizing committee that selected the hymns, and many Adventist classics are included.

From the host of religious communities involved, 3 religious leaders were asked to pray at the special service introducing the hymnal. I was one of the 3 religious leaders. I was asked, not necessarily because of my position or perceived talent. But I was asked because of a confidence and comfort forged through relationships.

I listened with pride as Jason led the group in the Adventist standard, “Watch Ye Saints.” His relationships gave him a platform to remind the crowd of our passion for the second advent- “Lo He Comes!” It was a musical testimony to the power and importance of relationships.

When Your Friends All Look Like You

When we prepare local churches for public evangelism, we always include a request for the members to identify and invite their non-Christian friends to the meeting. Like Jesus, that lost sheep is our priority. Inevitably we discover that the saints have a problem. They don’t have many friends that fit that category.

Now for new Christians, it’s good counsel to be extremely careful about your exposure. It’s safe. And each of us needs to know our limits and then ere on the side of caution. But if you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, it’s time to grow up! How can you be salt if you don’t mingle? How can you be the light of the world if you’re avoiding the world?

Jesus said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. ..As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” John 17:15-18
Paul put it this way, “When with the heathen I agree with them as much as I can, except of course that I must always do what is right as a Christian. And so, by agreeing, I can win their confidence and help them too……Yes, whatever a person is like, I try to find common ground with him so that he will let me tell him about Christ and let Christ save him. I Corinthians 9:21-22 LB

We have to forge relationships with Christians and non-Christians that disagree with us on scripture and points of doctrine. Now the depth of the relationships will vary based on our maturity and other variables, but effective evangelism won’t happen without it.

To those who are concerned that their faith might be challenged or compromised by exposure to other beliefs, perhaps you’re right. Continue to develop and ask God for openings. For those who are convinced that they may be “contaminated” by exposure to other believers because they are obviously sinners who “know better.” Please don’t go! Your attitude will kill your opportunity.

But this is how I feel. If I don’t have a faith that can stand a challenge, then I don’t have a faith at all. I have had opportunities to explain my beliefs to religious leaders because we were friends in discussion, not enemies in debate. We need to put a premium on developing relationships that God can use to build his kingdom.

So, what do you think? Do you have many friends outside of your faith tradition? Why or why not? What are the dangers? How can you protect yourself?

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What’s Missing From Adventist Evangelism?

What’s Missing From Adventist Evangelism?

ADVENTISTS!! That’s what’s missing from Adventist evangelism. Adventists. Everyday Adventists. Not celebrities. Not pastors. Not evangelists. Not paid bible workers. But normal, natural, balanced Adventists. Everyone I mentioned above is valuable to evangelism, but the most effective evangelists are not really “evangelists” at all.

Let me illustrate. The average life expectancy for a US citizen is 78.7 years. For men it’s 76 years. For women it’s 81 years. I would speculate about why women live longer than men, but my wife reads my blogs!

Now it is alleged that by the time most Christians come to the end of a normal life, they would have heard 5,000 sermons, sung 10,000 songs, prayed 20,000 prayers…. and led 0, no one to Christ!

That illustration has obvious flaws. There are holes in the math, differences in circumstances, and various definitions of evangelism. There will certainly be people in heaven who were influenced by our example. But it begs an important question. How many Christians can recall one person they have personally led to Christ? How about you?

Now there are a boatload of challenges to effective evangelism today:

  • Neglected prayer
  • Outdated methods
  • Distracted members
  • Hard hearts
  • Absence of Holy Spirit power

But the most glaring absence in Adventist evangelism-personal or corporate-is the local Adventist. There is not a program or plan or preacher powerful enough to do what God has designed individual Christians to do. God’s plan for outreach was surprisingly simple:

“But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Witnesses! From the point of our conversion we have been given the supernatural power to witness effectively. Witness is who we are, and witness is what we do. We need witnesses more that Bible instructors. We need witnesses more than we need mission trips. We need witnesses more than we need campaigns. We need witnesses, men and woman who are simply telling what they have seen and heard.

When we witness it increases our Biblical knowledge

There is an epidemic of biblical illiteracy today. Not just in the world but in the local church. And it has serious consequences. Jesus told the Sadducees in Matthew 22:29, “You are in error because you do not know the word of God….” Same for us. We pay a price for not knowing the Bible. It weakens our witness. It shatters our confidence. It undermines our faith

When we witness it reveals our Biblical weaknesses

I am convinced that most Christians won’t realize how little they know until they are asked to explain or defend what they know. Sharing your faith is not only a great spiritual discipline, but it reveals areas that we need to improve. I Peter 3:15 says, “Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have.”

One of the most embarrassing experiences I had as a young pastor was explaining the spirit of prophecy to a Mormon couple in Franklin, Tennessee. I’ll never forget it. And I’m glad I won’t. Because the mistakes that I made and the lessons I learned serve me well to this day. I didn’t realize how confused I was or sounded until I was asked to explain my belief. That’s a benefit of sharing your faith.

Witnessing is living and sharing the good news of Jesus. It’s a lifestyle. It’s inviting someone to church. It’s praying for a co-worker. It’s attending a graduation or funeral or wedding of a non-believing friend. We should never expect a church to do what only individual church members can do. Ellen White puts it this way:

“Everywhere there is a tendency to substitute the work of organizations for effort…Christ commits to his followers an individual work—a work that cannot be done by proxy.” Ministry of Healing p.147

For many the summer is a season of outreach, mission, and evangelism.  This series will look at practical ways to expand the kingdom of God.

Question. Who was the person primarily responsible for you becoming a Christian?

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The Adventist Branding Problem

What do people see when they hear Adventist? What words or images come to mind?

For many years I have asked this very question to Adventists and non-Adventists alike in a word association exercise I use in evangelism.

The responses have been fairly consistent: Ellen White, Loma Linda, Sabbath, vegetarian, health, and the lists goes on. I have asked this questions from Indonesia to Indiana, from Brooklyn to Bermuda. It is interesting to me that of all the responses I’ve heard over the years, I have never once heard the words, Jesus or love. Not once. It seems that we have a brand problem.

An entire cottage industry has sprung up around the importance of branding. Conferences. Seminars. Webinars. Everyone seems to be pushing the importance of a good brand. And what exactly is a brand? Well, a brand is defined a number of ways:

  • A brand is a concept, service, or product that is publicly distinguished from other concepts, services, or products so that it can be easily communicated and marketed.
  • A brand is a feature that distinguishes one product from another.
  • A brand is an identifying mark that distinguishes a product.

Similar definitions, but the one I like the most, I found in Forbes magazine. “Simply put, your brand is what your prospect thinks of when he or she hears your brand name!”(1) Exactly. So let me repeat.  The responses to this Adventist word association exercise indicate that we have a brand problem. And the problem with the Adventist brand is not that we are known by the wrong things, but that we are not known by the main thing.

And what is that main thing? What should distinguish us? What should be our brand? Well, Ellen White mentions it in a familiar quote. “Of all professing Christians, Seventh-day Adventists should be foremost in uplifting Christ before the world” (Gospel Workers p.154).

Now I know that my survey is unscientific and anecdotal. I know that there are a number of ways to express the love of Christ. And I know that other churches and denominations might evoke the same kind of answers. But those churches are not my concern. It seems to me that over the 20 or so years that I’ve been asking this question, that somebody should have mentioned Jesus!

So, what do you think? What do you see when they say Adventist? Do we even have a problem, and if so, how do we change it?

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1. McLaughlin, Jerry. “ What is a Brand Anyway?” Forbes Online, December 21, 2011