Evangelism

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When the church stops being the church.

What would happen if you went into your local Carvel, Baskin Robbins, or Dairy Queen and were told that they no longer serve ice cream?

What would happen if you went to your local quickie lube-change location and they advised you that they no longer do oil changes.

What if you went to your local library and the librarian informed you that they no longer lend out books?

Would you not likely wonder why these places remain open if their main staple and reason for existence is no longer offered?

Well, would you believe me if I told you that this is exactly what’s happening in some Western churches? Although these churches left their primary purpose for existence (to glorify God) long ago, they are now ceasing to provide their other main purpose for existence: The preaching of the Gospel.

Welcome to the new age of pseudo-Christianity in which the “church” is no longer in the business of preaching the Gospel or converting souls!

Don’t believe it’s possible? Think it would be like Starbucks refusing to sell coffee? Well, check out the following three examples.

EXHIBIT A:

At St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in California, their page on What is Our Mission? boldly declares:

Our emphasis is not on converting souls to Jesus so that individuals will be rescued from hell. Our emphasis is on partnership with Jesus Christ, and our challenge as followers of Jesus is to live our lives his way—believing in what he believed in, loving what he loved, opposing what he opposed.

This is what you get when a heretical, apostate, liberal church is too busy caring for the environment and boasting about being “an inclusive community with open arms and open minds” (code for we ignore God’s clear teachings against homosexuality), instead of following the commands of Jesus and seeking the salvation of men. Hmmm, kind of reminds me of Romans 1:18-32.


EXHIBIT B:

At a Calvary Chapel in Nevada, their “motorcycle ministry” has a page with the following:

Are You thinking? “Hey I like to ride [motorcycles] but that Jesus stuff is not for me”. No worries, we offer a safe group riding environment free of alcohol and drugs. We promise not to “preach” to you but please know if you need prayer we can pray with you and if you have any questions we will gladly answer them.

That “Jesus stuff“??? We expect the world to speak in such a flippant manner about the sacred and holy things of God, but a church? Seriously, is this any way for a church to be speaking about our Lord and Savior? Could a truly regenerated believer refer to their Savior and the one true Faith with such disrespect? And bear in mind that this is coming from an extension of Calvary Chapel that’s identified as a “ministry.”

Sadly, it doesn’t surprise me the least bit that a “church ministry” that refers to the precious Lamb that was slain (and His Bride) as “that Jesus Stuff” would then have to post the following disclaimer for participants in their church “motorcycle ministry” rides:

* Requirements to join us in an open ride: Maintain Current motorcycle endorsement (not permit), registration and insurance as required by law. PLEASE NO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS. Thank You!

Shouldn’t no alcohol and drugs be a foregone conclusion for a “church ministry”? I wonder if Chuck Smith knows about this.

***** UPDATE *****

Since the publishing of this post, Calvary Chapel has changed their candid “Jesus stuff” remark so as to not be so revealing. But being unequally yoked for the sake of hanging out to ride bikes together is apparently still acceptable.

EXHIBIT C:

According to The Christian Post, the recent Episcopal gathering in Baltimore, Maryland for the Everyone, Everywhere World Mission Conference had the following startling revelation on evangelism:

On day two of the conference, the Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, an Episcopal missionary and author, spoke about working with Muslims. He urged participants to “bridge this chasm of misunderstanding” between Christianity and Islam by not focusing on converting the Muslim, but rather to form an interfaith friendship that explores the commonality between the two faiths.

Chandler said Muslims who are pressured into converting to Christianity suffer what he calls a “total break with society.” He gave as example real stories of Christian converts from Islam in Senegal who were exiled from their community when they followed Christ.

“They ended up getting Jesus, but the rest of their life was hell,” said Chandler, who had lived in Senegal with his parents who were Christian missionaries.

The Episcopal missionary recommended Christians to use the Five Pillars of Islam to introduce the common religious heritage between Christianity and Islam when approaching Muslims. The central common factor is that Jesus was a Middle Eastern man whom Islam reveres.

So what you’re saying “Reverend” Chandler is that the best way to love a Muslim is to let him die in his sins and burn in Hell forever? Wow, what a noble thing to do.

Ichabod!

Ichabod!

Ichabod!

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Street preachers boldly go into the wanna-be anti-Christ’s church and engage the deceived.

For those who watched the videos in this post on the false prophet who claims to be Christ and wondered to yourself how could anyone believe that stuff, here’s your chance to see how this anti-Christ’s followers justify their belief. I haven’t seen this much Scripture twisting since the last time I talked to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Same lies, different cult.

Although there seems to be a lot of disorder, and Scripture is simply thrown back and forth, I do commend these guys for their valiant effort to confront the error of this cult (I wish there were those willing to confront Joseph Smith and Charles Taze Russel when they began their cults).

Parts one and two of the video take place inside the cult’s church building. Parts three and four take place outside. All in all it is a very interesting debate (and I sure do miss that south Florida rain).

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

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Conversation with a biblically illiterate Roman Catholic.

Veronica, (a member of Jim McGhee’s Catholic church), talks to Trish about what she “feels,” “hopes,” “thinks,” and “believes.” Veronica may sleep well at night having convinced herself of her version of “truth” derived from her opinions (but definitely not Scripture), but she will one day face a righteous, just, and holy God who will not simply overlook sin or anyone’s willful ignorance of His revealed triuth.

It is for the profound biblical ignorance displayed in this video that this blog is in existence.

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Quotes (299)

Paris Reidhead If I had my way, I would declare a moratorium on public preaching of “the plan of salvation” in America for one to two years. Then I would call on everyone who has use of the airways and the pulpits to preach the holiness of God, the righteousness of God and the law of God, until sinners would cry out, “What must we do to be saved?” Then I would take them off in a corner and whisper the gospel to them. Such drastic action is needed because we have gospel-hardened a generation of sinners by telling them how to be saved before they have any understanding why they need to be saved.

– Paris Reidhead

1919 – 1992

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How to witness to a Jehovah’s Witness.

ray-comfort.jpg In this 14 minute audio clip from Way of the Master Radio (WOTMR), Todd Friel plays an audio clip of Ray Comfort witnessing to a Jehovah’s Witness who came to his door. This was not a dramatization nor a reenactment, but the actual conversation recorded as it happened.

It was a great discourse and the gospel was shared so simply yet profoundly that this same approach could be applied to anyone else in any other false religion. I strongly encourage you to listen to this short clip.

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Words are Necessary

Random pastors, an elder in my church, and a special breed of drunk “Christians” (who try to pass themselves off as expert advisers as they stumble out of bars) all give me eerily similar advice: my evangelism methods are all wrong.

The advice I’ve heard so often seems to be gaining in popularity—along with a ministry dedicated to wimpy evangelism. Doable Evangelism is dedicated to “re-inventing evangelism.” (I didn’t realize it needed to be re-invented; I’m convinced God got it right the first time in the Bible.)

Doable Evangelism’s premise is that because most Christians aren’t gifted evangelists, it’s okay if they choose to do good deeds rather than preach the gospel. I agree that good deeds are important and commanded of Christians—but doing kind actions alone without speaking words of truth is not evangelism. I do agree with Doable Evangelism’s belief that much of evangelism in America isn’t very biblical. We don’t eliminate unbiblical evangelism, however, by espousing new, unbiblical methods.

Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” This verse contains the diagnosis for everyone who has a misunderstanding of biblical evangelism. The gospel is the message that saves!

Preaching the gospel is not necessarily easy or even enjoyable (though I have found it to be fun, and I can attest that Philemon 6 is true), but it is commanded. We must not be ashamed of the gospel, unwilling to risk anything for Jesus.

Can you really say you’re trying to be an example to others by living a Christian life and doing good while being disobedient to Jesus’ command to preach the gospel? And if you’re not telling others using words—and just hoping they’ll read your mind as you do kind deeds—are you really living a Christian life?

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Half-Price Million-Dollar Bills

Livingwaters.com has cut the price of its million-dollar bill gospel tracts from $6 for 100 tracts to $3 through the end of May. These may be the easiest tracts to pass out en masse or to start conversations. Here are a couple of lines you can use when passing them out:

  • Can you make change for this?
  • Thanks a million! (This is ideal for cashiers or people you tip.)
  • It’s great when you get the change.
  • Or the old standby: Did you get one of these?

Take advantage of the parades and festivals in the summer to hand these to people; you may be surprised how many you can give away very easily. Most people smile or laugh when they see the tract, and then become curious as to its purpose. Consider saying, “There’s a message on the back I’d love you to read.”

If an individual appears ready to have a conversation, hand him or her the tract and say, “The million dollar question is on the back.” Usually the person will read the million dollar question, but if he or she doesn’t, you might say, “You’re supposed to ask me what the million dollar question is.” The question—“Will you go to heaven when you die?”—can lead to a great gospel conversation.

You might wonder if tracts really are effective. Take a look at the video below. It’s an amazing story.

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Download your free cult flyer here.

It was the spring of 2006 and I kept seeing Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses going door to door throughout the neighborhoods of my community. It got me thinking: What are the local Christian Churches doing to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to combat the spread of false doctrine in our community? Additionally I pondered about what I could personally do.

I then came across the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website (www.CARM.org). They had a downloadable cult warning flyer. Eureka! This was exactly what I didn’t know I was looking for and exactly what we needed here in my town. I quickly went to work on my own version of a flyer and several months later, the new flyer was birthed.

Now, in the spring of 2008, I have updated and produced the second version of the cult flyer and am now offering it for you to download for free to distribute in your neighborhood.

Flyer: Who’s Really Knocking at Your Door?

For those who prefer a more professional look, a brother in the Lord from Australia produced a professional version of the flyer for me to make available to all of you. You can download it here.

I also encourage you to download my free tracts to insert in each of the flyers. There are three different tracts (front and back) on one sheet of paper.
Tract: 3 Things You Won’t Find in the Bible  /  Are You Self-Righteous?  /  Priceless
Simply print the cult flyer on 11 x 14 paper (front and back). Then print the tract (also front and back on 11 x 14 paper). Cut the tract into three, fold the cult flyer and insert one tract into each flyer. Then put a hole in the top with a hole punch, put a rubber band through it and it’s ready to be hung on doors.
I am currently working on six new tracts to download and insert in the cult flyer and will make them available in the near future.

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Hope in San Mateo and encouragement for pastors.

Loretta Heiden posted this encouraging piece on her blog. Her brief story shows that there are still some youth pastors out there (albeit very few) who know that their job is to feed the sheep and not entertain the goats.

I also wanted to take this time to thank and encourage all pastors who are faithful to the Word and to the flock and haven’t sold-out. I know that at times it may seem that you’re alone as you face the daunting task of preaching the whole counsel of God (unaltered and undiluted) to a mass of people who would rather just be entertained, but don’t give up. There are some of us out here that are grateful for your commitment and hard work and we salute your faithfulness in the Lord. Never give up, never give in, never compromise and never forget, your reward will be great!

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Creation in the Park

Right across the street from the local high school is a city park, and every day after school there are 50-100 kids that go hang out in the park. My friend had the idea to make copies of some DVDs on creation by Kent Hovind (he encourages free distribution), and go hand them out. We also wrote a tract for the occasion concerning several questions that evolutionists can’t answer, and the gospel. We gave out most of the stuff and had a few good conversations. Hopefully the kids will watch their DVD and get interested in the topic and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A couple of things struck me about the whole thing. We would ask the kids if they believe in evolution, and one kid said that he thinks we’re going to evolve into gods. A couple of them thought God used evolution to create everything. The vast majority of them said they didn’t believe in evolution, but believed God created us. I’m sure most of them have some crazy ideas about God, but I was reminded that it’s obvious that there must be a Creator, and anyone who denies it is lacking the common sense of a teen-ager.

The other thing is that we invited our church to get involved, and they found an excuse not to get involved. I invited people from church individually, and none of them were interested. I continue to be fascinated that so many Christians just refuse to get involved in sharing their faith. Don’t they believe hell is real? Don’t they care to be obedient to the Great Commission? How much easier can I make it for them? I don’t get it.

It was a fun way to share our faith, and I would recommend it to anyone. We plan on returning on a regular basis. If anyone knows of other DVDs on creation that are free of copyright, I’d appreciate a heads-up on that.

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Does Allah Think Mary is God?

According to Muslims, The Koran was spoken to the angel Gabriel, who gave it to Muhammad to write down. While I wouldn’t expect Allah to say the Trinity exists, I would certainly think he would be familiar with the doctrine. But, according to the Koran, apparently Allah believed the Trinity was the Father, the Son, and Mary.

Surah 5.116 says, “And behold! Allah will say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah’?” He will say: “Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say)…”

I realize the Trinity can be difficult to understand, but how could the almighty creator of the universe be confused by it?

Muhammad was illiterate; even if he was not, he didn’t have a Bible in his native language. Maybe if he had a Bible in Arabic, and someone to read it to him, he could have been a little more accurate about what Christians believe when he composed the Koran out of whole cloth.

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Australians Arrested for Preaching the Gospel

Two open-air preachers, on Australia’s Gold Coast, who have been preaching in the same location for two years were arrested last Sunday, April 13. I certainly don’t intend to liken their situation to Christians in other countries who are being martyred, or have no freedom, but for this to happen in a free country like Australia is shocking to me. The men responded in a manner I could only hope to if I was in the same situation–witnessing to the police and fellow prisoners.

You can see their story in their own words here: Operation 513 Battle Log

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The Miraculous Evolution of Bats

Bats are the only flying mammal. Many bat species are also visually blind, but with echolocation (sonar), they can “see” better than humans.

Evolutionists have zero plausible theories about how bats evolved. However I have heard one rather silly theory that bats evolved from shrews. Did the intermediate species gradually grow really long fingers on their front feet, dreaming of the day when its progeny could gracefully fly? What advantage would really long fingers have? Why did the flaps of skin appear between the fingers? How did the bat learn to fly?

Why did the shrews lose their amazingly complex ability to see, and how could such an amazingly complex ability to use sonar come about? How long did bats live without their sight before they developed their sonar? Bat sonar is much more complex and powerful than any man-made sonar. No one has any idea how this could have evolved.

Atheists accuse creationists of having a God of the gaps—using God to explain the gaps in our knowledge. If an atheist persists in saying bats must have evolved when there is no evidence, or even a theory of how it could have happened, who is really the one with blind faith?