Chapter 2
A Movement Not a Method: The Message We Share
There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world: and that is an idea whose time has come.1
—Victor Hugo
I travel a lot, and in my travels I fly often. Every time I pass through the metal detector at airports, I set it off. I then have to go through the process of personal screening. I stand in a glass cage hoping one of the security personnel hears the cry “male assist!” in time to get me through the process without missing my flight (airlines do not care that I have a PhD; when it is time to go, they leave with or without me!). When the attendant comes, I know the drill: sit down, right leg up, then left leg, stand up, arms extended with palms up, turn down the waistband, and then they do a pat down, which is pretty much a total invasion of my personal space. I am so accustomed to it by now it doesn’t bug me, since I have been experiencing this since 2001.
Why do I set it off? Because in 1998 I discovered I had a cracked hip and had to receive a titanium hip replacement. That will ruin your whole day, by the way. Notice I received the replacement in 1998, but did not start setting off the metal detectors until 2001. Why is that?
Because beginning in September of 2001 airports turned up the sensitivity of the metal detectors. Something happened to cause that, something everyone who reads this book will remember—9/11. You see, several years before then a 6' 7" Arab named Osama Bin Laden got more than a little provoked at the infidels of the West. He convinced grown men to come to the United States, spend years learning to fly airplanes, knowing they would kill themselves that infamous day when, using no weapons except box cutters, they turned commercial jets into missiles, killing thousands.
Bin Laden changed the way we live. And he did it without a massive army, without a nation under his charge. How did he do it? He started a movement, a movement that a small number believed in to the point they would spend years preparing to kill themselves for their cause. I am not commending the movement that has spread around the world as global terrorism. I am simply making the point that history has witnessed radical changes in society both for good or bad because of movements.
But go back 2,000 years. Look closely and you will see a band of believers, a den of disciples numbering no more than 120 people. Meeting in a large upper room, they had no military might, no economic power, nor representatives among the cultural elites of their day. But they had one Lord, one faith, one Spirit, and one mission. And you are reading this book because your life has been changed by the movement they started.
Movements change the world. At her best the Church can be described as a movement advancing through history. The story of evangelism in the history of the church is the story of a movement spread by people so consumed with love for their Lord they could not help but spread His message. Unfortunately, the history of the Church demonstrates more than a few times that the movement became lost in the institutions it created. But again and again, through reform movements or revival, or new missions advances and church-planting movements, believers unleashed evangelism in new and effective ways. Today the Church in the West stands in dire need of such a movement, a movement driven by a heart for the gospel.
What Is Evangelism?
Appearances are deceptive. Adding to a church roll does not in itself indicate biblical evangelism. Swelling numbers in a worship service does not guarantee the gospel is being preached. Talking about evangelism does not mean effective evangelism is occurring. What is evangelism? How can a person or church tell whether evangelism is biblical?
Karl Marx once said that the person who gives the definitions controls the movement. Evangelism means many things to many people in our day. Before we can go into any substantive discussion of evangelism, we must discover what the term means. Today the institutionalism of the conventional church has created a culture in which evangelism, if practiced at all, is done from a perspective that emphasizes greatly the work of the “professional clergy” and the work done within the four walls of the church building. If evangelism will be effective again in the West, we will move from an unbiblical clergy-laity division (if anything, we are all clergy, for we are all called to minister). Much will be said about this later, but ministers in the local church are to equip all believers to be about the ministry of serving Christ and sharing Christ (Eph 4:11–12).
What Evangelism Is Not
Before we can examine what evangelism is, let us consider what it is not.
The Mute Approach
People with this view suggest that evangelism is simply living a good, moral life. Certainly effective witnesses should live a moral life, a life worthy of our calling. But some believers go so far as to say that their lives will reflect Christ, so their words are not needed.
But if people look at you and see you are a good, moral person, how will they know Jesus is the reason? Might not a good Buddhist appear the same? They might think you just got a raise in salary. How will they know if we don’t tell them? “How can they hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:14). Evangelism includes who we are, but it is more.
The Numbers Game
Some people see evangelism as church membership recruitment. This is the “scalp-hunting,” “belt-notching,” or the “sheep-stealing” approach. “Scalp-hunting” is more accurate because I am not sure that churches steal sheep as much as they grow greener grass! But we must admit that some folks are more interested in getting a notch on their evangelistic gun belt than they are in people’s lives. They are more interested in recognition for their numbers than faithfulness to God.
Years ago a pastor told me as the evangelism leader that his goal was to lead his church to be the biggest church with the most baptisms in the state. I was not impressed, and I am convinced God was not impressed. To seek to be the biggest or the best often springs from a heart of pride rather than obedience to God.
Professionals Need Only Apply
According to this view, evangelism is a job for specialists only. Many believers who are convinced of the importance of evangelism are equally impressed that the pastor, staff, and itinerant evangelists are to accomplish the task. As long as we get the fish (unbelievers) to the big fish tank (the church building), the professional fisherman (the preacher) will catch them. This familiar story reminds us of the need for all to fish:
Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were hungry.
Week after week, month after month, and year after year, these who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.
Continually, they searched for new and better methods of fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. Further they said, “The fishing industry exists by fishing as fire exists by burning.” They loved slogans such as “Fishing is the task of every fisherman.” They sponsored special meetings called “Fishermen’s Campaigns” and “The Month for Fishermen to Fish.” They sponsored costly nationwide and worldwide congresses to discuss fishing and to promote fishing and hear about all the ways of fishing such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait had been discovered.
These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn’t do, however. They didn’t fish.
In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. The board hired staffs and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, and to decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee members did not fish.
Large, elaborate, and expensive training centers were built whose original and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years courses were offered on the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had doctorates in “fishology,” but the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing. Year after year, after tedious training, many were graduated and were given fishing licenses. They were sent to do full-time fishing, some to distant waters which were filled with fish.
Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. But like the fishermen back home, they never fished. Like the fishermen back home, they engaged in all kinds of other occupations. They built power plants to pump water for fish and tractors to plow new waterways. They made all kinds of equipment to travel here and there to look at fish hatcheries. Some also said that they wanted to be part of the fishing party, but they felt called to furnish fishing equipment. Others felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way so the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the fish know they were nice, land-loving neighbors and how loving and kind they were was enough.
After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity for Fishing,” one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So he quit his fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fishermen’s General Board as a person having considerable experience.
Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen’s clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master who said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”?
Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who don’t catch fish were really not fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he never catches a fish? Is one following if he isn’t fishing?2 Evangelism involves everyone in the work.
Cop-out
Some believe that if the church is filled with sweet people and things are going well, evangelism just happens. Evangelism is not everything we do in church. Intentional, focused witness matters. Not everything in the church has to be explicitly evangelistic. In fact, many things won’t be. However, I have seen too many churches call certain events or emphases evangelistic when they are not. Churches should give attention to explicitly evangelistic emphases and distinguish between those activities that are designed for evangelism and those that are not.
The worst example of this was a church where I preached years ago. The small rural church had baptized no one in years. The pastor showed me the crowning glory of his ministry—they had added a steeple! He called it “church growth.” There is nothing wrong with a steeple, but the adding of a physical structure enhances evangelism only when it leads to the evangelization of lost people!
Evangelism is the communication of the gospel by saved people to lost people. It is not inviting people to church or getting people to be religious. Evangelism, in its essence, is none of the above.
While pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pasadena, Texas, Darrell Robinson told the congregation he could not reach the masses for Christ; instead, it would take all the members’ involvement. He particularly challenged the leadership, including the Sunday school director, Women’s Missionary Union director, and others to participate in a lay witness training seminar. The WMU director told Robinson, “Pastor, I will come to the WIN Lay Evangelism School. I will learn how to teach our women to witness. But you must know this. I cannot witness myself. I have tried and failed. But I will learn how to teach others.”
After the four nights of training, this woman’s team and all the others went into the community to witness. She did not have the opportunity to witness. But God had given her a burden through the training for her beautician. At her next appointment she sat in the chair, flipping through an evangelistic tract.
The hairdresser asked, “What are you reading?”
“I’m reading a little booklet about Jesus. May I share it with you?”
They read through the booklet, and the hairdresser was interested, expressing her desire to be saved. How did the WMU director respond? She freaked out! She left, drove to the church, and rushed into Robinson’s office in tears. She told her pastor the situation, pleading with him to go draw the net. Robinson said he would go, but only if she went as well. The two plus another man from the church visited the hairdresser and her husband. Within 30 minutes, both had given their lives to Christ! Then the new believer said something that changed the WMU director’s life.
“You have invited me to church,” the hairdresser said. “You have invited me to Sunday school. You have asked me to come hear your pastor preach. But you have never told me about Jesus. Why?”
The WMU director made a commitment to Christ at that moment to tell others about Christ. She eventually led her hairdresser’s son, a neighbor, and then her own father to Jesus. From that time on, she continued to share Christ faithfully. She later noted three reasons she had failed to witness. First, she did not know God expected every Christian to witness, thinking it was a job for specialists. Second, she didn’t think she had a valid testimony. It was not sensational, so she thought no one would be interested. Finally, she simply did not know how. She needed someone to teach her.3 Biblical Terms
The Green Bay Packers had just lost to a team they should have easily defeated. Coach Vince Lombardi, football in hand, told his players, “Men, today we will get back to the basics—this is a football.” Understanding the basics in evangelism begins with, and never moves past, the Word of God. A variety of terms demonstrate fully the New Testament teaching about evangelism.
Communicate Good News
The basic word for “evangelism” in the New Testament is the term transliterated into the English as “evangel” (noun) or “evangelize” (verb). The verb form is seen several ways. The term euangelizo means “I communicate good news.” You can see the prefix eu, which means “good.” Think of other words that begin with eu: “eulogy”—a good word spoken of someone at a funeral; “euphoria”—a good feeling. The main part of the word evangelism contains the English term “angel,” a messenger. So to evangelize is to tell a good message. In the New Testament, the term implies a good message, as in a victory. While some people might attempt to make us feel as though evangelism imposes on the privacy of others, let us never forget we are telling the good news—Jesus has conquered sin, death, and the grave!
This verb form is found 33 times in the New Testament and is common in Luke’s Gospel, the Acts, and Paul’s Epistles. Often it is translated as “preach the gospel!” It is normally in the middle voice, which means, “I, myself, tell the gospel.” Some examples of this verb (emphasis added):
• “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18).
• “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor 1:17).
The noun form is euangelion and is found 76 times in the New Testament. It can be translated “gospel,” “good news,” or “evangel.” It emphasizes not just any good news but a specific message. Paul particularly used this term a great deal. Our primary message is the specific news that Jesus died and rose again. Paul told the Corinthians: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached unto you” (1 Cor 15:1 KJV). He then summarized the gospel with the death, burial, and resurrection. There are two essential issues that confront every person: sin and death. On the cross Jesus dealt with the sin problem; in the empty tomb He defeated death. We have good news to share!
We see the verb and noun forms in Rom 1:15–16: “So I am eager to preach the good news to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”
Another interesting use of this term is the expression euangelistes. It is found three times in the New Testament and is translated “evangelist.” Philip is called the evangelist (Acts 21:8). Ephesians 4:11 calls the “evangelist” (note, not evangelism) one of the spiritual gifts. Paul exhorted Timothy (and all ministers) to do “the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim 4:5). So evangelism means we have a specific, victorious message to tell.
We need to make evangelism GOOD NEWS again. We seem to think it is bad news; otherwise we might talk about the gospel more. My friend Tom Johnston teaches at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and has a background in French. He discovered years ago that our translations over the centuries have translated “evangelize” not as “share good news” but as “preach,” which only causes believers to think more of our witness as something to be done by formal preachers. He also recognized that the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the one used in this text (and my preference), broke ranks with history and correctly translated this verb (see, for instance, Acts 8:25,35; 11:20). Accuracy in translation is important here because some may assume evangelism is solely the work of “preachers” by reading “preach” instead of “tell the good news.”
Herald a Message
A second term is kerusso and its related forms. This verb form means “to proclaim in the manner of a herald.” It implies the declaration of an event. The verb form is found 61 times in the New Testament. While not always referring to proclaiming the gospel, often it is used in that regard. In fact, at times kerusso and euangelizomai are used as synonyms, as in Rom 10:14–15. On 12 occasions the expression kerussein to euangelion, “preach the gospel,” is found in the New Testament, showing the close relation between the terms.
The noun kerygma is found eight times in the New Testament. It means “the proclamation.” This term has received special attention in the modern era due particularly to C. H. Dodd’s book, The Apostolic Preaching and Its Development.
Witness or Testify
Notice the words translated martureo (verb) and marturion (noun). Today we think of a martyr as someone who died for the faith. The Greek word martyr literally means “a witness.” The term is similar to the English word, for a witness was someone who gave testimony to things they had experienced. Peter declared, “We are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). But a witness gave testimony through words and actions. Many early believers died because of their commitment to Christ, leading to the expression martyr to describe such faithful witnesses. For many early Christians, it was better to die than to stop testifying about Christ.
The reason many believers today do not attempt to share their faith is because they have gotten over their salvation! The early believers did not—indeed they could not—get past the radical transformation they experienced through the gospel.
Become Disciples, or Christ-Followers
Matheteusate is the main verb in the Great Commission passage, Matt 28:19–20: “Go . . . and make disciples.” The verb in this passage is an imperative, a command. The Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion! We are not merely to proclaim good news; we are to make disciples.
It is interesting that these terms can be seen in Great Commission passages in the Gospels and Acts:
• good news, gospel (Mark 16:15)
• proclaim (Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47)
• witness (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8)
• make disciples (Matt 28:19)
There are other words used at times in regard to evangelism, such as laleo, “I speak,” or the times we read of Paul “reasoning” with others about the gospel, but the above are central to understanding the New Testament meaning of evangelism. Other expressions give insight into the message of the early church also. Followers of Christ were called to be fishers of men (Matt 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20), salt of the earth (Matt 5:13); light of the world (Matt 5:14), fruit-bearers (John 15:8); and ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20).
Definitions
On the basis of these biblical terms, and considering the practice of the early church and of our Lord, we can determine a succinct definition of evangelism. Here are some definitions to consider:
Anglican
“To evangelize is so to present Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, that men shall come to put their trust in God through Him, to accept Him as their Saviour, and serve Him as their Lord in the fellowship of His Church.”4 The last phrase was originally “serve Him as their King” but has been changed since its inception in 1918. Lewis Drummond
Drummond, who taught evangelism for many years at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Beeson Divinity School, as well as serving as president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote many books on evangelism. He gave an excellent definition of evangelism:
A concerted effort in the power of the Holy Spirit to confront unbelievers with the truth about Jesus Christ and the claims of our Lord with a view to leading unbelievers into repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and, thus, into the fellowship of His church so they may grow in the Spirit.5 D. T. Niles
One of the most familiar, simple definitions came from D. T. Niles: “One beggar telling another where to get food [or bread, as some put it].” This definition is helpful in that it emphasizes the humility necessary for the believer to have when witnessing. We are not better than those to whom we witness; we have met Jesus, and He has changed us. The reason many unsaved people think those of us in the church are “holier than thou” in our attitude is because too many of us are holier than thou. However, this definition is weak in that it says nothing about the content of the bread that we share. Taken in its larger context in Niles’s book, the definition is stronger; left alone, this comprises an incomplete definition.6 If we forget what the “bread” is, as many have, we may have humility, but no message. The Church Growth Movement
The church growth movement influenced many in the latter half of the twentieth century. It offered a three-tiered look at the process of evangelism.7 The three components are these: • P-1, Presence. For example, agricultural, medical missions.
• P-2, Proclamation. Presenting the gospel in an understandable manner.
• P-3, Persuasion. Second Corinthians 5:11 encourages hearers to respond.
An analogy for this definition is a house. In presence evangelism, people’s needs are met; they see a demonstration of the gospel, and, therefore, a foundation is built on which the gospel can be communicated. Because the church growth movement began on the mission field, its importance is obvious. Cross-cultural issues must be considered in a viable presentation of the gospel. Increasingly, in a post-Christian or even an anti-Christian culture in America, presence evangelism has a place. Servant evangelism (covered later) fits in nicely in our context. Proclamation evangelism, to continue the house analogy, allows the light of the gospel to penetrate through the windows. People not only need a foundation, but they also need direction. The gospel can never be presented by a demonstration only; there must also be a proclamation. Finally, persuasion evangelism leads people into the relationship they need with Christ. One can live in a house and not be family; by persuading people to follow Christ, we are inviting them to join God’s family.
There are strengths and weaknesses to this definition. The weakness comes when believers define evangelism at the P-1 level only. We must build bridges, but we must also do more. Still others stop at the P-2 level. This definition is complete when we see it as a whole. That being said, it is positive in that when we are stopped short of a complete presentation of the gospel, we know we have at least provided some aspect of the gospel that the Holy Spirit can use. In other words, we should always seek to present Christ through presence, proclamation, and persuasion; but when we cannot, we can be thankful that on some level we have presented Christ.
Campus Crusade for Christ
For many years the definition of evangelism by this parachurch group has been: “Presenting Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.” This definition has guided the witness of Campus Crusade for Christ, the largest parachurch organization on earth and one of the most evangelistic groups in Christian history. More recently, Darrell Robinson, in his book and seminar, People Sharing Jesus, has used this definition.
This simple definition has been liberating for a generation of witnesses. It emphasizes the vital role of the Holy Spirit in the witnessing encounter. It also recognizes that our job is to share Christ; God alone converts people. Too many believers fail to witness because they define successful witnessing as harvesting only, yet the New Testament says a great deal about planting and watering as well. As a friend once said to me, we must get people as excited about fishing as they are about catching. While our ultimate goal is always to win people to Christ, this definition reminds us that God expects us to be faithful. This is something that every believer can do.
I am convinced that God is less concerned about the number of people we win than the number of times we share the gospel. We cannot control the response of those to whom we witness; in fact, if a person is saved, it is because God saves them, not us! But we do have control over the number of times we share our faith. It is certainly appropriate for a church to set evangelism or baptismal goals; however, in the case of the individual believer, a better goal to set is the number of times to share the gospel with others.
This takes the pressure off of us to win a certain number and allows us to share the pure gospel without compromise. But there is a better reason: If we share Christ often enough, we will lead someone to Christ! I have seen this over and over again in the lives of students who are required to do witness reports. The reason many Christians have never won anyone to Christ is because they have witnessed very little. My prayer is that in the pages to come you will be encouraged and instructed in evangelism to the point that you will spend the rest of your life advancing God’s movement on this earth.
Questions for Consideration
1. How would you define evangelism?
2. How does your definition compare to what you have read?
3. What are your unchanging convictions concerning evangelism?
4. How are these convictions seen in your daily life?
NOTES
1. Cited in M. Frost and A. Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003), 165.
2. D. Robinson, People Sharing Jesus (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 21–22.
3. D. Robinson, Total Church Life (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1997), 177–78.
4.Commission on Evangelism (Westminster, England: The Press and Publications Board of the Church Assembly, 1944), 1.
5. L. Drummond, The Word of the Cross (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1992), 9.
6. See D. T. Niles, That They May Have Life (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1951), 96.
7. “Evangelism: P-1, P-2, P-3,” in Evangelism and Church Growth, E. Towns, ed. (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1995), 212–16.
) 21 times in his epistles (with an additional two uses in Hebrews).