Chapter 13
The Potency of Consistency: Character
The transformed character of Christian men and women is the key to world evangelization at the end of the twentieth century and beyond.1
—Leighton Ford
In the first century, the changed lives of believers played a vital role in their witness. Their fearlessness in the face of persecution, conviction before skeptics, integrity in a culture of ungodliness, and boldness to proclaim the gospel grew from their character. One striking characteristic of the first Christians was their reflection of Christ. The truth of the gospel proclaimed by a person devoid of character is the epitome of hypocrisy.
While in Houston, we lived only 30 minutes from Six Flags. So when my son Josh turned six, I took him to the theme park. My zeal in taking my firstborn to his first theme park clouded my judgment. I took Josh up the Skyscreamer, a ride that lifts you up several stories and then drops you like a rock. About one millisecond into the drop, I knew it was a mistake. Josh was screaming and crying, scared to death. I promised him we would never take that ride again. That was not a Father of the Year moment for me.
I love adventure, but we all can push our limits. Christianity is the greatest adventure you could ever live but one fraught with challenges. Satan lurks nearby always and will wait 20 years for one chance to wreck your testimony. Only the most disciplined person can traverse the path to godliness and be all that God has called him to be, and that only with the Spirit’s help. Let’s face it: living the Christian life is not hard—it is impossible! It is if we do so in our power. We dare not follow Christ frivolously as if the choices we make have no consequence for our faith and our witness.
What are the marks of those who live the Christian life to the fullest? This chapter examines the very practical matters that make a big difference in evangelism. Skills, methods, and experience in evangelism are good; doctrine is essential. But the gospel presented by a believer whose life exemplifies the character of Christ is best.
The apostle Paul models the character required of the witness. You cannot separate the preaching of Paul from the character of his life. In fact, Paul consistently referred to his character as a demonstration of the reality of his message. You see this clearly when he addressed the leaders of the church at Ephesus (see Acts 20). I like to call this the first seminary class, or at least the first pastor’s conference. OK, that is a bit of a stretch, but at this point Paul gives training to ministers of the church at Ephesus, and character lies at the heart of what he says. This passage offers a glimpse into the role of the relationship between a person’s lifestyle and his or her witness.
If there is one word that summarizes how we must reach this culture—from the Millennials, to the Generation Xers, to the aging Boomers, to the retiring Builders, it is this word: real. Be real. Believers must be real. Our culture is sick of phonies. The outing of ministers guilty of everything from immorality to greed has become commonplace. The world is not looking for Christians who are perfect; they are looking for Christians who are real, who demonstrate a changed life, whose lives give honor to Christ.
Some believers fail to witness because they know there are issues in their lives that bring reproach to the name of Christ. While some mistakenly think they have to be on some higher spiritual plane before they can witness, there are issues of obedience we must face to be effective in personal evangelism.
In a post-Christian world, people need a demonstration of the gospel that accompanies an explanation of its truth. Some people don’t attend our churches because they are afraid they may become like us! They are still without excuse, but we are also accountable for our behavior. I agree with those who say the chief mark of character is self-control. Great saints in history have been marked by an awareness of the role of Christian character.
The Life of the Witness
• Robert Murray McCheyne: “Lord, make me as holy as a saved sinner can be.”2
• R. A. Torrey: “Power is lost through self-indulgence. The one who would have God’s power must lead a life of self-denial.”3
• Spurgeon: “Whatever ‘call’ a man may pretend to have, if he has not been called to holiness, he certainly has not been called to the ministry.”4 Integrity
What are the building blocks of Christian character? Paul’s counsel in Acts 20 guides us. He told the Ephesian Christians: “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time” (Acts 20:18). He was not bragging; he was stating reality. They had watched him three years. Paul went on to say, “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing” (Acts 20:33). One of my best friends in the ministry made this statement to one of my classes: “You will spend half your life in ministry just staying out of trouble.”
We should be aware of those areas that specifically pull at our integrity. My wife cannot watch violent movies because of issues from her childhood. I grew up in a very stable, loving home, so violence in film does not affect me the same way (no, I do not watch slasher movies). Satan knows your areas of weakness, so you and I should be on guard. This is especially true of evangelism. The first thing an individual, a church, or a denomination loses is commitment to evangelism. Only a life demonstrating the character of Christ will keep evangelism as a priority. D. L. Moody, the great evangelist, knew this. He once said that “character is what you are in the dark.”5 If our motives are impure, they will eventually be discovered. Paul’s evangelism was consistent with his life.
G. Campbell Morgan told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to the actor: “What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all.”
Macready replied: “This is quite simple. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction.”6
A more positive picture of the impact of integrity is told by Duewel:
A British nobleman was passing through a village in Cornwall, England, and after searching in vain for a place to purchase alcoholic beverages, asked a villager, “How is it that I cannot get a glass of liquor in this wretched village of yours?” The old man, recognizing the rank of the stranger, respectfully took off his cap and bowed. . . . “My lord, something over a hundred years ago a man named John Wesley came to these parts.” The peasant then turned and walked away.7 Humility
Paul said to the Ephesians that he served the Lord with great humility (Acts 20:19). In ministry, the greatest temptation is the desire for status. That is one of the major hindrances to evangelism in the church. Many churches today are hindered in their evangelism because key laypersons as well as ministry staff are more concerned with their personal standing than the evangelistic growth of the Lord’s church. Pride hinders evangelism.
When we are young and opportunities come our way, we typically say, “Why me, Lord?” surprised that God would save and use people like us. But as we become experienced, educated, and inflated, we are more tempted to say, “Why not me, Lord?” wondering why we were overlooked for this or that position.
I was brought to tears by a student in my spiritual awakening course. A big, strong, handsome guy who had been radically saved for only three years, Brad was a bona fide “Jesus freak.” In our prayer time, Brad shared with the class that the church he attended had called him to be a youth intern. Most in that class were pastors or were serving the Lord in a variety of staff positions beyond “intern.” But this was Brad’s first position. With a gleam in his eye, and childlike wonder, he told the class, “I feel like a lottery pick in the NBA draft. I can’t believe a church would ask me to serve on its staff.” Brad’s humility and awe at the call of God is a glowing example of a humble life.
My heroes are men like Roy Fish, my major professor at Southwestern Seminary, a man of God; Robert Coleman, who wrote The Master Plan of Evangelism; the late Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ; and Billy Graham. Why have these men served Christ so well for an entire lifetime? Because they have humility. Humility helps us finish well.
On the other hand, I have too often seen young ministers with a great deal of ability crash and burn because they lacked humility. Once a young student came to me, announcing boldly how the little church he had served as interim thought he was such a great preacher that they declared he would be the next Billy Graham. He lasted one semester in seminary and soon was out of the ministry. If you find yourself constantly talking about your achievements more than your need for Jesus, you live in great danger. Humility recognizes we cannot live without Christ.
Passion
Paul served the Lord with tears (Acts 20:19). He told the Ephesians, “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears” (Acts 20:31). See the passion of Paul as he prepared to go to Jerusalem, knowing chains were waiting (Acts 20:22–24). For what are you passionate? What drives you? What causes you great joy? Is it a passion for God? You will never overcome the rejection that comes with evangelism apart from a passion for God.
We have been wired with passion. Passion is not a reflection of personality. I am a type A and pretty hyper. My wife is very quiet and meek. But her passion for Jesus is every bit as strong as mine. Jonathan Edwards wrote an entire treatise about the vital role of our affections. We are all passionate; the question is for what are we most passionate? Are we driven by those things that would honor God? How do I find my passion? How can I use that for the gospel? What do you talk about in and think about in your spare time? What consumes your thoughts? That is your passion. Another way to think about your passion comes from looking at extremes. What brings you the greatest joy? I get great delight when a student or believer suddenly “gets it” about the gospel, someone who suddenly realizes God can use them for His glory. My passion is for teaching.
On the other hand, what brings you great anger? I do not mean when you do not get your way (which is why we usually get mad). I mean what gives you righteous indignation, like the time Jesus cleared the temple? It drives me crazy to see believers caught up in the machinery of the institutional church, lives set on spiritual auto-pilot, with no yearning for God. It bugs me that so many believers miss the great thrill of taking risks for the gospel. So, my passion has driven me to teach evangelism.
People who have been used of God, particularly in times of great revival, came from different backgrounds, traditions, and educational experiences. Yet they had in common a deep passion for God. One thing I try to do at least once a year is read a biography of a great saint—someone like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, or D. L. Moody. I look for the reason God used them so effectively.
One thing I’ve discovered about these people is that they all had a passion for God. They were very zealous toward their heavenly Father. Consider what Whitefield, that great preacher in the First Great Awakening, wrote in his journal: “I was honored today with having a few stones, dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead cats thrown at me.”8
What about Paul? He had a passion for evangelism: “I did not shrink back from proclaiming to you anything that was profitable, or from teaching it to you in public and from house to house.” (Acts 20:20). Again, let’s compare this passion to Whitefield. Whitefield said, “God forbid that I should travel with anyone a quarter of an hour without speaking to them about Christ.”9 What about passion for the gospel? Paul said, “I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:21). Consider that monk, Martin Luther. See Luther standing before the Diet of Worms and listen to what he said: “My conscience is captive to the word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”10
I’m convinced that the main reason many Christians never witness is that we have gotten over Jesus. It’s just that simple.
Consider what Jonathan Edwards, that brilliant Puritan, said: “Two things exceedingly needful in ministers as they would go about any great matters to advance the kingdom of Christ are zeal and resolution. . . . A man of but ordinary capacity will do more with zeal and resolution than one of ten times the parts in learning without them. More may be done in a few days or at least weeks than can be done without them in many years. Those fewer possessed of them carry the day in almost all affairs.”11
People may listen to the preacher’s preaching, but they will follow his passion. Puritan pastor Richard Baxter wrote: “That will be most in their ears, which is most in your hearts.”12 Duewel wrote: “A passionless Christianity will not put out the fires of hell. The best way to fight a raging forest fire is with fire.”13 He recorded the passion of others as well: “When William Booth . . . was asked by the king of England what the ruling force of his life was, he replied, ‘Sir, some men’s passion is for gold, other men’s passion is for fame, but my passion is for souls.’ ”14 Purity
Paul’s testimony to the Ephesian elders (see Acts 20:26–34) is a model of purity. A life of personal holiness and purity is essential for effective soul winning.
We all must keep ourselves in an environment where we are open to correction, from accountability on the Internet to accountability in our daily lives. I had the privilege of hosting a Paul–Timothy conference in Houston during 1995. Thirty handpicked young leaders sat at the feet of three effective ministers: John Morgan of Sagemont Church in Houston, John Bisagno of Houston’s First Baptist, and Fenton Moorhead of the Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land, Texas. Heed the words of John Bisagno: “My father-in-law, with three earned doctorates, a Baptist preacher, said only 1 out of 10 men who started in ministry at 21 is in it at 65. I didn’t believe it. I wrote the names of 25 men I knew in college. Today only 5 survived, and we’re not 65 yet.”
My anecdotal observations have confirmed these numbers. Each semester I ask 10 percent of my students in a given class to stand. I tell the seated students to look around and to note that, statistically speaking, those standing represent the number from the class who will be in ministry in their sixties. Students are stunned by the realization.
Bisagno added the four pitfalls believers should diligently avoid:
• Sex—we must never be alone with a person of the opposite sex if we are married (unless it is our mother, wife, sister, or daughter).
• Money—if you are in ministry vocationally for the money, you will leave it for greener pastures!
• Discouragement—we all get discouraged, which is why we need brothers to encourage us.
• Ambition—vision to change the world is one thing, but ambition has destroyed many a gifted young man.
An evangelist friend with a great burden for an awakening in our day traveled to study in Edinburgh, Scotland. He visited the tiny principality of Wales, which has been visited with mighty revival several times in the modern era. He discovered a lady who had been converted in the Welsh Revival of 1904–1905 as a little girl, and who knew Evan Roberts personally. Roberts was a principal human agent in the Welsh Revival.
My friend sat in the little cottage of the elderly woman. “What was the secret of Evan Robert’s power?” he asked. She simply looked into her fireplace, and in her thick Welsh accent, replied, “Mr. Roberts was a very godly man.”
“Yes, I know that, but tell me more. Why did God use him?”
The lady continued to look into the fire. “God used Mr. Roberts because he was a godly man,” she said.
My friend was frustrated. Pressing further, he said, “Yes, I know, but tell me specifics. How did he pray? What did he do?”
The elderly lady turned and faced my friend. “Young man,” she said sternly, “the reason God used Mr. Evan Roberts was that he was a very, very godly man.” Finally he got the point. You can be gifted as a preacher, an organizer, a leader, but there is no substitute for godliness.
Conviction
Paul told the Ephesian elders he held back nothing from them (Acts 20:27). He made his convictions clear. We live in a day when too few preachers teach doctrine while so many believers hunger for truth. Paul warned the leaders of the church of his day to be wary of wolves in sheep’s clothing (Acts 20:19–21). If you are a pastor, you will protect the flock from such. One of the ways you can tell a pastor is truly a shepherd is by how he responds when the wolves show up!
This is true for Christian parents as well. I constantly challenge parents as I speak in churches not to let their children finish high school without going to a Third-World country on a mission trip. Why? Because it helps young people develop convictions about a lost world and the need of the gospel, and to see that their God does not only dwell in a church building in the U.S. Our son went to Latin America in high school, and I recently took our teenaged daughter to Asia. I fear too many in the church have a disconnect between stated convictions and their actual lives. Almost every semester I will have a student in my office heartbroken because he or she has been called to the nations as a missionary, but their parents, active in church (sometimes even pastors!) are unhappy that their child wants to leave the country. Do we really have conviction?
When I was a teenager, my high school class was the first in Alabama to begin mandatory driver’s education. One of our assignments was watching a gruesome film that consisted of photographs of automobile accidents involving young people who were drinking and driving. It showed tremendous carnage, burned bodies, decapitations. It was horrible.
When we left that film, we were convinced we would never drive that way and end up like that. But, in the months to come, we got our licenses, and not everyone drove the way we said we would. This is a familiar scenario—repeated in many settings. Some people live by conviction, while others live by intention.
How do we live a life of conviction? Here are four simple principles.
1. Live by principle, not by feelings. We pray because it is important, not because we feel “spiritual” all the time. We should witness out of obedience, not because we are comfortable doing it. Our character must grow out of convictions hammered on the anvil of the Word of God.
2. Listen to God, not to popular opinion. Even in the church, popular opinion can be wrong. We live in a culture driven by popular opinion polls. Our political leaders make decisions by these polls. Further, with the proliferation of talk shows on television, call-in shows, radio talk shows, and Internet chat rooms, individual opinions have displaced the Word of God for many people. But it doesn’t matter in the final analysis what Oprah Winfrey or Rush Limbaugh or even the president of the United States believes. What really matters is what God says.
3. Prioritize sacrifice rather than comfort. Again, our culture leads us astray at this point. The path of least resistance is the rule, not the exception. The typical approach is, “How much do I have to do to get by at the job?” “Just let me pass the course; I don’t care how much I learn.”
A man and his wife went to the doctor. The man had a serious illness. Finally, the doctor found the problem, diagnosed it as very serious, and brought the wife in first to talk to her. “Your husband has a rare condition,” he said, “and he will die unless you do certain things. First of all, you have to sterilize everything in your home, and you’ll have to do that on a regular basis. Second, you will have to prepare special meals. These meals are not easy to prepare, and it’s going to take some time. Third, you must wash everything in the house every week in a special solution that’s very expensive. Finally, you’re going to have to wait on his every need and take care of him in every way. If you don’t do this, he has only a few weeks to live.”
While they were driving home the husband asked, “What did the doctor say?” “Honey,” she replied, “he said you only have a few weeks to live.” Human nature takes the easiest path.
4. Consider the long-term consequence of your decisions. Compromise is birthed in the maternity ward of immediacy. I tell my students that it is not where they are but where they are headed that matters. We must keep our eyes on the long haul of ministry.
If evangelism is important to you, your conviction will stand in the face of anything that seeks to lead you astray. Billy Graham passed through a serious time of spiritual testing shortly before his Los Angeles crusade. His friend Charles Templeton had rejected the authority of Scripture and ridiculed Graham’s convictions. After a time of struggle, Graham experienced personal revival and a deep time of consecration to the Word of God. Following a talk with a Christian leader, Graham placed his Bible on a stump, declaring, “I accept this book by faith as the Word of God.”15 From that point on Graham was ready for God to use him in an uncommon manner. His convictions have guided his life. Priorities
Paul indicated his priority in his address to the Ephesian elders: “So that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:24 NKJV). We have almost made busyness a spiritual gift. Calendar planners are like the Bible to most people in our culture. The truth is that if you don’t control your time, someone else will. You do have time to do what is important; sometimes you will not have time for much else. And if you don’t live by your priorities, you will die at the hand of circumstances.
I had a doctoral student conduct a study of pastors and priorities. He discovered every pastor he surveyed would say his priorities were God, then family, then ministry. But he found that when he drilled deeper into how they lived their lives, their families typically got the leftovers of his time. There was a time when ministers were actually taught that a pastor’s priorities should be God, then ministry. “If you take care of your ministry,” they were advised, “God will take care of your family.” Years of teaching many preacher’s kids has demonstrated how that line of thinking has not turned out very well at all. I am grateful for the president at my seminary, Danny Akin, who, as great a theologian, leader, and president as he is, he is an even better father. Your family is your ministry, and Paul told Timothy that if you cannot manage your home, you are not likely to be effective to manage the people of God.
John Morgan of Sagemont Church in Houston illustrated the many forces tugging at our time. “I remember a personnel committee meeting. One person said, ‘Be careful about overextending yourself.’ Another said, ‘Your ministry comes first.’ Another said, ‘Your family is your ministry.’”
Morgan’s dad, a pastor, took him deer hunting the day the season began every year since he was six years old. He spent time with his son. After decades of pastoring, John determined one of the greatest things his church did was to set aside each Thursday for family night. “We have designed our churches to destroy our families,” he told a group of young ministers. “I went 18 years before I took a vacation. It was the most foolish thing I ever did.”16
Those of us in ministry must avoid the temptation of seeing ourselves as more significant than our spouses due to our calling. In our driven culture, failing to live by our priorities can sap our evangelistic effectiveness.
If you are biblical and godly in the way you treat your family, you will treat the things of God, especially the gospel, in a godly manner as well. John Bisagno once told me that his sons recalled the greatest day of their lives was when he bought a new boat and took them out of school two hours early to go fishing. Howard Hendricks once asked his adult children to name the most significant memory of him from their childhood. Their reply was not some deep theological truth he taught them; it was those times he got on the floor and wrestled with them!
Bisagno advises: “Every day, do something in your spouse’s world. Wash dishes, go buy gas, something that touches her world.” Paige Patterson gave me excellent counsel about time with my kids. He said to find out what they really like, then do it with them. I have done everything from coaching soccer and basketball to going to UNC games, the mall (a lot), and more to enjoy what my children enjoy. And now, as they are young adults, they actually love to go with Michelle and me places where I minister. Josh drums in the worship band, Hannah helps in a variety of ways from photography to set up, and Michelle is the ultimate traveling mom. I did not plan on having such a great time ministering with my family like I so enjoy now, but it is no doubt a culmination of many years of investment in what matters. If your life is not guided by priorities, you will never keep evangelism in its rightful place in your life.
The True Test of Character—Attitude
Notice Paul’s attitude regardless of what he faced. Knowing persecution awaited him, he said his desire was to “finish my race with joy” (Acts 20:24 NIV). The greatest hindrance to our personal evangelism is our attitude. On the other hand, the greatest aid to our witness is an attitude that honors Christ. Further, sour attitudes do much to disrupt the fellowship of the body of Christ. We are responsible for our attitudes. In the New Testament one can often read of joy coupled with affliction (see 1 Thess 1:6). That does not fit the practical theology of many in the West.
An attitude of entitlement plagues the American church. I fight it all the time. Recently I arose really early to catch a plane to Atlanta. Monday morning early is not the time to be in an airport. The whole planet seems to be flying somewhere then, and that morning the whole state of North Carolina appeared to be at RDU International. I flew to my meeting, an annual gathering of SBC evangelism leaders with the North American Mission Board. I would be sitting in meetings for two days. As I am the poster child for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), sitting in meetings has never been my forte. Add to the fact that I had been away most of the summer doing youth camps and missed my wife, and you can see perhaps why I went to the meeting in a less than jovial mood.
Then it hit me: my sour disposition had nothing to do with the meeting or my personality. It even had little to do with the fact that I missed my family. I was after all going to an important meeting with some of the most godly, passionate people I know. Why was I so whiny?
I had succumbed to the cultural Christian disease I call “entitlementism.” Entitlementism refers to a person who feels entitled to something regardless of whether they did anything to earn it. From something as broad as universal healthcare to feeling justified for stiffing the waiter if we didn’t like the meal we selected, entitlementism marks our age.
Let me be theological for a moment. We are entitled to something. We are entitled to hell and judgment. We are wicked sinners whose best righteousness is filthy rags. So let’s not be too hasty in demanding that for which we are entitled. Resist entitlementism. Embrace gratitude.
Recently our dog we have had since we first moved to Wake Forest over 14 years ago, a golden retriever named Precious, had to be put down. She had come to the place where she could hardly walk. She was miserable. Yet in the last few months when Michelle and I sat on the back deck and watched the birds (we love to do that although our children think we are hopelessly middle aged), when we came outside she always got up and came to see us, wagging her tail. If we motioned her away, she simply went away. She never acted as though she were entitled to be petted because she protected our home or because she had been so loyal for so many years. No, she simply loved to be around us. No entitlement mentality. Sometimes I really miss that dog.
So I repented of my attitude in Atlanta and enjoyed the meeting and even learned some things. Amazingly, I did not even get bent out of shape when my flight home was delayed. I enjoyed watching a man older than me act like a child because apparently the airlines did not understand he was entitled to an on-time departure even when the weather made such a departure extremely dangerous. Why did I avoid the attitude on my return when I had so embraced it on my departure? Because I replaced entitlementism with gratitude, and that made all the difference. Attitude matters. In fact, our attitudes, if not checked, can destroy our witness more quickly than anything else.
We should never ignore significant hardships or times of pain. There is a time to hurt, to have sorrow, to be provoked because of ungodliness. But how many times do things of little consequence fuel our disposition and cause negative reactions?
Here are some principles concerning our attitude.
1. I am responsible for my attitude. Our culture teaches us to blame others for our mistakes. I cannot always control my circumstances, but I can control my attitude.
2. My attitude is either my friend or my enemy. A man moved with his family to a new town. He asked a resident, “What are people around here like?”
“What are they like where you come from?”
“Really nice.”
“That’s the way they are here.”
Another man moved in the next week and spoke to the same resident.
“What are people like here?” the new citizen asked.
“What are they like where you come from?”
“Not friendly at all.”
“That’s the way they are here.” The resident knew attitude makes the difference.
3. I must constantly correct my attitude. Paul faced times of discouragement. Your commitment to evangelism must overcome seasons of lean harvests and disappointments. Otherwise, despair and even bitterness can sap the life from us. Bitterness can ruin the witness of any Christian.
4. My attitude is contagious. While teaching at Houston Baptist University, I was privileged to have a young lady from Africa attend my required classes in Old Testament, New Testament, and Christian doctrine. She was a devout Muslim when we met. I shared Christ with her. While she seemed uninterested, I sought to live a contagious Christian life before her.
On the bottom of her final exam in Christian doctrine, she left me a note that thrills me to this day. “Dr. Reid, thank you for how you have spoken to me in your life. I now know that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, and have given my life to Him. I have never been so happy!” The key to reaching this young lady, more than my arguments, was a contagious Christian attitude.
5. My attitude reflects my walk with God. A person’s relationship with God is not determined by church attendance or position, as important as they are. What really matters is the attitude we convey toward the things that matter to God, toward circumstances, toward the gospel. Therefore, our attitude affects our witness.
Mike Landry was evangelism director for the Ohio Baptist Convention for many years before serving as pastor of the Sarasota Baptist Church in Florida. Mike was an atheist in the late sixties and early seventies, but he came to Christ through the Jesus Movement. Mike told me that the only difference between his life and those Christians he went to high school with was that he didn’t have to get up early on Sunday morning. He got to sleep in—that was the only difference. But then after going off to college a year, he came back and he saw a change in some students’ lives. The Jesus Movement had occurred, and some of the young people he knew had been radically changed. This led to a series of events that ultimately resulted in his conversion. Mike’s story demonstrates how a person’s lifestyle can affect his or her witness among lost people.
Questions for Consideration
1. Which of the marks of character above would you consider your strongest? Which is your weakest?
2. How important is it to you that you make changes in your life so that your character reflects your witness?
3. Here is a practical exercise that can help you analyze your current lifestyle. Perhaps this will lead you to measure whether the character of Christ transcends your own agenda. Using the following grid, record how you spend your time during the next three weeks.
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NOTES
1. L. Ford, The Power of Story: Rediscovering the Oldest, Most Natural Way to Reach People for Christ (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1994), 10.
2. W. Duewel, Ablaze for God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989), 68.
4. C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977), 9.
5. Attributed to Moody; source unknown.
6. G. C. Morgan, Preaching (London: Revell, 1937), 36, italics added.
7.Duewel, Ablaze for God, 56.
8.Christian History, vol. 13, no. 2: 3.
10. R. H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950), 144.
11. J. Edwards, “Thoughts on the Revival,” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, ed. S. E. Dwight (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1834, reprint, 1987), 1:424.
12. M. McDow and A. L. Reid, Firefall: How God Shaped History through Revivals (Nashville: B & H, 1997)172.
13.Duewel, Ablaze for God, 28.
15. J. Pollock, To All the Nations (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985), 41.
16. From the Paul–Timothy conference mentioned earlier.