Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

A Call For Christians To Think!

In his book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Notre Dame Professor of American religious history, Mark Noll has said that, “the scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.”[1]

His argument was simple. Christians need to make an effort to ‘think’ within the Biblical framework across the whole spectrum of learning including: economics, political science, literary criticism, imaginative writing, historical inquiry, philosophical studies, linguistics, the sciences, social theory, and the arts. This call to ‘think’ should be heeded seriously by Christians who are seeking to live as a faithful presence in the world. R.C. Sproul has argued that “we live in what may be the most anti- intellectual period in the history of Western civilization.”[2]

Noll appropriately concludes, “Jesus Christ demands from evangelicals a more responsible intellectual existence.”[3] All other mental disciplines aside, this call for responsible thinking among Christians should be applied to God’s word first and foremost. God has revealed himself in a book. Understanding, interpreting, and applying this book requires rigorous thinking. If we do not labor to think through God’s word we will misinterpret it and lead others astray.

The Bible is clear about the importance of Christian thinking. Proverbs tells us “if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:3-5) Paul carries this thought into the New Testament when he urges Timothy to “think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Timothy 2:7) The command is clear – Think!

Living as fallen people we must acknowledge that we experience the effects of sin on our minds. However, even as we acknowledge this hard truth, we must not be discouraged for there is hope in the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), and this salvation includes the renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2). Goldsworthy aptly comments:

“The gospel achieves noetic (see footnote[4]) salvation for us through the perfect mind of Christ our Savior. This is part of his righteous make-up as the perfect human being. His is the human mind in perfect relationship with mind of God. To be justified includes our noetic salvation…our noetic sanctification is the fruit of our justification in Christ. It is the gradual formation within us of what we have in Christ through faith.”[5]

We must acknowledge that as fallen people we have the tendency to swing the ‘pendulum of thinking’ between two extremes: anti-intellectualism and over-intellectualism. In the most general terms, anti-intellectualism tends to pit feeling over thinking while over-intellectualism tends to exalt the life of the mind as an end in itself. But the gospel provides a third way of the mind. We are humble enough to realize that we do not have a perfect mind, and confident enough to know that the renewing of our minds is an ongoing process by which our thinking is being conformed more and more to the truth as it is in Christ.

Just like any other aspect of sanctification, we are called to have an active role in obedience. This is why the Scriptures call us to be sober-minded, to gird up the loins of our thinking, to be ready, to be alert, to be watchful, to have our eyes open. Albert Mohler goes as far to argue that this is our calling as Christians…we are to be a community of the open-eyed, the intellectually alert, the brokenhearted, the resolutely hopeful.”[6] We are called to be a thinking people.

We understand that our hope and salvation does not rest in our intellectual abilities. We must avoid the pride of over-intellectualism. But, the Christians who argue that ‘thinking’ should be left to others. Forgive my ‘lack of tact’, but your anti-intellectualism is unbiblical. John Piper has recently reminded us that “glorifying God with our minds and hearts is not either-or, but both-and. Focusing on the life of the mind will help you know God better, love Him more, and care for the world.”[7]

Yet, if Noll and many others are right[8], evangelical Christians seem to fit the description of anti-intellectuals more than the opposite. When it comes to thinking about, and through, God’s word, if we don’t think clearly we may find ourselves on the verge of slaughtering the gospel, if we haven’t already. Christians, Tolle! Lege.[9]

Continue reading “A Call For Christians To Think!” →

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Towards a Definition of Missional

There has been much conversation in evangelical literature and in the blog world about the word ‘missional.’ In this post I would like to survey the landscape of discussion. This is not a comprehensive survey, but a quick look at the conversation.

Introduction

“What would be involved in a missionary encounter between the gospel and this whole way of perceiving, thinking, and living that we call ‘modern Western Culture?”[1]

The concept of missional ministry owes much of its influence to Lesslie Newbigin, who posed this question above after returning home to England in 1974 from missionary service in India for nearly 40 years. Newbigin’s work has served as the catalyst for bringing the issue of mission in Western culture to the forefront of the agenda of the church. In attempt to answer missiological questions similar to Newbigin’s, many in the Western church began to develop what has become known as the ‘missional model of ministry.’

Ed Stezer has reminded us that the word ‘missional’ is not a new term. In fact, he traces its origins back to 1907.[2] Yet, as we all know, words begin to take on new meanings as they are used in different contexts. In 1998 a book titled Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America[3] attempted to apply Newbigin’s ‘missiology’ to ‘ecclesiology’ and launched the concept of a missional church into mainstream conversation.[4] Since that time many conflicting definitions of missional church has been circulating in the context of evangelicalism.

One of the first things one will notice is that the word missional is used in different contexts – denominationally and theologically. One thing we can see is that the term itself is being used with increasing frequency all across the evangelical spectrum. Therefore, it is helpful to consider a few explanations of the word that have been used in the past few years.

Towards a Definition of Missional

Many would point to Tim Keller as the central voice that took the word missional and uprooted it from the larger conversation, since many in the emergent camp were using it, and planted it in evangelical soil. In 2001 Keller published a concise article titled The Missional Church, in it he offered a list of traits that mark the missional church:

  • Discourse in the vernacular.
  • Enter and retell the cultures stories with the gospel.
  • Theologically train laypeople for public life and vocation.
  • Create Christian community which is countercultural [not to be taken as ‘against-culture’] and counterintuitive.
  • Practice Christian unity as much as possible on the local level.[5]

Two years later, in 2003, Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost wrote a book titled The Shaping of Things to Come, in it they argued that:

“The missional church is incarnational, not attractional, in its ecclesiology. By incarnational we mean it does not create sanctified spaces into which unbelievers must come to encounter the gospel. Rather, the missional church disassembles itself and seeps into the cracks and crevices of a society in order to be Christ to those who don’t yet know him.”[6]

In 2006, New Testament scholar Scot McKnight delivered an address at Westminster Theological Seminary on the emerging church where he argued that the concept of being missional comes from the great missiological thinkers[7] in order to give expression to the Missio Dei, namely, what God is doing in this world. McKnight argued that church communities become missional by participating, with God, in the redemptive work God is doing in this world. He continued by illustrating how missional churches seek to be a faithful presence in their community.

“The central element of this missional praxis is that the emerging movement is not attractional in its model of the church but is instead missional: that is, it does not invite people to church but instead wanders into the world as the church. It asks its community “How can we help you?” instead of knocking on doors to increase membership.”[8]

For Mcknight, participating with God in his redemptive work ‘missionally’ requires the American Church to consider a shift in philosophy and practice. Within the categories of ministry philosophy and practice is where the larger theological conversation of the term missional has been shaped, namely, with reference to how the Church contextualizes in relation to the culture around it. Most of the time missional has been explained in contrast to attractional ministry.

In the same year, 2006, Mark Driscoll published a book in which he argued that a missional church is marked by some specific traits. Some of them are:

  • Christian’s being a missionary to their local culture.
  • The church accepts that it is marginalized in culture and holds no privileged position of influence but gains influence by serving the common good.
  • Churches grow as Christians bring Jesus to lost people through hospitality.
  • Community means his church is a counterculture with a new kingdom way of life through Jesus.
  • Pastors are missiologists who train Christians to be effective missionaries.[9]

Like others, Driscoll’s list was written in comparison to the traditional/institutional and contemporary/evangelical models of ecclesiology. The conversation on ‘what it means to be missional’ has also seeped its way into the Southern Baptist Convention. But many Southern Baptist who use the term missional, do not use the word in the same sense as the larger evangelical world, a point made by Ed Stetzer in his chapter of the book Southern Baptist Identity. Stetzer writes that “Not all who use the term “missional” are missional”, for example: missional is not the same as a church that is in support of missions.[10] Michael Lawrence argues the same point by writing that:

“Being missional is not the same as being committed to missions, or being missions-minded. Being missional is a way of thinking about the church and how it relates to the world. A missional church understands that the church does not go on mission, or send people out to do missions. Rather, the church is the mission of God into the world, in order to heal the world and reconcile people to God.”[11]

A few years earlier Stetzer published a book titled Breaking the Missional Code. In it Stetzer and Putman argue that there are certain shifts that allow a church to sharpen their focus. They argue that these important shifts will come when one is thinking about what a biblical church looks like, and what it means to be missionally engaged in our communities and in the world.[12] For these authors, the shift to missional is seen when the church ministry moves:

  • from programs to process
  • from demographics to discernment
  • from models to missions
  • from attractional to incarnational
  • from uniformity to diversity
  • from professional to passionate
  • from seating to sending
  • from decisions to disciples
  • from additional to exponential
  • from monuments to movements

Conclusion

From the context of the larger evangelical conversation, it would seem that ‘being a missional church’ generally has to do with three main things:

  1. Our understanding of and stance towards the surrounding culture – with a view to be a faithful Christian presence in our context of ministry.
  2. The implementation of ministry through the local church – with implications on staff and structure, both organizationally and functionally.
  3. A renewed ministry emphasis on both word and deed – The Great Commission and Kingdom Living, with an aim to avoid the errors of both the social gospel movement and the separatist fundamental movement.

Despite the vast amount of discussion on this issue, it is notable that ‘missional’ has been a term that has been consistently used in contrast to the attractional, seeker-sensitive, church growth[13], models of church.

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Gospel and Evangelism (Part 6): Evangelism and the Local Church

Introduction

“Love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – Jesus

If we are united with one another and with Christ, then the world around us will believe that God has sent Jesus. That is a huge statement that we, as Christians need to take very seriously. Our corporate witness to the world should make the gospel visible. Francis Schaeffer rightly comments on this point:

Our love will not be perfect, but it must be substantial enough for the world to be able to observe…And if the world does not observe this among true Christians, the world has the right to make two awful judgments which these verses indicate: That we are not Christians and that Christ was not sent by the Father.[1]

In other words, Christian proclamation makes the gospel audible, but we also need a corporate witness to make the gospel visible. We need to proclaim the gospel not only with our lips but make it visible with our lives.

God’s Mission has a Church

I recently heard Ed Stetzer say that “the church does not have a mission– It is better to say that the mission has a church!” I would argue that the mission is simple, ‘to glorify God by proclaiming the gospel and reflecting the kingdom of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.’ This is why the church exists, “the local church has been and will continue to be God’s primary plan of ministry.”[2]

Lesslie Newbigin once described the local church as the “hermeneutic[3] of the gospel.”[4] He meant that the local church, in many ways, “examples” the gospel to those around them. The world should look at the church and see the gospel interpreted in everyday life since the local church is the fountainhead of gospel proclamation.

The authors of Total Church are right when they argue that “evangelism is best done out of the context of gospel community whose corporate life demonstrates the reality of the word that gave her life.”[5] ‘The gospel word’ and ‘the gospel community’ (local church) are closely connected. It is through the ‘gospel word’ that the local church is created and nourished. But in the local church the gospel should also be embodied and proclaimed. In many ways, a gospel centered community authenticates the gospel word to the skeptics.

In Evangelism in the Early Church, Michael Green describes the lure of the early church as follows;

“They made the grace of God credible by a society of love and mutual care which astonished the pagans and was recognized as something entirely new. It lent persuasiveness to their claim that the new age had dawned in Christ.”

People outside of Christ should be fascinated by the church family. Those who are “seeking” should be drawn to the well to drink of eternal life because they see the refreshing culture of the church family.

The Church as Gospel Network

I think we need to train our people to see the church as a ‘network of relationships’ rather than ‘an event one attends’ or ‘building one enters.’ It seems to me that many missiologists are arguing that ‘skeptical people are often attracted to the Christian community before they are attracted to the Christian message.’ This seems obvious and inevitable when the gospel message is enshrined in the life of the church, and is it’s source of power for growth. This is where the gospel becomes fascinating for the non-believer. I think this dynamic is explained well in the book Total Church,

“Our commitment to one another despite our differences and our grace toward one another’s failures are more eloquent testimony to the gospel than any pretense at perfection.”

Simply put, true gospel fellowship within the local body transcends the barriers of race, sex, class, and education, creating a community bound by the gospel alone. With this in mind, introducing people into the church community (relational network) becomes an important to our being a ‘faithful presence’ in the world around us.

Continue reading “The Gospel and Evangelism (Part 6): Evangelism and the Local Church” →

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Gospel and Evangelism (Part 5): Living with Gospel Intentionality

Introduction

In his classic work Evangelism in the Early Church, Dr. Michael Green argues that:

“It would be a gross mistake to suppose that the apostles sat down and worked out a plan of campaign: the spread of Christianity was, as we have seen, largely accomplished by informal missionaries, and must have been to a large extent haphazard and spontaneous.”[1]

In other words, evangelism was the prerogative of every church member. The ordinary people of the Church saw it as their “job”. In fact, if one studies history they will see that Christianity has been supremely a lay movement, spread by informal missionaries. “The spontaneous outreach of the total Christian community gave immense [momentum] to the movement from the very outset.”[2]

As one surveys the current “evangelical Christian movement” (not sure that movement is the right word here?) it would not be hard to come to the conclusion that unless there is a transformation of contemporary church life so that once again the task of evangelism is something which is seen “as incumbent on every baptized Christian, and is backed up by a quality of living which outshines the best that unbelief can muster, we are unlikely to make much headway through techniques of evangelism.”[3] For this to happen, it would seem that every believer would need to live with gospel intentionality.

What is “Gospel Intentionality”?

The term “gospel intentionality” is beginning to make its way into the regular vernacular of the Evangelical Christian ‘world.’ Much of its popularity is due to the book Total Church by Tim Chester.

“Major events have a role to play in church life, but the bed rock of gospel ministry is low-key, ordinary, day-to-day work that often goes unseen. Most gospel ministry involves ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality.”

Chester goes on to describe this intentionality as “a commitment to building relationships, modeling the Christian faith, and talking about the gospel as a natural part of conversation… ‘the ordinary’ needs to be saturated with a commitment to living and proclaiming the gospel.”[4]

Chester is basically arguing that the most effective context for evangelism is ordinary life. In other words, when someone is living with gospel intentionality evangelism will occur when “while walking along the road” or “sharing a meal.”[5] In other words, as you live your life, you do so in such a way that will open opportunities to talk about the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Implications of Gospel Intentionality

First, living with gospel intentionality means that we need to re-envision those around us. It is very easy to ‘close our eyes’ to the people whom we come in contact with as we live day to day life. But we need to see them as people who are in need of a savior. In order to do this I would propose that we take intentional steps to build relationships and familiarity with the people around us. Perhaps living ordinary life with gospel intentionality would cause us to:

  1. Frequenting a local coffee shop or hair stylist/barber shop.
  2. Play, or have our children play for community sports teams.
  3. Tipping generously in local restaurants that we frequent.
  4. Being the kind of caring neighbor everyone wants to have as a neighbor.
  5. Investing time at a local charity or benefit.
  6. Finding creative ways to invest in, and better, our communities.
  7. Opening our homes to and sharing our food with others.

Final Thought

Living ordinary life with gospel intentionality means that we do everything for the sake of proclaiming and authenticating the gospel to those around us! It is a conscious decision that we make to live our lives in this way.

“Christianity is enshrined in the life: but it is proclaimed by the lips. If there is a failure in either respect the gospel cannot be communicated.”[6] But let’s be clear, “caring for others represents the gospel, it upholds the gospel, it points to the gospel, it’s an implication of the gospel, but it is not the gospel, and it is not equal to the gospel.”[7]

Matt Capps Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Calvary Baptist Church: The Southside Campus

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Evangelism Training Summit with Dr. Alvin Reid

We are looking forward to having Dr. Alvin Reid with us at Calvary West in Advance N.C. (On the edge of Winston-Salem, right off of I-40) for an evangelism training summit. This will be a great opportunity to come and hear Dr. Reid teach on “reaching the unchurched.” Everyone is welcome, spread the word and join us!

– Childcare will be provided –

If you are a pastor and are considering bringing some people with you: let us know at connections@calvarynow.com. We would love to have you as our guest! Click here for directions.

For promotional materials click below…

Continue reading “Evangelism Training Summit with Dr. Alvin Reid” →

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

“10 New Books for 2010”

I am looking forward to 10 Books to close out 2010 and begin 2011. In no particular order here they are…

  1. Wayne Grudem’s “Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture.”
  2. Thomas Schreiner’s “40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law”
  3. Tim Keller’s “Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just”
  4. John Piper’s “Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God”
  5. Brian Hedges’ “Christ Formed in You: The Power of the Gospel for Personal Change”
  6. James Hamilton’s “God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology”
  7. Michael Horton’s “The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way”
  8. Don Carson’s “Evangelicalism: What Is It and Is It Worth Keeping?”
  9. Kevin DeYoung’s “Don’t Call it a Comeback”
  10. And….

Which book would you add to the list? Leave a suggestion in the comments section.

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Gospel and Evangelism (Part 2): The Context of the Gospel

“It is possible to know Bible stories, yet miss the Bible story.” – Ed Clowney[1]

Introduction

Increasingly we find ourselves living among a biblically illiterate people. Every day the people around us swim in a postmodern sea and find themselves drowning in emptiness, relativism, and confusion with no orientation to the “The Grand Narrative” of the truth of world around them.

One of the main tasks we have as believers if to communicate the gospel with absolute clarity and simplicity. Before we are able to do this we need to be able to show people the context in which the good news of Jesus Christ was delivered. This is why it is extremely important to understand the meta-narrative[2] or overarching story of the Bible in which the gospel is to be told. Understanding the outlined story of the Bible is very helpful in directing conversation toward the gospel.

Most popular evangelism courses and gospel summaries do well to explain the good news of Jesus Christ, but often fail to explore the context in which that good news is delivered. The gospel is central to, and yet part of, the grand story laid forth in the Bible. The Bible is best understood as a single story,[3] “a story set in real history. It is a historical saga – an epic. And the story is amazing.”[4]

It’s important to remember that the whole story, or the ‘grand narrative’[5], of redemption is essential for properly understanding the gospel message and is thus vital a tool for communicating the gospel itself. The gospel is central to human history and is the climax to all of redemptive history. Therefore, in studying the gospel and evangelism one should begin by seeking to grasp God’s overall plan and his specific work in Jesus Christ to bring salvation.

The following outline of creation-rebellion-redemption-restoration is a framework to understand the human situation. These four points in the story are “pegs on which to hang a gospel conversation; [and] they might not even be dealt with in order.”[6] However, intimately understanding these four points of the “The Grand Narrative” will allow you to guide a conversation while keeping it focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“The Grand Narrative”

The following is just a simple outline of the grand narrative of history and redemption: much like what you will find in Mark Dever’s article on the plan of salvation in the ESV Study Bible, and the tract “The Story.” I encourage every believer to know the story well, put it in your own words, and think though how you might use “The Grand Narrative” to point to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1. Creation

The story begins with God, who has always existed. God spoke this world and all that is in it into existence: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . . . God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”[7] God created human beings in his image. They were created to reflect God’s beauty and to worship him. Our first parents once lived in paradise and enjoyed unhindered fellowship with God. When God’s work of creation was complete he declared that it was “very good.”[8] So, in the beginning all of creation was in harmony, and everything was “as it should be.”

2. Rebellion

Although the first people God created, Adam and Eve, had complete freedom to live in intimacy and trust God, but they chose to rebel and turn away from him.[9] In doing this they rejected God’s created order. Because God designed that Adam would represent the entire human race, his rebellion was catastrophic not only for him but for us: “one trespass led to condemnation for all men.”[10] Like a virus, sin entered the world. With sin came death, disease, natural disaster, violence, and all other evils that plague our world. Our fellowship, as a human race, with God was broken. Therefore, instead of enjoying His holy pleasure, we all now face His righteous wrath.

Through this sin, we all died spiritually[11] and the entire world was affected. God also cursed the world over which humanity had been set to reign as His representatives.[12] “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it.”[13] Evidence of our rebellious hearts is that we all individually sin against God in our own lives: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”[14] We see the effects of rebellion all around us, “things are not as they should be.”

3. Redemption

God would have been perfectly just to leave matters there, with all human beings under his holy judgment, but he didn’t. God instead set in motion his plan to save his people from sin and judgment and set free the entire creation from its subjugation to sin and the curse. Over the centuries God prepared the way for his Son Jesus to enter the world. Jesus is a true and pure man, who conquered where all others had failed, and who would bear the penalty for our sin and die in our place: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.”[15] Christ did what we could not do to offer us what we do not deserve.

The best-known verse in the Bible summarizes the required response to this good news: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”[16] To “believe in” Jesus includes both a complete trust in him for forgiveness of sins and a willingness to forsake one’s sin or to “repent”: All who truly “repent [or turn from their sins] and believe [in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins]” will be redeemed[17] and restored to a right relationship with God. To “believe in” Jesus also requires relating to, and putting trust in, Jesus as he truly is—not just a man in ancient history but also a living Savior today who knows our hearts and hears our prayers.

4. Restoration

God not only rescues lost sinners but will one day restore all of creation. We read in Romans 8:21: “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” The heavens and the earth will “pass away” and be radically transformed.[18] We read of the glorious culmination of this in the book of Revelation, where God’s people, the redeemed, are brought into the presence of God to live forever.[19] This is life as it should be, literally as it was meant to be.

The gospel is what brings us to a right relationship with God. In that relationship we will experience what it is meant to be truly alive, truly human, we will see how things are meant to be. In the gospel of Jesus Christ we are granted to experience reality as God intended, it is the magnificent step awaiting the return to God’s created order.

Thoughts and Questions

When in conversation with people it is very likely that you will get on a subject that will allow you to orient the discussion to the “The Grand Narrative.” Here are some questions and comments that could help aim your discussion towards the ‘The Grand Narrative.’ These are just a few suggestions. In conversation with someone be wise enough to make your own connections that are relevant to the discussion and need.

  • There are plenty of examples around us of evil and suffering. Why do you think our world is the way it is?
  • It’s interesting to watch the evening news: one story is about murder, another is about someone helping out a neighbor. Why are human beings, as a race, so inconsistent?
  • There is so much pain in our world. Don’t you long for the world to be a better place?
  • Many people try to be good citizens, and even religious. But, do you think behavior modification will really fix the deepest problems of humanity?
  • The literature scholar C.S. Lewis once wrote that the story of Christianity is the only ‘true myth’, in the sense that it is not only a beautiful story but it is also true. Isn’t there a part of you that wants this story to be true?
  • All of us want to be happy, but we find different ways to fulfill that desire. But, do you find in yourself desires that nothing in this world can fulfill?

Conclusion

Again, knowing the context of the gospel is important for evangelism. But we need to make sure we actually get to the gospel personally:

“The grand story of creation, [rebellion], redemption, and [restoration]…tells me what God is doing and how he’s doing it. But how is that good news for sinners like you and me?”[20]

The grand story of redemption is bad news for unrepentant rebellious people who have not placed their faith in Christ. In the context of redemptive history we look towards a time of judgment and wrath, along with the good news of renewal and re-creation. So, how then do we move from ‘cosmic news’ to ‘personal news’? Without the personal call to repentance and faith – we are not doing evangelism. Heed this warning given by Greg Gilbert:

“When you understand and articulate it rightly, the creation-[rebellion]-redemption-[restoration] outline provides a good framework for a faithful presentation of the biblical gospel. The problem, though, is that…[it]…has been used wrongly by some as a way to place the emphasis of the gospel on God’s promise to renew the world, rather than on the cross.”[21]

Therefore, in the next post we will explore the personal response to the Gospel…

Continue reading “The Gospel and Evangelism (Part 2): The Context of the Gospel” →

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Gospel and Evangelism (Part 1): Introduction

“Evangelism is not persuading people to make a decision; it is not proving that God exists, or making out a good case for the truth of Christianity; it is not inviting someone to a meeting, it is not exposing the contemporary dilemma, or arousing interest in Christianity; it is not wearing a badge saying ‘Jesus Saves’![1]

Introduction

While I was in seminary I had the honor of taking a few courses under Dr. John Hammett, a Baptist theologian who ended up being one of the most influential professors in my own theological development. In his book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches Dr. Hammett made a statement about evangelism that jolted my interest in the subject in a fresh way.

Hammett stated that “there is almost a total absence of commands concerning evangelistic involvement in the New Testament.”[2] He then explains, “this is not to say that evangelism is absent from the pages of the New Testament. On the contrary, evangelism is everywhere…but it is almost hardly ever commanded.”[3] In conclusion of that thought[4] Hammett argues that, “the implication we are to draw from the New Testament is that evangelism should be a natural product of a healthy church.”[5] Simply put, evangelism is never commanded because it is always assumed – interrelated with the whole of the Christian life.

I had always categorized evangelism as a specific type of ministry or a specifically focused activity. So the statement that there is a “total absence of commands concerning evangelistic involvement in the New Testament” did not initially sit right with me. I assume that many Christians would have the same reaction when reading such a comment. What should we make of such a reaction?

Perhaps our understanding of evangelism is unhealthily tied to specific outreach efforts or other compartmentalized endeavors that have an evangelistic thrust. If so, it is quite possible that we have developed the wrong criteria for judging and evaluating the success of our evangelistic efforts on a personal and corporate level.

I am very thankful for the emphasis on evangelism we have experienced in the contemporary Church. But I have my concerns. When I survey much of the material that we are using to train people in evangelism I come to the conclusion that we need a more balanced understanding of evangelism that moves beyond decision-oriented presentations to gospel-centered transformation. We need to move from an exclusive focus on the after life and include a thorough understanding of the mission-life. We also need to be careful not to confuse the method with the message.

It is quite possible for someone to equate evangelism with a particular method of sharing the faith. Method’s of sharing one’s faith are not bad “in and of” themselves. But, it is important to recognize that particular methods of ‘sharing one’s faith’ implicitly shape how we understand of evangelism, and how we evaluate those efforts. It would seem that we can safely categorize most forms of evangelism training into three categories:

  1. Cold-Contact Evangelism: street evangelism, tract distribution
  2. Mass Evangelism: crusades, outreach events, media broadcasts
  3. Visitation Evangelism: door to door outreach, visitor follow-up[6]

These methods (illustrated in the categories above) are best suited for specific contexts. The problem is that the majority of our “day to day” living happens in situations outside of where these methods are focused. Yet most of the evangelism training in the American church is dependant on such programs, methods, and activities. Well, what about everyday living? I have been thinking to myself, how can we train our people to live evangelistically – or to put it another way, missionally – in the context of their everyday life?

This is where I think we need to spend our time. Not developing another nifty way to share our faith, or coming up with another gimmick to get people in the doors of our churches – we need to understand, and learn how to talk about the gospel in such a way that evangelism is natural to our everyday conversation. I whole heartedly believe that if we understand the gospel and its implications clearly we will learn how to live with “gospel intentionality.”[7]

What Evangelism Is Not

I have often found that it is quite helpful to define ‘what something is not’ before you attempt to explain ‘what something is.’ An attempt to work towards clarity would be helpful as we begin to study evangelism. It is my opinion that once we strip away our misunderstandings of evangelism we can destroy our false assumptions and fears that have become our reasons not to share the gospel with others.

a.) Emotional Manipulation:

There are many well intentioned Pastors who never purposely mean to manipulate someone into repenting and believing in Jesus. But some of the methods that have been employed in corporate gatherings (and even in one on one conversation) to elicit a response have done just that.

In his book The Deliberate Church, Mark Dever argues that: “sometimes pastors will use service music in ways that play on the emotions…that draws out the listeners affections and misguidedly encourages a decision for Christ based on feelings.”[8] It is quite possible to elicit a response out of someone when they don’t even know what they are responding to. I have seen many pastors call for an alter call without explaining the gospel clearly. How can someone respond if they don’t understand? Emotion is not bad – but when it comes to evangelism, emotion must be stirred by the truth of the gospel. Just stirring emotion to elicit a response is not evangelism.

b.) Apologetics:

In the scripture we are instructed to give a reason for the hope that we have.[9] This is much of the work of apologetics. While apologetics allows us to answer questions and objections that people may have about the faith, and may present wonderful opportunities for evangelism – we should necessarily not equate apologetics with evangelism. Another way to put it is like this, “Apologetic arguments cannot generate faith, but the Christian can answer the false charges of the unbeliever so that obstacles to hearing the gospel are removed.”[10]

By far the greatest danger in apologetics is being distracted from the main message.[11] Evangelism cannot be equated with defending the virgin birth, defending the historicity of the resurrection, or proving a six day creation.

c.) Personal Testimony:

Personal testimony plays an important role in the witness of the Christian life[12], but one can give a personal testimony without ever presenting the Gospel. You will often hear things in evangelism training like ‘no one can refute what God has done in your life’, which has truth to it. But we must be careful. One can agree with your testimony without ever being confronted with the truth of the Gospel.

Dever writes: “It’s good to share a testimony of what God has done in our lives, but in sharing our testimonies we may not actually make clear what Christ’s claims are on other people.”[13] The Gospel does not center on what God ‘can do for you’, or how ‘God can make your life better’ – yet many testimonies implicitly communicate that. The content of the message is the Gospel, not our journey to faith.

d.) Clean Living:

Certainly every believer in Christ will live a life that “is worthy of our calling.”[14] Evangelism includes who we are, but it is much more. Saint Francis of Assisi once wrote “preach the gospel at all times, if necessary, use words.” I could not disagree with these words more. The danger is that someone can live a morally clean life around others and those people never hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Being a moral person does not proclaim the gospel.

e.) Social Action:

The desire to transform or redeem culture though Christian’s doing “good works” has become a very popular in recent years. As Christians we are told to “resist evil” and “let our light shine before others.”[15] We are also urged to care for the poor, abandoned, and lonely. But doing these good things should not be equated to evangelism.

It is wonderful to be involved in ministries that improve society, but social action in and of itself is not evangelism. I can feed hundreds of starving children and yet the truth remains that I cannot satisfy their deepest needs with food, they will all one day die. I think John Stott said it well when he wrote that social action and evangelism are “partners.”[16] See, these efforts may help commend the gospel, but are not evangelism.

f.) Conversion:

Many people only feel successful in evangelism if they see the desired results. We shouldn’t want our gospel presentations and invitations to be finally molded by what we think will “close the deal.” If they are, then they reveal that we think conversion is something we can orchestrate, which is the furthest thing from the truth.”[17]

This is a subtle but dangerous mistake. We should guard against misinterpreting the desired results of evangelism, the conversion of unbelievers, with evangelism itself.

Conclusion

Confusing evangelism with one of these categories above distorts and even hinders well meaning churches into a pragmatic and results-oriented approach to sharing the faith, which in turn “cripples individual Christians with a sense of failure, aversion, and guilt.”[18]

The Church needs a biblical understanding of evangelism. We need to teach our people that effectiveness in evangelism “does not depend on eloquence, using the right mood lighting, emotionally sappy stories and songs, or high-pressure sales pitches.”[19] We need to reach a place where we know how to live with gospel intentionality – a place where the content and implications of the gospel become so clear and understandable to us that it becomes part of our daily talk. I hope for the day that we see evangelism happen in the same way as historians tell us it did in the early church. Oxford professor Michael Green paints a picture of what the early evangelism must have looked like:

“This must often have been not formal preaching, but informal chattering to friends and chance acquaintances, in homes and wine shops, on walks, and around market stalls. They went everywhere gossiping the gospel; they did it naturally, enthusiastically, and with the conviction of those who are not paid to say that sort of thing. Consequently…the movement spread.”[20]

Continue reading “The Gospel and Evangelism (Part 1): Introduction” →

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Identifying Your Idols

The human heart has a powerful way of taking anything and turning it into the “most important thing.” We have this uncanny ability to take anything that gives us significance, security, comfort, safety, and fulfillment, and begin to fully trust in that thing as if it is more important than the air we breathe. This is idolatry. For most people, the subject of idolatry conjures up pictures of a “primitive people bowing down before statures.” But idolatry happens in the heart. In his latest book Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller defines idolatry like this:

“An idol is anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”

In a sermon titled “Soul Idolatry Excludes Men Out of Heaven,” English Puritan Pastor David Clarkson (1621-1686) gave thirteen pointers to help his listeners identify the idols of their hearts. This past weekend Kenny Stokes framed those points as questions as he preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church.

  1. What do you most highly value?
  2. What do you think about by default?
  3. What is your hightest goal?
  4. To what or whom are you most commited?
  5. Who or what do you love the most?
  6. Who or what do you trust or depend upon the most?
  7. Who or what do you fear the most?
  8. Who or what do you hope in and hope for most?
  9. Who or what do you desire the most? Or, what desire makes you most angry or makes you despair when it is not satisfied?
  10. Who or what do you most delight in, your greatest joy and treasure?
  11. Who or what captures your greatest zeal?
  12. To whom or for what are you most thankful?
  13. For whom or what great purpose do you work?

As Christians it is important to daily search our own sinful hearts for idolatry. As Christians our answer to each of these questions should have Christ, in some sense,  as the highest treasure – our most beautiful longing. But answering these questions will most likely reveal the darkness of our own hearts – which in turn – will humble us to see the glory of God’s grace. Searching the depths of the human heart can be a painful exercise because it reveals how sick we really are. But there is good news. Our Savior Jesus said:

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

I found these questions very helpful. I encourage you to listen to or read the whole sermon here.