Evangelical Fads Don't Always Reach Others

If you haven't heard, Google Paul Washer.

 

I don't believe it. Yes, I'm calling either Carter or the journalist a liar. Maybe both.

What kind of blind fool believes this tripe?

Even if it were true, it's a method to be preferred to your alliance with Babylon.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Butler
I'm an old retired broadcaster, and one of the things we feared most was dead air. Some preachers are like that. I look forward to hearing a preacher exhort people to repent and confess Christ as Lord, then SHUT UP. Just like Paul did on Mars Hill.

Quite right, of course. I know Paul Washer, he has preached in my church more than once, and he should have been the first one I thought of as a good example.

 

Agreed. Paul Washer is one of those rare preachers who teaches the high way to witnessing. Don't think I can post a video though.

 

I went to a Baptist university and saw this kind of approach all the time. Not only have I seen this before, I have to confess I was like this for a short period in a time when my faith was being renewed.

What generally has happened is that an immature Christian with lots of zeal (nothing wrong with that!) has just gotten hyped up by a witnessing class and starts working the field. They are much less interested in people and much more interested in doing great things for God - which they've been led to believe has mostly to do with the raw number of converts they can motivate to get baptized.

I am the graduate of a number of witnessing classes and "methods" and even took the Evangelism Explosion trainer course from a college professor who worked closely with D. James Kennedy when it was being developed. Strangely enough, after a full college semester training for Evangelism Explosion and a Personal Evangelism class taught by Roy Fish at Southwestern Seminary. I pretty much rejected all of those methods about 20 years ago and have instead gone with the philosophy expressed by RevMitchell and Tom Butler.

Since the Spirit is at work in people long before I make my appearance*, I simply pray for opportunities to share the life of Jesus with others and concentrate on building positive and meaningful relationships with people. The spiritual issues always come up eventually. Just last night I was using the chat feature on Facebook to say hello to someone I haven't seen in nearly 20 years. Within three or four minutes, this person has opened his soul to me regarding his fear of death, how he believes his faith is very weak, and how he has never sensed God's presence, although other people he knows seem to sense it all the time. He informed me he has never really talked to anyone about these doubts before, even his wife. I had a Spirit-led opportunity to share with him for a few minutes before he became uncomfortable and changed the subject. I let him change the subject (I sensed I had already imparted what I needed to say), but he wants to stay in touch and talk more. He gave me his cell number and I plan to use it in the coming days and weeks.

Frankly, those kinds of opportunities happen with me at least a couple of times a month and I've seen dozens of people come to Christ or had their faith renewed over the last decade or so. Is it because I'm a great guy and full of ready-made answers and a snappy, manipulative presentation?

Nope.

God uses people who are willing to be used, in spite of ourselves. Certainly, we need to prepare and think through what it means to come to faith in Christ, as well as have some knowledge of the issues and crises people face in life. But God will use anyone who makes themselves available.

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*If the Spirit hasn't been working with them, there is no hope for true conversion from anything I could say or do.

 

You mean you'd get visibly disappointed and sulk for the rest of your lunch hour if you met another Christian?

Baloney.

 

To those who do personal evangelizing, God bless you. To those who don't shame on you. I like the way any body who witnesses or evangelizes does better than those who don't.

I also don't know of anybody who witnesses who isn't interested in doing better. People who do witnessing listen to others who witness, they read books, they talk to people, and take classes so they can be better witnesses. This includes fundies and evangelicals.

We all grow and it takes time to grow.:godisgood:

 

Disappointed? Yep. Sulk? Probably not. I would have most likely shut down any conversation and gone somewhere else. I didn't have many social skills or love for other people at the time. God had to develop that in me.

I don't really care if you believe it. I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince you that I was messed up at the time. But I've been in recovery for more than 30 years.