Insight for the Journey

I’m coming home from teaching at a School of Evangelism where we had over 400 Pastors, evangelists, and other Christian leaders, representing dozens of different denominations and states in the U.S.  For three days we laughed, cried, sang, prayed, talked, ate, listened, learned and rejoiced together.

I was struck by the diversity of evangelistic methods I heard discussed.  Let me list a few:

I met one young man who used to work for Ringling Brothers Circus.  He is a stunt bike-rider who does death defying leaps through fiery hoops to hook interest and then he shares a clear, hard-hitting gospel message about the “leap of faith.” 

I met another young evangelist who has “crusade-type” meetings in large gymnasiums and seeks to reach basic middle-class people.

I met a woman who sings professionally and seeks to win people to Christ through musical concerts.

I met a man from the mid-west who still believes in door-to-door evangelism.

I met a church-planter from Kentucky who is seeking to reach marginalized people groups from many nations who are the poorest of the poor.

I met a businessman who uses his successful business as a platform to share Christ.

The list goes on and on…

An evangelist to native Americans…

A Christian professor…

A farmer who also pastors and gives altar calls…

A member of a rapid response team that responds to people in crisis and shares the gospel and hope…

A woman who leads people to Christ through a phone counseling ministry…

Wow!  I could keep going.

My point is that effective evangelism is not about methods.  It’s about universal principles that God blesses all over the world.  All of these people I met this week are seeking to first live the gospel, and then share the unchanging message in a way that is relevant in their context.  If you tried to take the farmer and make him do motorcycle stunts…he would fail miserably.  If you took the door-to-door guy and forced him to preach in large gymnasiums, it wouldn’t work.

Rule number #1 in evangelism: take the unchanging gospel and deliver it in a style that makes it interesting and accessible to the hearers.  What would that mean for you?  What does that mean for you?

I believe that gratitude is the mother of all virtues.  And, quite frankly, I have a lot to be grateful for.  But I am most grateful for the fact that nothing can separate me from God’s love, and that His grace keeps reaching out to me.  The security and comfort that brings keeps my heart singing even in my worst days.

When the Golden Gate Bridge was being built back in the 1930s, during the first half of construction, over a dozen men fell to their deaths.  So they stopped construction, and suspended a huge net under the superstructure.  During the last half of construction only six people fell, but none of them died.  Amazingly, the supervisor said that the work proceeded at 25% greater efficiency.  Having the net under them did not make the men careless.  It made them more confident.

When we understand there is a net under us called grace, we become more secure, more joyful, more courageous and effective in the Christian life.  I guess it’s possible for some demented man to fall down into that net, and then crawl over to the edge, and push aside anybody who wanted to rescue him, and then jump over the edge.  And it certainly is possible for people to keep exploiting God’s grace but even then, God’s love is reaching out to lift us up.  Even then, he is waiting lovingly for us to return.

When Jesus wanted to paint a picture of what God was like, he didn’t picture a tyrant with a whip in his hand.  He said, “Let me tell you a story.  A certain man had two sons, and one of them rebelled against the father’s love and went away.  The father did not restrain him.  He didn’t go into the far country, where he was living a sinful life, and yank him back.  But when the boy repented and returned, the father saw him when he was far off and ran to meet him.  And he smothered his repentant talk on his shoulder and he called out to the servants, ‘Get the robe and the ring and the shoes.  Let’s have a celebration.  My son was dead and now he’s alive.  He was lost, but now he’s found.'”  Jesus’ picture of God was not a tyrant with a whip, but a father running to forgive.

There’s an old song that chokes me up every time I hear it: 

“The love of God is greater far

than tongue or pen can ever tell. 

It goes beyond the highest star

and reaches to the lowest hell.” 

And I just love the third stanza that goes like this:

“Could we with ink the ocean fill,

and were the sky of parchment made,

and if every stalk on earth a quill,

and every man a scribe by trade,

to write the love of God above

would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll

Contain the whole

Though stretched from sky to sky.”

The word of God promises that nothing-nothing-nothing-in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  That, my friend, is reason to give thanks!

Since preaching on the Antichrist last weekend I’ve been inundated with comments and input.  Some of it is serious, and some intentionally silly.  But this whole discussion sure hits a nerve in people!  One friend suggested that he suspicions it might be Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose face graces the cover of the current U.S. News and World Report.  Another suggested Hilary Clinton.  Another, a popular American pastor.  People’s guesses keep coming in!

This kind of speculation about Antichrist’s identity is nothing new.  The list of persons once confidently declared to be the Antichrist stretches back at least 1900 years.    Michael Holmes, a commentator on 2 Thessalonians, says the list includes, “…various Roman emperors, the leader of the Vandal invaders who sacked Rome, Mohammed, various popes, the papacy itself, Emperor Frederick 11 and Pope Gregory IX (each of whom viewed the other as the Antichrist), Martin Luther, King George II of England, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III, each side in the American Civil War, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, the League of Nations, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, Khruschev, the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev (the birth mark on his forehead allegedly being the mark of the beast), King Juan Carlos of Spain, Pope John Paul 11, Anwar Sadat, the Aya­tollah Khomeini, Yasser Arafat, Saddam Hussein, the New Age Move­ment, theologian Matthew Fox, Henry Kissenger, and former presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Wilson Reagan (six letters in each name = 666 [cf. Rev. 13:18], and Reagan recovered from a serious wound [13:3]).”  Are you tired yet?  I am.

What can we learn from this?  I’ll suggest three things for you to ponder, and possibly dialogue about among yourselves. 

• 1. Our candidate for Antichrist probably suggests more about us (our fears, jealousies, and biases) than about him/her.
• 2. There will continue to be interesting and/or evil people who approximate some of Antichrist’s characteristics before the real one is revealed.
• 3. It is highly unlikely that the Master of Deception (Satan) would make it obvious enough for us to figure out.

Yet, knowing human nature, we will go on guessing.

Jesus told a story, or parable, in Matthew 25 that illustrates what His Second Coming will be like. One of His main points was that there comes a time when it’s too late to prepare; too late to get ready.

Matthew 25:10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.”

The door was shut. Can you appreciate the finality in those words? There comes a time when it is too late to find eternal life. Some people have trouble believing that a gracious God would make deadlines, but Jesus talked repeatedly of them. The Lord talked repeatedly of the unbridgeable chasm between heaven and hell. The finality of it all is awesome!

Doesn’t life itself testify to the fact of deadlines? Husbands or wives can betray their marriage commitment and perhaps be forgiven by their spouse. But if that husband or wife repeatedly breaches trust, there will come a time when it’s too late to repair. It’s too late to reclaim it. It is gone!

Or picture a parent and child. The parent says, “One day when my business responsibilities lighten-up, I’m really going to spend some quality time with my kid. One of these days we’ll go hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, etc. Just let me get the business on a little better footing.” But there comes a time when it’s too late; when that child has structured his world not to include a meaningful relationship with the parent. And often the parent can’t go back then and build it.

Life witnesses to the fact that there are deadlines. Jesus taught that today is always the proper time to claim the gift of eternal life. God respects our right to say no to His offer of eternal life. He also respects our right to say, “Not yet.” But beware. One can wait until it’s too late.

A couple weeks ago I made the statement, “If your eschatological view causes you to check out on life, it’s the wrong view!” I stand by that statement. If there is one thing I want to convey through our study of eschatology, it is that any proper understanding of end-times should lead us to more responsible living; not less.

Many years ago the North Eastern states experienced a dramatic blackout at midday. For some reason it became dark at noon. Chickens went to roost, cows headed for the barn, people began to light lamps. The legislature in Connecticut was in session and everybody thought it was the end of the world. It was dark at noon! One legislator stood and moved that they adjourn so that they could go home and prepare to meet God. Another legislator stood and said, “Men, it either is or it is not the Day of Judgment. If it is not, there is no reason for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty.”

The Lord may come back very soon or He may not. Regardless, we should not go out and sit on a hillside and eat birdseed and watch for His coming. He doesn’t tell us to get panicky and wear big signs that say, “The end is near.” He just says, “Keep doing what you ought to be doing, but do it more intensely.”  Think clearly.  Love deeply.  Serve with your whole heart.  One day you will hear Him say, “Well done.”

This week I had the privilege of speaking in a Billy Graham School of Evangelism to Pastors who were gathered in St. Andrews, New Brunswick in Canada.  I flew from Toronto to St. John, Canada and was pleased to learn that Dr. Robert Coleman was on the same flight.  Dr. Coleman has taught evangelism for 50 years in seminary, has authored twenty-something books, has lectured in almost every major seminary in the country, and is widely recognized as the most respected authority on evangelism in the world.  Two of his books, The Master Plan of Evangelism and The Master Plan of Discipleship are textbooks in many seminary classrooms and have been translated into over 100 languages around the world.  I had heard so much about Dr. Coleman and had read some of his books, so I was delighted to finally meet this man who is literally a legend in his own time. 

We were picked up by a driver and shuttled to the conference.  The sights were spectacular as we drove along the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick as the sun was setting. 

After we had received our room assignments at the hotel, he asked, “What are you doing now?”  I said, “Well, I was about to ask you if you wanted to have dinner in one of the restaurants here.”  He said he would really like that, so we did.  Over dinner I ask him one question after another, and learned a lot about his life, his walk with God, and his passion for evangelism. 

But since I’m preaching on eschatology right now, I was curious to know his views on Jesus’ Second Coming.  I won’t tell you all he said, but he stressed one thing above all.  He said, “I’ve always taught my students that they can be Amillennial, Postmillennial or Premillennial.  But I tell them above all to stress the fact that Jesus is coming again and that his return is imminent!  As long as they preach that, I really don’t care what their view is!” J 

Friends, the Bible is crystal clear on this point.  Jesus Christ is going to literally come back to this earth some day.  That truth should not terrify us, but comfort us.  When referring to Christ’s Second Coming the Bible reminds us not to be discouraged or troubled, but rather to encourage one another, to remember the blessed hope, and to look forward to that day.   

Do you?

 Alfred Fuller started the Fuller Brush Company in 1906.  It fast became one of the most recognized and prosperous businesses in the twentieth century.  The Fuller Brush salesman was one of the most respected salesmen in America.  But after Alfred Fuller stepped from the scene, the company began to flounder.  Sales waned, and eventually the business nearly collapsed and went into receiver-ship.   

One of my greatest satisfactions is to see Grace becoming a place with more ethnic diversity.  Heaven will have a lot of color!  People around the throne will be from every tribe, people, language, and nation.

Many people have asked me how, as a southerner, I was able to deal with the racism in the south and not be affected by it.  First, I want to be clear that racism was very real in rural Tennessee.  The Civil War and its aftermath is critical in understanding southern racism.  The resentment and hatred many southerners felt over losing that war became focused on the African-American race.  I’ve not told you anything new so far. J  But the key is how the hatred and racism get passed from one generation to the next.  My grandfather was born in 1856.  Amazing.  But true.  He was dead long before I was born.  My father and mother were born in 1910 and 1920 respectively.  They grew up in a South poisoned by hatred toward blacks.  The “n” word was used regularly by poor, uneducated whites.  Most of their racism was the product of ignorance.

Others, of course, are more intentional in their racist behaviors.  For some of them, promoting racist attitudes is part of being accepted as “one of us”, a “true-blue southerner.”   During my growing-up years, many pastors and other Christian leaders refused to challenge the prevailing racism out of fear of losing job and career and/or belief that it would never change so why fight it?  Yet others fostered racism out of deep resentment of losing something (maybe a farm or possessions) during the Civil War.  That resentment was passed on generationally.   As a teenager I regularly went to “Reed Town”, the small town equivalent of the ghetto or the “hood” in Lawrenceburg, because blacks were the only people I could find who played basketball year round. J They gladly accepted me and allowed me to play on their courts.  Some whites around me shook their heads in bewilderment.  By God’s grace, I had enough personal strength at that time (age 15-17) to go against the grain and dare anyone to take issue with me.  Not only was I angry about how some minorities were treated, but I was determined to break the cycle.   I’m glad to say that overall I see these attitudes changing in the south.  The “tipping point” phenomenon has occurred.  Winds of change are blowing.  

As a speaker I find it odd what people remember.  Since starting back to work in mid-August I have spoken 27 times.  That doesn’t include leading meetings or study groups, or facilitating discussions, etc.  Out of those 27 full-blown messages, guess what has received the most comments by far!  It is a little story that I told the first weekend back at Grace, a story that I didn’t have in my sermon manuscript and that I threw in rather flippantly.  It was the story about getting off at the wrong bus stop in Italy and having to walk 6 miles through blistering sun to our destination.  I encouraged the kids by saying, “Kids, let’s just put one foot in front of another, and eventually, we’ll get there.”

That’s it.  Simple, huh?  But that is the thing people have apparently remembered best and commented on most.

Why did that story connect?  I think it’s because: it showed my humanity, it recounted struggle – which we all relate to, it showed how a family functioned under pressure, and it concluded with a simple, memorable one-liner principle (ie. Put one foot in front of another and eventually you’ll get where you’re going).

I’m just glad God can take what we plan to say and sometimes what we don’t plan to say, and use it for good.