Evangelism and the Word of God

The most recent issue of the TBS’s Quarterly Record (January-March, 2011) reprints the sermon “Evangelism and the Word of God” preached by the Rev. Dr. W. J. Malcolmson at the society’s 179th annual meeting (pp. 15-21). Here is an excerpt:

It is the duty and responsibility of every generation of Christians to discover, understand, interpret, and learn afresh the timeless verses of Scripture. But it must not stop there; we are to penetrate into a dark world with the light of God’s truth.

Sadly, many ministers and theological institutions, and many who seek to minister mass evangelism, have the wish to be popular today. Let us remind ourselves that the ministry will never be popular: never has been, never will be. True preaching of the Word is not popular in many churches today, and a true minister will never be popular. God has not designed the preaching of the Word to be entertaining, but rather to be effective, to be penetrating, to be life-giving, to be productive, to be progressive.

We are not called to be entertainers, but teachers, preachers, and witnesses to the truth of the Gospel, and our initial evangelism must be followed by the exposition of the Word in the power of the Holy Spirit. Only this will enable born-again souls to die unto sin more and more, and to live more and more unto righteousness, producing a people of God with a true Christian lifestyle.

JTR

Conrad Mbewe on "Christian Imperialism"

Conrad Mbewe is Pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia and has been called the "Spurgeon of Africa." He spoke at the July 13-16 Missions Conference at Heritage Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. You can listen to the audio from Mbewe and the other speakers (including Paul Washer) at that conference here.

Mbewe also did a radio interview that is worth listening to here in which he discusses "Christian Imperialism." He has some great observations on the futility of social ministry to the exclusion of gospel preaching. He also has started his own blog, A Letter from Kabwata, that is worth reading.

JTR

The Crazy Youth Conference Season Approaches

The approach of summer means the coming of evangelical youth conference and camps galore. Our church gets its fair share of promotional flyers.

I just got one for the upcoming BGAV sponsored summer YEC event. This year the acronym has changed from the traditional "Youth Evangelism Conference" to "Youth EnCounter." The theme is "Transformation."

Why does this bother me?

Maybe, the thing that rubs me wrong are the photos promoting Christian entertainment. Here's one of a puppet guy who will be there:

Then there is this photo of the band "Skillet" that will also be there:

Question: Just what exactly do we want the youth who attend this event to be transformed into? What is the difference between the posing of this group and a secular rock group? What does the name "Skillet" indicate anyway? Is this really an example of not being conformed to this world but being transformed by the renewing of your mind? At least they've taken the word "Evangelism" out of the title.

I don't mean to to pick on the BGAV or YEC in particular. This is par for the SBC and evangelical youth ministry course, whether "conservative" or "moderate."

My observation, however, is that there is an emerging younger generation who want more than wordly music and mindless "Christian" entertainment. They want solid doctrinal teaching, clear ethical guidance, and authentic Christian community. They want to know that being a Christian means separation from the world, not getting as close as you can to it and still thinking yourself Biblical in worldview and life practice. They will not respond to these kind of shallow events in droves.

JTR