Tag Archives: Evangelism

The Next IMB President

Posted on February 15, 2018 | 4 comments

The president of the International Mission Board (IMB) is, I believe, the most important post in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). With news that David Platt is stepping down, the SBC will be looking for the next person to fill that critical role. More than anything we need to pray for wisdom and to find God’s man for this time. With that said, here are my thoughts on the kind of person we need to lead us.

We need a unifier. Perhaps no agency has the potential to unite the SBC as does the IMB. The mission of reaching the world for Christ requires and ignites unity. We can unite around this mission whether young or old, traditionalist or Calvinist, Alabama or Illinois fan. (There are only 10 of us Illinois fans in the SBC but I just like to put our name in there with Bama!)

The mission is not all that unites us. We are also united by Continue reading →

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Posted in baptist, Christianity, International Mission Board, missionaries, missions, sbc, southern baptist convention, southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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Why I’m Scared to Share My Faith

Posted on January 17, 2018 | Leave a comment

Though I have shared the gospel message many times, I can still be afraid to share my faith with others. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that fear. I’ve heard many others express that same anxiety. Here are some reasons we might be afraid to share our faith and what to do Continue reading →

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Posted in evangelism, faith, Uncategorized

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Sharpening our Focus, Renewing our Passion

Posted on October 19, 2017 | 5 comments

(This is an article I wrote for the Illinois Baptist.)

Sharpening our focus, renewing our passion

This past June, Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines put together a task force charged with recommending how we might deal with the alarming decline in baptisms in our Convention. What a daunting task it is. Baptisms have declined precipitously for the past 17 years. We have gone from more than 400,000 baptisms per year, to less than 300,000. The needs in America are greater than ever, but our effectiveness in meeting those needs has plunged. This ought to greatly concern all of us who care about the Great Commission and this land in which we live.

The task force’s first meeting, held at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, was both disquieting and encouraging. We stared the terrible Continue reading →

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Posted in baptism, baptist, evangelism, southern baptist convention, southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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#SBC17 My Hopes

Posted on May 18, 2017 | Leave a comment

The Southern Baptist Convention meets in Phoenix for the annual meeting in just a few weeks. This will mark the end of my brief service as 1st VP. While I wonder how the convention will ever make it without me in this role (I’m pretty sure no one else besides me is wondering that!) here are some of my hopes for Continue reading →

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Posted in southern baptist convention, Uncategorized

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The Greatest Danger

Posted on March 30, 2017 | Leave a comment

Perhaps the greatest danger for many Christians, churches and ministries is something other than gross immorality or theological liberalism or direct rebellion against the plans of God. Dangerous as these things are, the greatest danger for many followers of Christ is something more insidious. This danger is subtle. It is not so easily recognized. But it just as deadly. This terrible danger is apathy.

Apathy (and her cohort, procrastination) is the Continue reading →

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Posted in bible study, Christianity, Church, evangelism, passion, prayer, Uncategorized

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Flavors of Evangelism

Posted on March 21, 2017 | 1 comment

I like ice cream. Who doesn’t? Ice cream comes in all kinds of different flavors from vanilla to chocolate to pistachio. The basics of ice cream- dairy and sugar- remain the same whatever the flavor, but there are lots of different types.

Evangelistic methods come in different flavors. The basics of evangelism are always the same. Evangelism is the sharing of the message of the gospel with those who are lost. The message of the gospel is the same that it has been for the last two thousand years. (I Corinthians 15:1-8 provides a great summary of that message.) The necessary response to the gospel remains unchanged. We are separated from God by our sins. We need to repent of sin and place our faith in the Lord Jesus who died for our sin and rose from the dead in order to be saved. This is the basic message of evangelism.

But, like varieties of ice cream, there are varieties of ways- what we might call evangelistic methods- by which we do the work of evangelism. Let’s talk about Continue reading →

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Posted in evangelism, Uncategorized

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Transformational Preaching

Posted on November 16, 2016 | 2 comments

Preaching is, for me, like swimming in the ocean. It is an awesome experience if you don’t die!

Nothing is more exciting and nothing is more intimidating. Preaching both charges me up and wears me down. It invigorates and it frustrates. It brings me the agony of labor and the joy of birth. It keeps me up at night and gets me up in the morning. Preaching is big and I know it.

If you are involved in preaching you know something of the dilemma we face. We are tasked with bringing God’s word to man. We are to speak sacred things to sinful listeners. This great responsibility can be a bit overwhelming. But here is what makes it even bigger. We need to preach for transformation.

Nothing is worse than boring people with the greatest news known to mankind. How terrible to think that I can make the gospel sound like average news rather than good news. How Continue reading →

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Posted in preaching, Uncategorized

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Evangelism Lessons

Posted on August 29, 2016 | 3 comments

I recently gave our church ministry staff an assignment. Share the gospel with at least one person during the next week and report back. Here are some lessons we learned together.
1. We can easily be around only other believers. We work with other believers (at least we think the rest of our ministry team is saved!), serve in ministry with other believers and Continue reading →

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Posted in evangelism, Uncategorized

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When Revival Comes

Posted on April 21, 2016 | 1 comment

The great need of our day is for genuine revival to come to believers in our nation. I’m delighted to see Ronnie Floyd’s emphasis on revival (sometimes called a “spiritual awakening”) in my own denomination. It is desperately needed.
Revival is specifically about the revived spiritual commitment of those who know Christ as Savior and Lord. While it leads to evangelistic concern (and often an awakening among those who are not saved to their need for salvation) it is specifically about reviving those who have already been “vived”.
Here are some results that will follow a genuine revival should it come to our churches and believers.
1. A deepened love for God and the Continue reading →

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Posted in revival, spiritual awakening, Uncategorized

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Why I don’t bash Easter attenders

Posted on March 22, 2016 | 1 comment

I love the opportunities that come with Easter Sunday. Hundreds of guests will come to our church on Easter Sunday- some who have never been to church and some who haven’t been in a long time. I won’t bash them for not being there every week. Believe me, as a pastor I would love for them to come to our church every Sunday. But I won’t bash them. Here are some reasons why.
– It is uncharitable. I love these people and care about them. I’ll love them enough to tell them the whole truth of the gospel and God’s word. I will tell them the whole truth. But I will do that out of my love for them.
-It is ineffective. Bashing people on the one Sunday they are Continue reading →

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Posted in Easter, Easter Sunday, evangelism, Uncategorized, worship

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