The World Is a Waffle

* originally posted Sept. 23, 2007, at sbcimpact.org

Many people approach evangelism and missions as if the world were a pancake. When you pour syrup on a pancake, it spreads out evenly and without having to cross any barriers eventually covers and saturates the entire pancake. When you pour syrup on a waffle, though, it first fills up each individual square one by one before it spreads square by square to cover and saturate the entire waffle.

In this illustration, we can say that the syrup is the gospel message itself. As evangelical Christians, we are committed to the immutability of the fundamentals of the gospel. Salvation by grace through faith on the basis of the forgiveness and reconciliation with our Heavenly Father gained through the substitutionary atonement of Jesus on the cross of Calvary is a non-negotiable. We are not interested in covering, as it were, the waffle of the world with spiritual honey or jam. We are committed to the proclamation of the gospel. Having made that clear, however, we must not forget that in order to extend the syrup of the gospel in such a way so that it fills each and every waffle square of the world, it will take different methods of spreading the gospel and perhaps even different containers that facilitate the use of these different methods

As Americans, and especially as Southern Baptists, we have not always been the best at putting this principle into practice. David Dockery, in his brilliant essay entitled A Call for Renewal, Consensus, and Cooperation: Reflections on the SBC since 1979 in the Building Bridges booklet distributed at the Southern Baptist Convention in San Antonio, observes:

The SBC world in which many of us were nurtured—Bible drills, GAs, RAs, Training Union, WMU, Brotherhood…, not to mention uniform Sunday School lessons, the Baptist hymnal, and similar worship patterns—no longer exists in every SBC church. For almost five decades Southern Baptists followed the same organizational patterns, the same programs, and the same Sunday School lessons. These practices were to Southern Baptists what the Latin Mass was to Roman Catholics. It provided all within the SBC a sense of continuity and security. This programmatic uniformity all hung together around a ubiquitous commitment to missions and evangelism, expressed in giving through the Cooperative Program and support for Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong. It was absolutely ingenious. Throughout most of the 20th Century, being a Southern Baptist had a cultural and programmatic identity to it unlike anything else. This kind of intactness provided Southern Baptists with a denominational stability unmatched by any other denomination in the country. Martin Marty was not exaggerating when he said that Southern Baptists were the Roman Catholic Church of the South because its identity was so intact, its influence so pervasive, providing an umbrella over the entire culture in almost every dimension of life. We were a very practical people, with heart religion—carried out in rather uniform pragmatic and programmatic expressions.

Beyond this, as American evangelicals in general, we are great at inventing and marketing one-size-fits-all methods: the Four Spiritual Laws, the Jesus Film, Evangelism Explosion, FAITH, the EvangeCube… In and of themselves, none of these examples is a bad thing. Indeed, much gospel syrup has successfully reached many, many waffle squares of the world as a result of these methods. The problem comes whenever we begin to see any particular method as the panacea for the challenge of world evangelism and missions.

It is probably a pretty safe bet to say the majority of evangelical Christians today would not have any serious misgivings with this principle as I have enunciated it so far. The problem in many cases is one of successfully putting into practice what we recognize in our heads to be true. In international, cross-cultural missions, this principle has long been recognized, even if only intuitively.

In recent years, the missional movement in the United States and other Western countries has begun to speak of the need to practice this principle at home as well. If we are going to successfully penetrate the various people-group segments that exist even within our own society, cookie-cutter methods just won’t cut it anymore. It is for this reason that I believe in so-called niche marketing in our evangelistic approach and strategy. As Paul said, we must “become all things to all men so that by all possible means [we] might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). We must study and seek to understand other people’s cultural presuppositions. We must give diligent effort to not only proclaim the message of the gospel, but also to seriously listen to others in order to adequately answer the questions they are really asking. We must adapt our methods in many cases not only to different people groups and cultural contexts but also to different individuals within those groups. We must be radically incarnational, striving to be Jesus to them in a direct, personal, one-on-one manner.

At the same time, though, as we work towards truly making disciples of those to whom we proclaim the gospel, we must not neglect the crucial truth of the essential unity of the Body of Christ. We must learn to fellowship, and practice the one anothers of the New Testament with believers of different races, ages, social status, and cultural background. If not, we are in the end practicing a defective Christianity that is different from the message that Jesus and his original disciples taught.

I personally believe this truth has an important application in the way we relate to believers in other groups and denominations as well. I don’t have the direct quote—perhaps one of you can help me find it—but from what I understand, Count Zinzendorf taught that God has distributed a certain portion of his truth to each different denomination, and it is only as each one makes its own unique contribution to the fulfillment of the Great Commission that we will really see the full realization of his purpose on the earth.

I am not saying that doctrine does not matter. We should all be as diligent as possible to obey each and every one of Christ’s commands to us. However, we must at the same time remain humble enough to realize that God hasn’t given any one of us a monopoly on understanding and proper interpretation of the truth. I believe this is something of what Paul had in mind when he said, in Ephesians 3:10–11, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold (or multi-faceted, many colored) wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

One day, we will stand before the throne of the Lamb of God as “a great multitude that no one [can] count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9). On that day, the syrup of the gospel will have reached each and every waffle square of the world. We will all be there in all our diversity, with all our idiosyncrasies, but yet marvelously one, all together in a beautifully designed tapestry of grace that God will have masterfully woven down through the corridors of time.

The Role of the American Church in World Missions

*originally posted Sept. 8, 2007, at sbcimpact.org

As a nation, we in the United States of America have undoubtedly been greatly blessed. Quite apart from the on-going discussion on the religious beliefs of the founding fathers, there is no denying the fact that from an evangelical perspective God has richly showered his grace and mercy upon us in many, many ways.

Down through our comparatively brief history, somewhat reminiscent of what the book of Acts tells us about the growth of the early church, “the word of the Lord [has] spread widely and [has grown] in power” (Acts 19:20). We have on various occasions seen outpourings of mighty spiritual revival. Towering spiritual giants such as Jonathan Edwards, Dwight L. Moody, and Billy Graham (not to mention thousands of, no doubt, equally anointed men and women of God), have grown up on our shores and faithfully ministered the gifts God has given them in our midst. Great movements, ministries, and local churches have been birthed and come to be effectual channels of the manifold riches of God’s grace among us.

But “from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded” (Luke 12:48). And even though, as Oskar Schindler lamented at the end of the film Schindler’s List, there is always reason to consider what we have not accomplished, and what more could have been done had we only been more faithful, in a very real way God has used the American church mightily to be a blessing to the nations. 

Following the lead of visionary men like Count Zinzendorf, William Carey, and Andrew Fuller in Europe, our evangelical forebears in America soon came to set the pace in terms of commitment in action towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission around the world. More specifically as Southern Baptists, our heritage in world missions gives us ample motive for gratitude and healthy pride. Only eternity will tell how many lives have been touched and how much strategic ground gained for the advance of the kingdom of God as a result of the faithfulness of Southern Baptists to the task God has given us, both on the part of the missionaries overseas, as well as the churches and members who through their prayers and sacrificial giving back home have faithfully held the ropes.

In the 21^st century, however, we have reached a stage in the development of the world Christian movement in which, by many measures, the focus has been taken off of the church in the West (and more specifically the United States), and placed upon the surging and vibrant churches of the two-thirds world. Penn State University history professor Philip Jenkins has strikingly chronicled this astonishing development in his monumental books The Next Christendom and The New Faces of Christianity.

Along with these changes in the world religious landscape, I believe that the role God is giving us as his church in America is also changing. On the home front, we have due reason to be alarmed about the moral decay and spiritual lethargy that appear to be overtaking us on all sides. At the same time, however, I cannot conceive how it could possibly be God’s will for us to entrench within our spiritual fortresses and shift into defense mode. Jesus’ prophecy that, as the church, the gates of hell would not prevail against us (Matthew 16:18), has been adequately demonstrated by others to refer to a church on the offensive that is called to invade the realm of the enemy, rather than merely hold the fort.

At the same time, I believe an equally dangerous sidetrack that we as the American church must avoid with regard to world missions is that of triumphalism. As Americans, in general, we are used to being number one. Indeed, we have come to be, if not by the grace of God, at least by his permissive will, the most powerful and wealthy nation in the history of the earth. As American Christians, it can be easy to fall into the temptation of regarding ourselves as God’s brightest and best. I am convinced, however, that a proper understanding of God’s Word will lead us to forcefully repudiate this idea with all of its implications (Luke 10:21; 1 Corinthians 1:26-28, 12:21-25). Rather, we must respond to these changes with an attitude of humility.

In certain aspects, God may well have chosen us as Americans to fulfill a special role in the advance of his kingdom at particular moments of salvation history. In some regards, however, it is possible the role we think we have filled may not always be as comparatively special as we like to sometimes believe. There may well be some big surprises when we get to heaven and the rewards are handed out. Especially, however, I believe that in today’s world we need to be emotionally and spiritually prepared to yield, as it were, the center stage of God’s work around the world to those from places that have traditionally been considered as less privileged than us and in certain aspects less sophisticated.

More than anything, I am referring here to questions of attitude that defy measurement on graphs and pie charts. We must come to consider our brothers and sisters around the world as better than ourselves (Philippians 2:1–11). We must be willing to learn from them and to see them as equal partners in the task of fulfilling the Great Commission. 

Already, all around the world, amazing things are happening that not long ago would have never been dreamed possible in world missions. From Latin America, largely under the covering of the COMIBAM movement, a vibrant contingent of cross-cultural workers are spreading out into the most challenging mission fields and seeing God’s blessing upon their efforts. In Africa, Great Commission workers are being trained, mobilized, and sent out to places like India and the Middle East. House church believers in China are totally convinced that God has given them the vision to take the gospel message across the borders to the various unreached people groups of the 10-40 Window all the way Back to Jerusalem, where Jesus first issued the Great Commission. In recent days, the missionary zeal of our brothers and sisters in Christ in South Korea has been in the news, as two choice servants of God were martyred for their faith and twenty-one others held captive for six weeks in Afghanistan. And these are only a few examples of the myriad of surprising things God is doing around the world.

Does this mean that we in the States should just sit back and relax and observe what God is doing? By no means! Each one of us will one day be called to give an account of the talents that God has entrusted into our hands and our degree of faithfulness in putting them to the best use possible for the advance of his kingdom. But it does mean, as I understand it, that we should approach our obedience to the Great Commission from a different perspective. More than ever before, we will be called upon to assume a role of servants.

In many places around the world, I am convinced that the best thing we can do is to assume a role of quiet, behind-the-scenes support of God’s new frontline workers. This includes, without a doubt, generous sharing of the financial resources with which God has so richly blessed us. We must be extra careful, at the same time, to do this in a way that does not facilitate unhealthy dependency and paternalism, and inhibit believers in other countries from being good stewards of the resources God has given them. It also includes a continued sharing of other resources, such as technology, creative ideas, and missionary personnel. More and more, though, I believe this must be done not so much from a perspective of "what we have to offer you," but rather of "what we all, as fellow team-members, bring to the table as we work together to fulfill the task before us."

Without a doubt, one of the most remarkable developments in world missions in recent years, especially from a North American perspective, has been the avalanche of short-term mission trips to the four corners of the globe. Most certainly, this has been a great blessing, as many more people than ever before have had direct exposure to the marvelous things God is doing around the world and have been able to put their spiritual gifts to use. However, I think it is crucial, if God is to really use this as fully as possible for his glory, that these new endeavors be undertaken with a spirit of humility and servanthood.

Of course, we want to be faithful to boldly proclaim the gospel message, and not shrink back from declaring “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). However, it is important to remember, at the same time, that the Great Commission does not enjoin us to make converts, or to register spiritual decisions, but rather to make disciples of all nations. In the long run, what will count most for eternity will not be the number of people we report to our sending churches back home who lifted their hand in an evangelistic meeting or who filled out a commitment card. It will be bona fide disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ who fully integrate into indigenous churches that live out the gospel, day in and day out, in a culturally appropriate and holistic manner amongst the people that surround them.

As American Christians, do we still have a role to play in all of this? Most certainly. But more and more, our effectiveness in doing so will be commensurate with our ability to form authentic partnerships, and relate to our national brothers and sisters in Christ in the nations of the world from a perspective of humility and servanthood.

World Evangelism Is a Team Sport

* originally posted Oct. 21, 2007, at sbcimpact.org

During the last half-century or so, much has been made of the importance of personal evangelism. This emphasis, no doubt, has had many positive effects. For example, whenever you gather together a group of evangelical Christians and ask them to raise their hand, indicating how they came to know Christ, almost invariably, the great majority respond that the influence of a friend or family member who shared Christ with them personally was of primary importance. In the overall scheme of things, personal evangelism has proved more effective than crusade evangelism, mass media evangelism, or many other similar methods. However, I think it is possible that, at least in some circles, we have done an overkill on personal evangelism.

As Americans, we have a cultural tendency to be very individualistic. We also have a tendency to be task-oriented as opposed to relationship-oriented. There are certain individuals with a natural ability to make cold turkey conversation with people, explain the gospel to them, and lead them to make a decision to follow Christ. Many of these may also have an authentic spiritual gifting as an evangelist. I believe it is very important that these people be encouraged and empowered in the use of their gifts. In church planting ministry, for example, a key factor in numerical growth early on is having at least one person (preferably more) in the group who is gifted, encouraged, and empowered as a personal evangelist. The problem, many times, however, is when these people practice gift projection and begin to insinuate that if everyone else were as spiritual as they are, they would regularly share Christ in the same way as them and likely have the same results.

I think a more balanced view is to recognize that God made each of us differently and has given a different combination of spiritual gifts to each one. And while it is true that some may be more gifted than others at a certain style of evangelism, the Great Commission was not given to us as individuals, but rather as fellow members of the Body of Christ. This means that in order to truly carry out Jesus’ command, we must learn to work together.

As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet ‘I don’t need you!’” The Becoming a Contagious Christian course, written by Mark Mittelberg, Lee Strobel, and Bill Hybels, does a great job of driving home this point. It teaches that while each one of us as individuals is called to play a part in the proclamation of the gospel to lost souls, different members of the Body of Christ have different styles of evangelism in which they operate most naturally. Some are more gifted at a more direct, confrontational style. Others are better at building long-lasting friendships with people that serve as a helpful platform for sharing Christ. Some are especially talented at reaching out to others through acts of kindness and service. Others find it very natural to invite their friends and neighbors to special activities at which they know the gospel will be shared in an appropriate manner. Still others are best equipped to answer difficult questions and help unsaved people work through intellectual doubts. The most effective evangelism, though, is when each one of these works together as a team with others who may have different gifts and preferred styles.

One very practical point in relation to this is that it is very often quite strategic, whenever we have a spiritual burden for a lost friend, to introduce them as soon as possible to other members of the Body of Christ. It has been noted, for example, that the average person, before coming to faith in Christ, has around seven different meaningful encounters in which the gospel is shared in one way or another with them. Many times, where we ourselves may not be successful at helping our unsaved friend to cross the line of faith, another member of the Body of Christ may be able to follow up our witness and bring them to this point. It has also been demonstrated that the probability of new converts leaving out the back door of the church within the first year after making a decision is directly inverse to the number of meaningful relationships they had within the church before making that decision.

On a similar note, I believe that God has especially designed it so that the Great Commission and the task of world evangelism cannot be successfully accomplished by the efforts of any one segment of the Body of Christ working in isolation from the rest. As Southern Baptists, God has used us greatly in world missions and evangelism. But we cannot say we do not have need of the other parts of Christ’s Body, whether in our own backyard or around the world. As American Christians in general, we have the same need of working together with our brothers and sisters in Christ from other countries and people groups.

On a baseball team, each team member has a unique role to fulfill. The leadoff hitter is normally gifted at getting on base and stealing bases. The clean-up hitter, though, is normally more gifted at driving in runs and hitting the ball out of the ballpark. In the same way, the pitcher, and each of the various fielders, has a unique role to play that contributes in a special way to the overall success of the team effort. In our local evangelistic efforts, some are great leadoff hitters. They are able to meet new people with ease and first introduce them to the Body of Christ. Others may be more gifted as clean-up hitters, able to tackle the difficult questions some of the leadoff hitters may be baffled by.

In world missions, some organizations may be great at translating the Bible into new languages. Others may specialize at reaching university students and intellectuals. Certain denominations, for one reason or another, seem better suited than others for reaching people of certain socio-economic groups. In the past, God has allowed the American church to be especially used in sending out cross-cultural workers from amongst themselves to the far corners of the earth. In recent years, though, it seems like a good part of the gifting and anointing as foot-soldiers in the task of fulfilling the Great Commission is being sovereignly distributed by God to believers in the two-thirds world. At the same time, the relative priority responsibility of the American church to financially underwrite the world missions enterprise does not seem to be diminishing. That is not to imply, though, that the American church should intentionally send out fewer cross-cultural workers. It is generally not a bad thing for your leadoff hitter to hit home runs.

The implications of this are far too broad to discuss them all here. The important point to remember is that God especially delights in using all of the various members of Christ’s Body to accomplish the tasks He has given us. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them to all men” (1 Cor. 12:4–6). In our positive and necessary emphasis on personal evangelism, may we not at the same time fall into an overly individualistic approach to evangelism and world missions.