When God delivered me from the streets, selling drugs and my own addiction, I sought to change the world with my own story. Because I was fully convicted and surrendered wholeheartedly to Jesus Christ, I wanted the whole world to feel what I felt and to surrender like I surrendered because of the urgency of salvation and the untimeliness of death. So, in my haste to win souls for Christ, I dismissed the importance of other church ministries and functions as secondary or greatly inferior to evangelism. I became an island and engaged in the work that, in my mind, was more important and superior to the efforts of the local church. I began sharing my story with the fellows hanging on the corner, at the ball park, at holiday outings, and any venue where I felt people were unsaved. To my surprise, I noticed whenever people saw me coming they would disperse before I arrived or shortly thereafter. In my confusion, I sought the advice of other Christians who instructed me on the importance of the body in instruction of plans and strategies in engaging those who are outside of the arc of safety. I remember distinctly the words of a parishioner who stated that “he who wins souls is wise, but he who seeks help in winning souls is wiser.” I learned a great lesson and have now as one of my favorite verses Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Reflection

The author’s intent appears to dismiss the inclusion of other callings of gifts as secondary to evangelism and places the bulk of the responsibility of winning souls on the shoulders of men, seemingly overlooking the involvement of God as primary. He rightfully places emphasis on the Great Commission but initially does it at the expense of the Great Commandment. I would open emphasizing the Great Commandment and its importance because all things center around loving God and loving each other. I would proceed questioning the Christian motive if our love for God is not seen in the implementation of the Great Commission, because ultimately the greatest expression of love is experienced in the salvation of sinners.

The writer states that “somehow they have convinced themselves that they are more spiritual if they pursue the eternal calling of worship to the exclusion of the immediate command to live missionally by sharing Christ and serving a lost world.”[footnoteRef:3] Instead of criticizing worship as a superior and isolated category in reverence to God, I would instead show how worship is indeed a necessary component of sharing Christ and serving a lost world. One of the aims of sharing the Gospel to the world is to emulate through worship the glory reserved for God. I believe evangelistic efforts have failed because our adoration for God is not evidenced in our presentation. The writer would be well-informed to not overlook the importance of worship as a prerequisite in future evangelistic efforts. [3: Ibid., The Great Commission to Worship, Chapter 8.]

Action

The book struck a nerve because it appears that maybe the actual ministry of evangelism has been engulfed in what we define as lifestyle evangelism; because I live it I shouldn’t have to be deliberate in reaching the lost. So, to prevent the pitfalls discussed by the author of emphasizing worship and minimizing evangelism, to the degree that worship becomes the end-all of all ministries, creating reduced worship witnessed as an emotional act of personal expression, I propose a four-prong solution. First, I will guide a creation of a curriculum that focuses on the connection between worship and evangelism. Step one of its creation will be selecting a research team to gather all the leading resources on the subject matter. I will allot a space of one month to gather the resources. After gathering the resources, the team will be instructed to reduce the information to that which is pertinent and feasible to teach and implement in a concise period. The team and I will then prepare an outline that can be given to all ministry leaders and laity to prepare them for the instruction that will follow. As the facilitator of ministerial ethics for the Baptist Ministers Union, I will also allot a 15-minute slot to instruct them on the subject. Upon complete development of the curriculum, at the beginning of the second quarter of the year, a slot of time, 10 -15 minutes, will be reserved during the regular scheduled Sunday school and Bible Study to teach the subject matter. Next, I will choose a team to observe the results of the study. The team will be responsible for doing initial interviews prior to learning the subject matter and after, recording the before and after effects, and rating the impact by keeping numerical statistics of effective evangelistic efforts and new additions to the body of Christ and the church. Finally, I will involve the subject matter in a sermon series. I will begin at the beginning in the Garden of Eden. I will deal with the importance of Adam and Eve worshipping God. Then I will move to discuss the need for evangelism after the fall. I will deal with the dispensation of God’s grace in preparing the way for Jesus Christ to enter the world. I will move to connect the love of God in our love towards each other exemplified by Jesus laying down His life on the cross and how our love should be evidenced in reaching the lost at all cost. Finally, I will form an evangelism ministry team that will lead the church in evangelism. The team will be responsible for developing plans and strategies for reaching the lost. They will be instructed to develop timeframes, innovative activities and events, outings and trips that are geared and aimed at winning souls for Christ. They will lead the church and the church will follow. This will soon be the new arm of church growth. My role will be to connect the dots of worship and evangelism through my sermons and interaction with each member.

In the book entitled, Family to Family by Dr. Jerry Pipes and Victor Lee, there is a statement that reads “Use your heart, not head.”[footnoteRef:4] It further reads that “parents will never diligently teach their children until it is in their hearts. You know it is in your heart when you do it spontaneously, without having to think about it.”[footnoteRef:5] My goal of implementation is to religiously concentrate on how worship and evangelism should co-exist as necessary components of loving God and man. These are not necessary evils, but rather necessary mandates to leaving no stones unturned in presenting the Gospel to all who would hear. [4: Jerry Pipes and Victor Lee, Family to Family: Leaving a Lasting Legacy (Alpharetta, Georgia: North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1999), 34. ] [5: Ibid. ]

Bibliography

Pipes, Jerry, and Victor Lee. Family to Family: Leaving a Lasting Legacy. Alpharetta, Georgia: North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1999.

Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2016.