‘Your Majesty, Some men’s ambition is art. Some men’s ambition is fame. Some men’s ambition is gold. My ambition is the souls of men’ – William Booth.
In Micah’s day, his four prescriptions for Israel and for the world’s tapestry of deception from top to bottom provides a reflection on urgency of evangelism in response to the chaos in the world (Micah 7, Jn 16:33). According to Micah, the world needs a Good Shepherd in contrast to the prophets who only said what people wanted to hear; the world needs a new exodus; the world needs a clear sign – a sign of judgement (Micah 7:14-20). Today, the world desperately need God Who is always ready to forgive and safe us from disorder and destruction (Jn 3:16). It is indeed challenging looking at the rate of church decline while the population around us is increasing tremendously. Beyond the idea of a safe church activity to maintain a conventional church, or a routine system to support a status quo, evangelism, the good news that God has triumphed means that a transformed life, one changed by hearing of the good news, works to bring more and more of life, personal and public under the rule of this world to the fuller life in God.
A major limitation of our secular world is that it leads people farther away from the true reality, but to dissatisfaction of souls, sense of disillusionment, hence human search after fuller life is a sign of man’s need of God. Just as in the days of Micah, the need of the world has always been God’s opportunity to help His own creation into the true and holy path. While the present global challenges may be God’s waiting opportunity for revival by renewing the world to a new knowledge of Himself, our personal and public recognition of the need calls for a new endeavour and urgency of evangelism. Fletcher explained that the need of the world is not ‘any other ‘ism,’ but it is a choice, the choice, which has faced men for twenty centuries, Christ or chaos.’[1] We are indebted to the evangelists of the past especially John Wesley among others, for their evangelistic doctrine and practice, and great work of regeneration in each individual life. The reflection is that, ‘no placid, self-contained presentation of an intellectual conception of Christ’s teaching will avail …unless there is spiritual revival, purging the Church and transforming the individuals who forms the nations.’ The present decline of evangelism betrays the cause of Christ and ‘people will be deluded.’ When the world see the church operating on the same secular principle, ‘no one in the world is convicted of sin.’ In essence, the way forward for the Church in the struggle between Christ and our reigning secularist cultural mood and chaos is the urgency in evangelism.
To overcome the power of forces of evil, sin, spiritual and human delusion, and the restlessness and chaos of secularism, God ‘has not left Himself without a witness’ (Acts 14:17). According to Fletcher, the greatest contribution which the Church of Jesus Christ can make to the formation of a new order, which means ultimately a new world in which righteousness will dwell, is to proclaim, boldly and uncompromisingly, the whole Gospel of God’s grace through Jesus Christ, as the Apostolic Church did.’ Thomas explained that, ‘the characteristics of the present age might well seem to make the opportunity of the Church a perplexing one, for the activities which oppose Christianity are both subtle and alert.’[2] From the challenges in our family life especially the drifting of younger life from Christianity through ‘attitude of life which fails to see any higher spiritual authority than what is good in our own eyes, not only leads to an indifference to Christian claims and to disregard of the Church, but to a loosened tendency in every department of life.’ The challenge is how to overcome the failure, to hold a right view of God and of His for the people. To hold a right view of God and effectively respond to the moods and questions of today calls for the urgency of evangelism. The message of the Church which can never be alter whether the world accepts or rejects Jesus Christ, is the Good News of Jesus Christ who died, rose and He is coming back again very soon.
David Watson explained that the urgency ‘involves every true Christian, regardless of denomination, churchmanship or theological persuasions. It concerns a clear command given to the Church by Christ … before his ascension into heaven … It is the foremost task of the Church, next to worship.’[3] The requirement for God’s opportunity to meet the need of the world and individual never change. Men and women coming together as body of Christ, fully alive to the mission it is called are still God’s method of evangelism and revival. In essence, a supreme calling and paramount obligation of the Church today is the call to evangelism. Using the words of Michael Goheen, ‘authentic evangelism requires that a church be in tune with the heartfelt needs of its neighbours but also aware of the cultural idolatries that drive human life. Evangelism is an invitation and challenge to find a new and liberating way of life in following Jesus.’[4] The Archbishop’s Committee on Evangelism about twenty years ago provided a very helpful understanding on evangelism in the following words: ‘To evangelise is to present Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, that men shall come to put their trust in God through Him, to accept Him as their Saviour, and to serve Him as their King in the fellowship of His Church … ‘[5] The Church in this context is the instrument and pillar of truth empowered by God and the channel for the power is evangelism which is basically a matter of truth, and kept open by prayer.[6]
Effective evangelism and revival is birthed through a passionate desire by the church leadership for the salvation of souls coupled with the effectual earnest prayers that opens the way for God’s miracles. In essence, effective evangelism, prayer and leadership interlocks. Leadership passion for Christ sharpens prevailing prayer with God before prevailing with men. The mainspring of evangelism is ceaseless prayer in contrast to the contemporary ‘culture of false perfection,’ a betrayal of the truth; that God loves us with our continuous scars of disobedience and immoral practices.[7] Samuel Chadwick in The Path of Prayer, says, prayer make all the difference .. Prayer changes things, Prayer makes all things possible, for it links the praying soul to the omnipotence of God.’ Prayer fuels evangelism beyond reasoned philosophy of prayer.[8]
The urgency of evangelism is the urgency of getting our relationship right with God, it is grassroots, not top-down but down-top. In a grassroots culture of evangelism, people understand that the main task of the Church is to be the pillar and foundation of truth and good news. To promote a culture of evangelism, there must be a distinction between different priority for the church and for the individual. Beyond church programs and policies, to incarnate the gospel, members are sent out to be faithful witnesses. To proclaim the gospel in powerful and effective way, the Bible, the greatest tool of evangelism provides the message and narrative of God’s victory and Jesus’ Kingship.[9]
We need to get the gospel right because Jesus is coming back: ‘near is the great day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly (Zeph 1:14). The lostness of a world without Christ is chaotic, hence the urgency that flows from the love of God, the urgency of evangelism, aptly summarised by Fanny Crosby hymn title, ‘Rescue the perishing.’ Jesus stresses the urgency of evangelism in the Great Commission: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations; baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost … (Matt 28:19-20). The world today is in a chaos, hence the need to evangelise in ever-greater intensity (Ezk 9:4). To overcome the scarcity of this urgency in such a time when sound doctrines are not tolerated, we need the urgency of the gospel in our public and personal evangelism. The harvest is indeed plenty, the world is perishing without Christ, the need to cover great territory and reaching many quickly with the gospel is urgent. Please, be a part.
[1] Fletcher, Lionel, Conquering Evangelism (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1946), p. 12
[2] Thomas, M. A, ‘The Present Call to Evangelism,’ http://churchsociety.org/docs/churchman/049/Cman_049_2_Thomas.pdf
[3] Watson, David, I Believe in Evangelism (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1976), p. 11
[4] Goheen, Michael, Introducing Christian Mission Today: Scripture, History and Issues (Downer Grove, IL: Intervasity, 2014) pp. 237-239
[5] http://churchsociety.org/docs/churchman/049/Cman_049_2_Thomas.pdf
[6] Watson, I Believe, p. 9
[7] http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2016-09/october-23-30th-sunday-ordinary-time
[8] Chadwick, Samuel, The Path of Prayer (Sheffield: Cliff College, 1995), p. 14
[9] Fletcher, Conquering Evangelism, pp. 99-101
Thank you Deji. The truth and simplicity of the Gospel of Christ is that there are always many people out there and near us who would listen if and when we tell them the Good news that Jesus Christ saves to the uttermost.
Thank you and thanks to God for the truth in Jesus Christ.