Paul Washer: Youth Conference Sermon

Probably the greatest sermon ever preached at any youth event anywhere in the Southern Baptist Convention, and it's said he wasn't invited back! Oh how far the SBC has fallen!!



(H.T. Gordan)

Evangelists: Fools For Christ?

I was once a State Evangelist for the Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) in Georgia. As State Evangelist, I wasn't very successful at getting bookings. I think I was only booked for one revival service the entire time I was on staff. In the annals of the greatest failures as Pentecostal evangelists, I'll certainly be ranked at the top!

Many reasons could be cited for why, but I will give four: (1) it obviously wasn't the Lord's will, (2) because I wasn't a member of one of a well known family in the Georgia COGOP, (3) I refused to stoop to the level of becoming a cheesy self-promoting conference hoping religious politician with a goofy grin on my face and a bunch of business cards in my hand, and (4) I'm just not a great preacher to begin with!

I was once told by a seasoned evangelist that the best way for me to get known was to "get in the back pocket of some of the Bishops in the church and ride on their coattails". Like many occupations in the world, I learned that the success of a COGOP evangelist really depended on who you knew -and just knowing Christ wasn't enough! It didn't take me long to realize that I wasn't going to be much of a State Evangelist unless I learned to be good at the fine art of schmoozing. Not long after this epiphany, I resigned the position of Georgia State Evangelist.

In 1 Corinthians 4:10, Paul told the church that the apostles were "fools for Christ's sake", but some folks seem to have taken that verse a bit too literally and applied it to evangelists as well. This morning I spent some time perusing through some websites of certain Baptist evangelists and some of what I saw really bothered me. Moreover, some of what I saw really pained my soul. In the name of "soul winning" some men have resorted to becoming more like court jesters than heralds and ambassadors of the Kingdom of God!

When you look at some evangelist websites, you will often see great claims about how many revival meetings have been conducted and "decisions made for Christ". When I see these numbers touted, I'm not impressed at all. Statistics have shown that modern evangelistic methods have a fall-away rate of about 90%, it makes the statistical boasting of some evangelists about as abominable as an Obstetrician claiming to have delivered thousands of babies, only to learn that 9 out of 10 of those births were stillborn. Modern evangelism and it's pragmatism is a tragedy, not something in which to boast!


When one considers all the magicians, comedians, clowns, and ventriloquists that churches bring in to conduct revival services, is it any wonder that the message of the Christ is not taken seriously and so many people fall away after a "decision for Christ"? Do we really believe that we can entertain people into faith and repentance?

Some will argue that these methods are needed in order to get people in church to hear the Word. Perhaps, but I'm of the opinion that the primary place of evangelism isn't within the church meeting, but in the world. We should evangelize sinners so they might be saved and come to church in order to be discipled from the Word of God. Trying to gear the church service to appeal to sinners is shortchanging Christ's sheep and bound to fill our pews with false converts and future apostates.

I recently heard (or read) somewhere that some full time evangelists are concerned about their future. I'm glad! Some of them need to be! Maybe it will goad some of them into forsaking the silly methods they employ. Frankly, there's a number of them that need to start preaching the unadulterated gospel or quit and get secular job! It's time to put an end results driven revivalism. If not reigned in, these man-centered evangelistic methods will continue too produce thousands of false converts who will eventually fall away.

Now, I realize what I have just written may have just ruffled more than a few feathers. Don't misunderstand, I'm not against evangelists, nor am I against people using their talents for the glory of God. In fact, I wish there were more Christian entertainers. It would be nice to take the family to a show or a movie where we could be entertained by someone using his or her talents for God's glory. However, I think these things have their proper place and that place isn't behind the pulpit.

I also know there are some evangelists who are faithful in preaching God's Word. I thank God for these men. They men need to be commended, supported, and booked for revivals. I have a hunch that many of the best evangelists are probably the ones who don't have to tell you how great they are, rather, they are the ones who's reputation for being used of God will far exceed any boasting or conversion statistics they can put on a website.

Let us make no mistake, the Gospel is powerful! It's the preaching of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit that converts a sinner! It's not the Howdy Doody Show or some second rate side show attraction that the church needs to fulfill it's commission, rather, it's personal evangelism, the faithful exposition of God's Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit that we need.

Let us pray and seek God for a true revival!

(Images from and linked back to wikipedia)

The Sad Truth...

It's really interesting for me to listen to non-Calvinists bash us. It's always the same old story, "Calvinism kills churches" or "Calvinism stifles evangelism". One would think that an Arminian (or non-Calvinist) would be the most evangelistic Christian there is! Sadly, I don't think that's the case.

Some of my readers may recall that I was once a minister in the Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP). During my time in the COGOP, I was a member of two of their churches: one that was one of the more conservative within that movement and one that was more liberal (by that denomination's standards at least).

Here's some alarming things about the two churches I was affiliated with. Keep in mind, the Church of God of Prophecy is a self-consciously Arminian denomination:

• The Pastor's salary is the largest item in both the church budgets.



• One church only sent $25.00 [or maybe $50.00] per quarter to foreign missions, the other took up a missions offering and then spent it on cleaning supplies and church maintenance!



• Neither conducted any personal evangelism training.



• One of them never conducted any community outreach. The other had a monthly community youth outreach (in conjunction with other churches), but they stopped supporting it because it cost around $100.00 a month.



• One had a Easter program and a Christmas program, but behind closed doors I learned that the biggest reason for these events was because during the events the church would receive larger than average offerings, so much so that it helped to get the financially strapped church "in the black" -remember, the pastor got the lion's share of the tithes that people paid. So they had to do something to keep the lights on!
  
  
• The pastor of one often preached against door-to-door evangelism because "we never had anybody come to church as a result of it".



• The international headquarters of the denomination required a tithe of all the tithes the local churches received, but they wouldn't back their own minister's financially while they tried to plant churches (or re-plant it's derelict churches). The state headquarters wouldn't back the ministers either.

If Calvinism stifles evangelism, then what was the problem with those non-Calvinist churches I attended in the COGOP? Please understand, I'm not trying to bash the COGOP here. (One of my most loyal readers is a pastor in the movement.) I'm sure there are many mission minded churches in the COGOP, I just never had the pleasure of being a part of one of them.

I'm now the youth director of a Southern Baptist Church. Compared to my experience in the COGOP, I am amazed at how much my church does for missions and the SBC cooperative program. That being the case -if the statistics are accurate- many of our people are probably not active in personal witnessing or evangelism.

Here's the sad truth: the lack of evangelism in our churches has nothing to do with Calvinism or Arminianism. It's more to do with fear, apathy, or just plain laziness. The bottom line is that none of us, neither Calvinists nor Arminians, Baptists nor Pentecostals are as evangelistic as we ought to be.

So take it from me, don't buy into the hype that's put out by Arminians and other non-Calvinists about Calvinism stifling the gospel. I've been on both sides of the soteriological fence and the grass isn't very green on the Arminian side either!

God help us!

God help me!

8 Reasons Why I Don't Share My Faith...

This video clip demonstrates 8 reasons why this fellow won't witness to others. It's humorous, but it makes a good point. Enjoy.

If Election is True, Why Evangelize?

This segment of the Amazing Grace DVD addresses the question that most people ask when first exposed to the Biblical doctrine of Sovereign Election:

Perseverance: Not a License to Sin!

Another helpful clip from the Amazing Grace DVD.



Hopefully you will see that true Calvinists are not teaching the modern version of "Once Saved Always Saved" -that a Christian is free to live like the devil and have hope of Heaven. It's also worth noting the similarities of the Arminian and Roman Catholic teachings on this issue.

Transformed Conference

My family and I just got back from Columbia, SC. a few hours ago. We attended the Way of The Master Transformed Conference at Trinity Baptist Church. Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Todd Friel, and Emeal Zwayne were the speakers. They all did a great job. (Todd's message was great!)

I'm too tired to really go into much detail right now, so if you ever hear of them having a conference near you -try to attend.

The price is always right: FREE!!

The Kings of The East are Coming!

For most of my Christian walk, I have been taught that the "kings of the east" of Revelation 16:12 would be a 200 million man Chinese army that will fight in the battle of Armageddon. Anymore, I'm not so sure about that interpretation, but I will tell you this: the "Kings of the East" are coming!!

Right now a massive army is being assembled in China and there's good reason to believe that this mighty army will launch one of the greatest attacks the world has ever seen....

No, I'm not talking about an army of soldiers gearing up for Armageddon. I'm talking about a massive army of "Kings and Priests unto God" (Rev 1:6). It will be an army of Chinese evangelists and missionaries that will be wielding the Sword of the Spirit and will go into all the world bringing light to darkness and pulling down the remaining vestiges of Satan's kingdom!

Read all about it in this article from Asia Times!!

Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in China!!

DOES God Have a Wonderful Plan for Your Life??

"God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!"

That's the message of modern Christianity, but is it the message of the Bible?

In the sobering video below, this question is discussed by Mark Kielar of CrossTV:

Decisional Regeneration: The Plague of Modern Evangelism

Please see also my Rant called Decisions or Disciples: What's the Goal?

Evangelism at a "Bloomin' Festival"

Today was the annual "Bloomin' Festival" in Metter, GA.

Thousands of people from all over Georgia (and elsewhere) converged on our small country town to walk the streets, look at crafts, and see the other sights. In the middle of that crowd was myself and 6 people from our Way of The Master Basic Training Course. We passed out hundreds of tracts and talked with dozens of people.

Though I have been the leader of the training course -and have been trying act like the Metter First Baptist evangelism guru- I think was probably just as scared as anyone of my "students" who went out there today. Even Ray Comfort -a real witnessing guru- said he has to fight back fear every time he hits the streets to witness or open air preach. He said he goes out dragging his feet and returns kicking up his heels. That has always been my experience too!

The reaction was mixed. Some people refused our tracts, while others took them with a smile. A few people wanted to talk, but many didn't... We didn't get any "decisions for Christ" on the street today, but we did sew LOTS of seed. And that is what's important --in light of the fact we can only "sew" and "water", but it is God who gives the increase anyway!

One thing I found quite interesting is how the people who "looked the meanest," -or looked the most likely to beat me up-- were more receptive to the message than the old men sitting on the park benches who looked like they wouldn't harm a fly! I was really surprised at how hard hearted some of the older people were, while the younger folks would listen and not put up an argument at all!

Even in our rural Georgia town I was able to witness to a young lady who was born in Africa and said she was a Hindu! She seemed to be moved (almost to tears) by the fact that she had offended a thrice Holy God and that Jesus Christ was the only hope of escaping eternal damnation.

Things got easier once we got out and got into it for a while. Time passed quickly and by the end of the "fishing trip" I was actually looking for people who looked like they would beat me up!

All in all it was a great day! Please pray that God will do a mighty work in the hearts of the people we witnessed to today.

In closing, I want to leave you with some encouragement from Charles Spurgeon:

"Save some, O Christians! By all means, save some. From yonder flames and outer darkness, and weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, seek to save some! Let this, as in the case of the apostle, be your great, ruling object in life, that by all means you might save some!"

The Science of Evolution

http://www.intelligentdesignversusevolution.com/

Transformed Conference

Please click the banner above and check out the Way of The Master Transformed Conference that will be held in Americus, GA on April 14, 2007. This ought to be a great event and the price is right: FREE!

Aspects of Faith and Evangelism

In our modern age, people have gotten the idea that true faith can be created in sinners through the craftiness of man's speech, or that conversion can be accomplished by making the message of the Cross palatable to sinners. Others may think that saving faith is generated by being able to employ apologetics to convince sinners concerning the accuracy of Biblical data. Charismatic Christians sometimes insist that miracles and/or manifestations of the spiritual gifts are needed to create saving faith in sinners.

I once had the idea in my head that if I were only able to "say the right thing", "play the right song", or somehow make the Gospel attractive enough, then people might decide to be saved. After some trial and much error, I found out that I was wrong! I have come to understand that none of these things alone (or combined) are what actually "flips the switch" in the heart to cause the sinner see he's lost and in need of Christ.

As my theology has shifted to the Reformed view, and I've gained a different understanding of God's working in the salvation of sinners. I have come to accept the fact that none of the things I have mentioned can create saving faith in a sinner apart from God's sovereign action in the heart of the person! I've learned that true saving faith is a gift of God, not something sinners possess within themselves. Such conclusions often lead to people to ask me questions like "why do we need to preach if it's God that is the one responsible for causing a person to believe?"

I believe in order to better understand the importance of preaching, witnessing, apologetics, and even miracles in regards to evangelism, we must first understand what saving faith is -and just as importantly, what it is not as well! To illustrate, I want to refer to the teaching of Dr. R.C. Sproul as found in the book What is Reformed Theology?.

In a chapter entitled "Committed to Faith Alone", Dr. Sproul discusses the different aspects of genuine saving faith. Of interest to this article is where he writes, "Early Reformed Theologians customarily distinguished among various aspects of saving faith. For the most part they discerned three chief aspects known as notitia, assensus, and fiducia."(emphasis added)

It is these three aspects of faith -and their relationship to evangelism- that I would like to address in this article. Before I do, I want to take a moment and try to define the three words Dr. Spoul has used above. Please try to gain an understanding of the terminology, otherwise it may be hard to follow the rest of the article:

• Noticia is knowledge of the data of the faith. Certain facts must be known before saving faith can be present. Dr. Sproul writes "For Example, we must believe in God, and the person and work of Jesus Christ to be saved. This is the data (notae) of the faith. Without belief in the truth claims of Christianity, saving faith is absent."
• Assensus is intellectual assent. This is more than just awareness of the facts and data concerning the faith. Dr. Sproul writes, "one must also assent mentally (assensus) to the truth of the information. Saving faith gives intellectual assent to the truth of Christ's deity, atonement, resurrection, and so forth. We do not believe in what we believe to be a myth."
• Fiducia is cognitive, effective volitional faith. According to Dr. Sproul, "Fiducia [is] a personal trust and reliance on Christ, and on Him alone for one's justification. Fiducia also involves the affections. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer sees, embraces, and acquiesces in the sweetness and loveliness of Christ."

We often see that skeptics, athiests, agnostics, and pagans can have some knowledge of Biblical data (noticia), though they do not believe it to be absolute truth. Others may have noticia and believe the facts to be true (assensus), yet they may still lack a personal trust and reliance upon Christ to save them (in other words they lack fiducia). Dr. Sproul goes on to conclude that in order for there to be genuine saving faith, all three of the different aspects of faith must be present in a person.

In America, statistics show that a majority of Americans have the aspects of noticia and sometimes assensus as well. I commonly meet people who tell me they "believe in God" or even "believe the Bible is true", yet they lack the fruit that indicates they have any genuine saving faith. I have many family members who know some of the facts concerning Christianity -and even believe the facts are true- yet they will not repent of their sins or even attempt to live their lives for Christ! Tragically some of them actually believe they are going to Heaven because of their so-called faith!

The presence of noticia and assensus alone, will not get anyone into Heaven. The only thing these two aspects of faith qualify a person to be is a demon!! According to James 2:19, the devils believe; they even"fear and tremble!" Satan and his demons possess both noticia and assensus, (probably more than any human alive) yet they are in total rebellion against their creator and are heading for eternal destruction. Unfortunately, many people -including those who claim to be Christians- lack the fear of God that James says even the devils possess!

We might think that in the face of irrefutable evidence (or even by the witnessing of miracles) people would certainly place their faith in Christ. Though God may indeed choose to bring people to faith in coordination with such things, I have found that this is not always the case. I've seen that such evidence may lead people to have an increase of noticia, or even to some greater degree of assensus, but it does not always lead to fiducia in every case!

In Matthew 11:21, the Lord Jesus even proclaimed a "woe" against the people of Bethsaida because they had seen "mighty works" yet refused to repent! So there we see from our Lord's own mouth that "mighty works" do not always result in repentance and genuine faith.

For example: Many years ago God miraculously healed my sister-in-law of a disease that is incurable to modern medicine. The disease had disintegrated the "ball" of her hip joint. As a young child, the disease robbed her of the ability to walk and should have resulted in her never being able to walk again. However, at a doctor's visit after a prayer meeting was held at her grandmother's church, the doctors discovered there had been an actual restoration of the entire bone that had been destroyed by the horrible disease!! The stunned doctors involved could only attribute it to an act of God! God had done what was impossible for medical science!

Not only was my sister-in-law able to learn to walk, but before her death in a car accident at the age of 16, she had grown up to be a softball player and a cheerleader with no apparent effects of the childhood disease! This event was (and still is) a great encouragement to the Christians in the family, but even in the face of the irrefutable medical evidence, some people in the family have persisted in their sinful rebellion against God! The miracle indeed brought noticia and assensus to the doctors and members of the family, but not too many have shown any fiducia in spite of what God obviously did!

It is evident that in order for a person to have fiducia, there must be an act of God to give it to the person (see John 1:12-13 and Eph 2:8). We sow, we water, but it is God who gives the increase! (1 Corin 3:6) It is God who draws the sinner! It is God the Holy Spirit who makes our preaching effectual and enables the sheep to hear the voice of the Divine Shepherd.

This brings us to the fact that the work of Regeneration is monergistic -a work of God alone. Though they are a vital part of God's plan of Salvation -apart from the Holy Spirit bringing a spiritually dead sinner to life- no amount of argumentation, witnessing, apologetics, or even bona fide miracles can produce actual saving faith (fiducia) in the sinner. Regeneration and Conversion is not within man nor in his fallen will, but completely an act of God; for Paul declares "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:6 ESV)

These things ought not to discourage us, but they ought to help us to understand that we have an important job to do! We should be honored that God has ordained to give us this vital role in His plan to redeem His Elect sheep. We are to preach Gospel and teach the truth in order to increase a person's degree of noticia and assensus, all the while trusting in the fact that it is God who produces fiducia in the person. All we need to do is be faithful to our calling to witness, evangelize, and support the work of foreign missions! If we are faithful to plant and water the seed, God will cause there to be an increase in which we -and all the angels of Heaven- will rejoice!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Accepting Jesus...

How many times have you heard preachers (and other Christians) talking about sinners needing to "accept Jesus into their heart?" I've observed that such phrases are common in modern Christian vernacular, but such talk is hard to support from Scripture.

I think it's time for Christendom to get all such phrases out of its vocabulary. "Accepting Jesus" is (at least) an indicator of bad theology. In my studies of the Scripture, I cannot find anybody telling sinners to "accept Jesus into your heart." John the Baptist never preached like that, nor did Jesus! Peter didn't use such a phrase on the day of Pentecost, nor did Paul at Mar's Hill! Telling a sinner he/she needs to "accept Jesus into your heart" is simply not Biblical...

Sinners need not think that Jesus is the one whom has any need of their acceptance! Actually, the shoe should be placed on the other foot. Sinners need to be worried about whether or not Jesus will accept them! The Biblical message to sinners is that of repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus needs the acceptance of none, but we all must have Jesus' acceptance or else we shall perish on the Day of Judgment!

Basic Training Begins!

This evening at 4:30 pm, 20+ people at my church began Basic Training...

Not military basic training, but rather, the Way of the Master Basic Training. For the next 8 weeks, I will be leading this course and I'm very excited to see how God is going to transform and use the "recruits" to effect our area with the message of the Gospel!

As I looked at the class this evening, I saw people of various ages, socioeconomic classes, and backgrounds all come together to learn how to better share their faith. I really believe some of these folks are going to end up becoming passionate witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ!

If you are not currently doing evangelism training in your church, I encourage you to look into the Way of The Master programs. I honestly think they have some of the best courses you can find.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Evangelistic Motivation

How many people did you personally talk to about Salvation and Jesus Christ in 2006?

I'm not talking about preaching from a pulpit, inviting someone to a church function, "lifestyle evangelism", or writing a blog about the need for salvation; I am talking about genuine witnessing. Was it 1000? Maybe 100? 50? How about just 10...?

If the statistics are correct, the majority of so-called Evangelical Christians reading this blog probably didn't share the Gospel with very many people lat all ast year. Even worse, there will be some reading who didn't share the Gospel at all...

Dear Christian, why didn't you witness to more people last year? Was it due to fear of rejection? Were you just too proud? Perhaps you didn't know what to say? Maybe you just don't feel you have the "gift" of evangelism?

What if I promised you that for the next 12 months, I will give you $50.00 for every Gospel tract you hand out and $500.00 for every person that you personally witness to about Jesus Christ? Would that motivate you to do more if I could afford to pay you that much? How many tracts do you think you could give out in one week making 50 bucks each? How many people would you chase down the street each day if I would pay you $500 to witness to them personally? --I bet it would be more than you did in the past 12 months!!

Isn't it ironic that we as Christians can get jobs working as salespersons, aggravate people with multilevel marketing schemes, and do all sorts of things to make money, yet we can barely even muster up a few words to say to people when it comes to the things of eternity?! It seems to me that we can easily swallow our pride and fear when it comes to money, but not when it comes to obeying the Lord.

It was recently reported that one church in the USA is actually having a contest to see which member can get the most people to come to church. The winner will receieve $1,800.00!!!! What a shame! What a total abomination! Something has got to change! Our love for people and concern for their eternal destiny ought to exceed our love of money!


We need to get out of neutral and get moving. The time for action is now! We must pray that God will cultivate a love in our hearts that will help us to swallow our pride -and all our fears- so that we can go into all the world reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here's my challenge for you in 2007:

Get your priorities straight! Get equiped! Get on fire! Get busy! No excuses!

Oh yeah. One last thing...

Before you leave: Please scroll down to the bottom of this page and check out the contents of the big white box.

Arminian Contradictions

"If salvation depends upon free will, what do you mean by praying that God will have mercy upon all men, and save them with an everlasting salvation, and then tell the congregation that God has done all He can to save them, and the matter now rests with them, whether they will be saved or not? Surely, such vain jangling can never be acceptable to God, however it may feed the carnal mind of man; for if God has done all He can, why pray for him to do more? And if He has not done all He can, why tell the people He has? Strange as such contradictions may seem to a sensible mind, they are frequently produced in the course of one hour by an Arminian preacher." --From a letter by Willian Gadsby (1773-1844) to Edward Smyth.

-Appearing on p. 91 of the April 2006 edition of the Primitive Baptist publication "Advocate and Messenger."

The Unseen Increase

"I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase".

1 Corinthians 3:6 (1599 Geneva Bible)

I want to share a story with you today. It is a story about a Christian man and the unseen fruit from his efforts in being faithful to the Great Commission. Many of the details of the story are a bit uncertain and the man's name still remains a mystery; though it is thought that he was perhaps a deacon or leader at a Baptist Church in a small town in central Florida.

It all started about 15 years ago, when the man would stand across the street from a small public High School. The man never caused a fuss, he would simply hand out gospel tracts to students on their way into school. He used a type of tract that was made similar to a small comic book, so the tracts became very popular and were passed around from student to student throughout the day.

In one particular class there was a young atheist. Though he thought religion was for weak minded people, he would read the comic strip styled gospel tracts just to pass the time and see what Christians believed. Each tract had a different theme and taught different things about Christianity, therefore the young atheist was exposed to the concepts of sin, judgement, Law, Grace, Atonement, the Resurrection, the Second Coming, and other Christian truths.

Though the man who gave out the tracts may have never seen any fruit from his labor, the fact is, God used the seed that was sown all those years ago to bring a wonderful increase. You see, as a direct result of reading those gospel tracts, that young atheist was born again about 7 years later! Not only was he converted to Christ, but he was also called of God into the preaching ministry where he has been being used -within both Pentecostal and Baptist churches- to preach the Gospel.

I am well acquainted with this story, not because someone told it to me, nor is it because I read it in a book, but because I lived it! This is the story of how God used one faithful man and a handful of gospel tracts to reach ME! As I look back now, I can see that it was those gospel tracts that were a key element of God's plan to redeem me.

I wanted to share this story with you to encourage you to do something to reach the lost! Even if you are too shy to talk to people, you may be able give out tracts, and God may use your efforts to reach someone who could end up preaching the gospel to thousands more! You can never know what God will do if you'll just be faithful! Just sow the gospel seed and water it often, then trust God to bring the increase in His own timing -even if it takes years and you never see the increase with your own eyes!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Decisions or Disciples: What's the Goal?

I believe it may be safely stated that the majority of confessing Evangelicals can be classified in the Arminian camp (or at least the "non-5 point Calvinist" camp). For example: a recent survey by Lifeway Research has found that a mere 10% of Southern Baptist pastors identify themselves as "5 point Calvinists". If Calvinists are so few in a denomination with its roots in Reformed theology, then in other movements, such as Pentecostal/Charismatic denominations, I doubt you would find a fraction of one percent who would claim to be "5-pointers" (however there are a few!). Therefore, assuming most of the the Evangelical community are not Calvinists, I will grant that the majority of the "decisions for Christ" we have seen in modern times are being generated by those who are NOT 5 point Calvinists!

Now that I have admitted that Calvinists are probably not the ones primarily generating the majority of the reported decisions for Christ, don't get too happy just yet... Looking at the raw data of "decisions for Christ" can be misleading. Getting a "decision" and making a DISCIPLE may not be synonymous! As a preacher, I'm not ignorant to the fact that many preachers know how to say just the right things to "push people's buttons" in order to invoke an emotional response or get a few hands raised (aka decisions) during an invitation, it's not too hard to do!

My questions are these: Are the modern -primarily Arminian- evangelism efforts really changing lives? Should the detractors of Reformed theology be pointing fingers while gloating over their own evangelistic efforts? Are all these reported decisions translating into disciples for Christ? If you think so, I have some shocking news and statistics to share with you:

• In Cleveland, Ohio, an inner-city outreach brought 400 decisions. The rejoicing no doubt tapered off when workers involved in the follow-up campaign couldn't find a single one of the 400 who had supposedly made a decision.



• In 1985, a four-day crusade obtained 217 decisions. However, according to a member of the organizing committee, 92 percent fell away.



• A pastor in Boulder, Colorado, sent a team to Russia in 1991 and obtained 2,500 decisions. The next year, the team found only thirty continuing in their faith.



• In November 1970, a number of churches combined for a convention in Ft. Worth, Texas, and secured 30,000 decisions. Six months later, the follow-up committee could find only thirty still continuing in their faith.



• At a 1990 crusade in the United States, 600 "decisions for Christ" were obtained.... However, 90 days later, follow-up workers couldn't find even one who was continuing in his or her faith. That crusade created 600 backsliders- or, to be more scriptural, false converts.



• In 1991, organizers of a Salt Lake City concert encouraged follow-up. They said, "Less than 5 percent of those who responded to an altar call during a public crusade... are living a Christian life one year later." In other words, more than 95% proved to be false converts.



• A leading U.S. denomination reported that during 1995 they secured 384,057 decisions, but retained only 22,983 in fellowship. They could not account for 361,074 supposed conversions. That's a 94 percent fall-away rate!



• In Sacramento, CA. a combined crusade yielded more than 2,000 commitments. One church followed up on 52 of those commitments and could not find one true convert.



• In Leeds, England, a visiting American speaker acquired 400 decisions for a local church. Six weeks later, only two were still committed and they eventually fell away [as well].





• Charles E. Hacket, [the national director of the division of home missions] of the Assemblies of God in the United States, said, "A soul at the altar does not generate much excitement in some circles because we realize that approximately 95 out of 100 will not become integrated into the church. In fact, most of them will not return for a second visit."
  
  (Statistics are from the book: The Way Of The Master, by Ray Comfort)

Are you shocked? In some ways I was when I read these statistics, but after I began to think about it for a bit, I am sad to say the percentage of false conversions in these statistics are probably close the same results I have seen in my own ministry and in churches I have attended! In my 6 years of ministry, have seen too many people "decide to follow Jesus"only to end up more reprobate than ever not a year later -despite intense follow-up and personal ministry to them. Sadly, as we have seen above, these results are almost expected in some churches -and at some church youth camps.

Can't you see that something is terribly wrong?!! Sure, there are some people who are being truly saved and will live the rest of their life for Christ. However, only the most rank Antinomian would be foolish enough to look at the statistics above and believe that all of these "decisions" are going to result in every one of the people actually going to Heaven! This is the very sad -but very true- results of modern evangelistic methods which are so revered by our Arminian friends!

Honestly folks, if modern evangelism methods are proving that they are not resulting in people being truly saved and integrated into local churches, then what good is it accomplishing? Why are Arminians so adamant that they are the avid evangelists in the Body of Christ, when the majority of what they are creating is hard-hearted backsliders who are inoculated to the true Gospel because they've "tried Jesus" and found out He didn't provide them with what some silver-tongued preacher promised? These big decision numbers do not matter unless people are born of the Spirit! Without true conversions taking place, all this effort is vanity!

The worn out allegations that "Calvinism kills evangelism" are totally unfounded. While it may be true that some Calvinists do not employ the same "decision" generating tactics as non-Calvinists, I think this is due to the fact that Calvinists are more concerned about making true disciples, rather than generating big numbers of "decisions" that result in people backsliding in two weeks!

Big numbers may receive the praise of men and earn political appointments within denominations, but these numbers are worthless if lives are not being changed! I am concerned that there are many preachers who are more worried about growing big churches -and bigger salaries- even if it means generating hundreds of false converts in the process!

In conclusion, our "non-5 point Calvinist" friends need not boast about being so "evangelical" with the percentages of people falling-away as high as they are! If anything, Calvinists and Arminians ought to join together and mourn over these numbers and seek God's face for true revival! Something has got to change, and I believe the change will come when people wake up to the fact that their methodology is not scriptural and could actually be a hindrance to effective witnessing and evangelism!

What a wonderful day it will be when preachers put their trust in the Word of God -and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit- to save souls, rather than some gimmick method to try and get people to raise their hand, walk down an isle, and repeat the sinner's prayer!

Suggested reading:

The Way of The Master

Photo from:

http://www.bottradionetwork.com/billygrahamkc.asp