The current issue of Baptist Press (the newspaper of the Southern Baptist Convention) includes an article by professional evangelist Steve Hale which is titled "Evangelism in Action: Evangelists key to helping Southern Baptists win lost..." I'd like to spend a little bit of my time discussing this article because to be honest, it really annoyed me. The title alone was enough to make me cringe, but I decided to hold in the retching and read the entire article. I should have not held it in.
As most of you know, I was a Southern Baptist until about one year ago; I would still be a Southern Baptist if I had not been told, after attempting to confront a sin issue, that I might need to make a "hard decision" and find another church for my family. Despite this, I hold the Southern Baptist in high regard even if I have some serious concerns about the direction in which the Convention is heading, especially its rabid anti-Calvinism (sure to become even more problematic under the leadership of Johnny Hunt, anti-Calvinist extraordinaire!). I mention this only so you know that I don't search out things to complain about regarding the SBC, but when something like this (Hale's article) pops up and is given the authority of the Convention...then yes, I feel it is important to speak out against it.
On to the article:
Hale begins by bemoaning the lack of baptisms within the churches of the SBC, stating that "10,000 of them [churches] baptized no one last year and another 11,000 baptized less than six. Sixty percent of our 43,000 churches failed to baptize one teenager last year. In fact, if a church baptized 29, it was in the top 2 percent of the entire denomination."
Don't get me wrong here...I am all for baptizing new Believers. But if we should be wailing about any lack it should be about the lack of true expository preaching in the pulpits of the SBC! And if churches baptize people just to place a check mark on their little tally book then they are in SIN! Baptize those who confess with their mouths and believe in theirs hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord! Oh oh. Did I just say "Lord"? Sorry, that can no longer be taught can it? He is Savior first but not necessarily Lord. At least that's what too many SBC churches seem to be teaching! To their shame.
Back to my point though...if a church baptizes ONE person in a year, and that is a true convert, then the church is doing well. If a church baptizes 29 and 25 of them are not following the Lord a year, and the other 4 are so-called carnal Christians...what is the benefit to those false converts? They have been deceived into thinking themselves saved, but unless they truly repent at some time, they will not enter into the presence of the Lord!
But okay...let us go with Hale's argument. SBC churches are not baptizing enough (the only way to tell whether a church is fulfilling the Great Commission apparently). What is the solution? Hale has it!
"...if you were to ask most of our Southern Baptist evangelists, it would not be uncommon for them to see 29 professions of faith in a four-day revival meeting. If, indeed, a church can see more people saved in four days by utilizing a vocational evangelist than in an entire year, then why are local church revivals not being scheduled by the hundreds and why are evangelists not being utilized as in days past?"
There are many problems with this paragraph...but I want to address only two. 1) scheduling revivals? Isn't this the biggest problem we have? Thinking we can schedule a revival? Yet this is one of the biggest fallacies embraced by the SBC! The word revival means bringing "restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, etc." and "an evangelistic service or a series of services for the purpose of effecting a religious awakening: to hold a revival." See the problem? The Holy Spirit is the One who brings revival! Not man. Yet too many churches, especially in the SBC, act like they've called upon God, told Him when to show up, then called a special paid person to come and bring special messages (and apparently powers) that will cause the Holy Spirit to do His job!
Sorry...it does not work this way. And it is Arminian theology that leads pastors and evangelists to think it can be done. Because, after all, it is WE who save people, right? Wrong.
Another thing, the evangelist (the kind that Hale would have us bring into churches anyhow) offer up an emotional appeal to people without calling them to repentance! Those numbers he says the evangelists are responsible for are the very ones who fall away soon after the evangelist leaves to some other church! At the SBC church I attended, I was present when Hale came to "evangelize" our church. I even agreed to be one with whom those who came forward would speak to after they came to speak with the pastor and Hale. Was it our unsaved neighbors and relatives who flocked down the aisles to repent of their sin? No. It was, for the most part, people who'd been in the church most of their lives! They came to "rededicate" their lives to Christ, but even though they agreed to enter into discipleship studies, I never was able to meet with the person I prayed with! And it was not through lack of trying to make myself available and constantly offering to change my schedule in order to meet! So if what happened at my church was indicative of what happens everywhere Steve Hale goes, then it's no wonder I pray to the Holy Spirit and not Hale for the salvation of my loved ones who do not know the Lord!
Steve Hale then makes a pitch for the professional evangelist (and by the way, in case you missed it...he is one). He says that to do without the professional evangelist is to ignore the clear teachings of Scripture. After all, these penniless evangelists are doing without in order to bring the Word to the lost...oh wait a minute..no they are not (more on this later).
Steve says, "those men who leave their families week after week to reach souls for Christ see the difference that revivals make in the life of a church.Yet, the perception is that "nobody" ever schedules a revival anymore. And to be sure, most do not. Consequently, the spiritual terrorist and all of his demonic cohorts are successfully eliminating God-called evangelists from the evangelical landscape."
Okay...if Hale is going to point out how much the evangelists suffer by being away from family...let's examine the martyrdom of these men. My experience when these men come to a local church is that they ask for a certain amount of money...and it's not traveling expenses we're talking about. That is extra. Oh yeah, they make demands as to which hotel they will stay at too. And are these evangelist going to the lost? No, they are coming to a church, where they want YOU to bring the lost in. But hold on, I guess in coming to churches they really are coming to the lost nowadays, since the idea taking hold among evangelicals is that church is for the lost. Forget about the fact that in the NT the Christians met to have fellowship, break bread, and be taught! Apparently the early Christians didn't realize the house church was for the lost!
"Our churches have never been in such dire need of a strong prophetic word from a fearless man of God who will address the issues of carnality and lukewarmness with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The need for the hour is for all of us who name the name of Jesus to be called to prayer with expressions of repentance."
Yeah...I call them the teaching elders of our churches, don't you? At least that is they way it should be.
But Hale is right about one thing...these men are rare. And when they show up, we accuse them of being too legalistic. What? He wants us to read our Bibles? To apply it to our lives? Get rid of him!
Well, I know I have been a bit harsh here. But realize that what he has written is representative of what is wrong in the SBC. If he'd written this article on his website (find it, I'm not linking it here!) I would not care, but it being published by the Baptist Press indicates that the leadership in the SBC agrees with it! And there are too many people I love within SBC churches...some of whom read this blog. I cannot remain silent.
God bless.
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