EVANGELISM
DR. JIM DIXON
1 CORINTHIANS 9:19-23
MAY 7, 1995
Cherry Hills Community Church is an evangelical church. We are affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. What does the word evangelical mean?
In greater Europe the word evangelical simply means Protestant. In Germany, the word evangelical actually means Lutheran. In the American media, the word evangelical is oftentimes associated with conservative politics, but what does the word evangelical mean biblically and what does it mean to say that this church is evangelical? Well, it means three things.
First of all, it means that this is a gospel church. This is a church that lives to proclaim the gospel. Now I hold in my hand the Jefferson Bible, compiled by Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant man, the founder of the University of Virginia, the author of the Declaration of Independence, the third President of the United States of America. Jefferson was an accomplished writer. He was a great statesman and he was a skilled architect. Jefferson designed Monticello, that famous home in which he lived for 56 years. Jefferson, like all people, had strengths and weaknesses. Jefferson was not a Christian. He was not a Christian. He struggled his whole life with the person of Jesus Christ. He believed that the teachings of Jesus Christ, in his words, were “the most sublime, the most benevolent teachings to grace the earth” but he could not believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He could not believe in Jesus Christ as Son of God. He was a product of the enlightenment, the age of reason. He could not accept the supernatural. He could not accept miracles.
This book, the Jefferson Bible, does not contain the whole Bible. It does not even contain the whole New Testament. It contains Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four gospels, but it doesn’t contain all of those. It just contains bits and pieces of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the portions that Thomas Jefferson found acceptable. No miracles here. Nothing supernatural here. No resurrection from the dead. No virgin birth. No John 3:16. No dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus regarding the necessity of the new birth. It’s not here.
The Jefferson Bible ends with Matthew 27:60, “There they laid Jesus and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher and departed.” For Thomas Jefferson, that was the end of the story. You see, Thomas Jefferson, if he were alive today, could go to many churches and be perfectly comfortable…perfectly comfortable because there are many churches today who do exactly what Thomas Jefferson did. They just cut out portions of the Bible. They only use the portions of the Bible they’re comfortable with and they don’t proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. They don’t really believe in the infallibility and inspiration of holy scripture. But this is an evangelical church, Cherry Hills Community Church, and we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and we believe in the authority and the inspiration of holy scripture.
The word gospel comes from the old English word “godspell.” The word godspell literally means “good tidings” or “good news.” The word evangelical comes from the Greek word, the biblical word “euangelion” and that word also means “good tidings” or “good news.” You see, to be an evangelical is to proclaim the gospel and the gospel is the good news. It is the good news of Jesus Christ. The angel proclaimed to shepherds on a Judean hillside, “Behold, I bring you the gospel, the evangel. I bring you good news of a great joy which shall come to all the people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” That’s the good news. Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord and we live to proclaim this message to our community and to the nations. Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord.
The world is in bondage to sin and death and desperately needs a Savior. We believe that Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world. Death could not hold Him. He rose from the dead in power and great glory and He offers resurrection and eternal life to all who believe in His name. This we proclaim. We are an evangelical church. We are a gospel church. But to be evangelical does not simply mean to be a gospel church. It also means to be a ‘bringer’ church. If we would be an evangelical church we must be what church growth strategists are calling a ‘bringer’ church.
Now if you’ve read the first chapter of the gospel of John, you know that John the Baptist baptized by the River Jordan and for a time he preached there. John the Baptist was surrounded by his followers. He was surrounded by his own disciples but there came a day when Jesus Christ arrived. He came down to the River Jordan. John the Baptist looked at the approaching Christ and he said “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” One of John the Baptist’s disciples was a man named Andrew. On that day, he left John the Baptist and Andrew began to follow Jesus Christ. But the Bible tells us that Andrew ran to find his brother Simon. He said to Simon Peter, “I have found the Christ.” The Bible tells us that Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. You see, Andrew was a bringer. An evangelical church consists of people who are bringers. They want to bring people to Jesus Christ.
Church growth strategists tell us that bringer churches consist of people who want to bring people to church in order that they might hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think a lot of us find it difficult to share our love for Christ, find it difficult to share our faith. We’re afraid we’re going to irritate people or aggravate people.
I’m reminded of a story concerning Jack Benny. Jack Benny was, of course, a famous comedian who was on the radio and on television for a time. It is said that Jack Benny was gathered in a room with friends and they were discussing the differences between the words “irritability” and “aggravation.” Jack Benny’s friends were saying there is no difference, the two words are synonymous and mean the same thing. To say a person is irritable or aggravated.
Jack Benny said the words were different and that it’s worse to be aggravated than it is to be irritable. He said that he could demonstrate this. He picked up the telephone and he dialed a number at random. A woman answered the phone and he said “Hello, let me speak to Herman.” The woman said “I’m sorry, Sir. There’s no Herman here. You must have the wrong number.” Jack Benny hung up the phone and then he picked it up and redialed the same number. The same woman answered the phone and he said “Hello, let me speak to Herman.” The woman said “You must be the same gentleman that just called a moment ago. You have the wrong number again and Herman is not here.” Jack Benny hung up the phone and he picked it up and dialed the same number again. He said “Hello, let me speak to Herman ” The woman was really upset. She said “This is the third time you’ve called me. You have the wrong number. I’ve told you that. There’s no Herman here. Do not call me again” and she slammed down the phone. Jack Benny turned to his friends and said “That’s irritability.” He said “Now let me show you aggravation. He dialed exactly the same number again. The woman answered and Jack Benny said “Hello, this is Herman. Are there any messages for me?”
Now I don’t know if there is a difference between irritability and aggravation, but I do know we live in a world where we really don’t want to irritate people. As Christians, we don’t want to aggravate people. Even the Bible tells us that as we share our faith we should share our faith with reverence and with gentleness. But, you see, how hard is it to invite someone to church? How hard is that? How hard is it to be a bringer? I mean, would that all of you, would that all of us were able to share our faith with another person and lead them personally, one-on-one, to a commitment to Jesus Christ. But how hard is it to bring someone to church? How hard is that?
One of the greatest bringer stories is the story of Rigby. I know you’ve heard the story because I’ve told it before. But it is the greatest bringer story. Rigby lived in Scotland. He was a businessman. He did not live in Edinburgh but every weekend he went to Edinburgh and always attended St. Andrews Church in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Rigby was a shy man and he found it very difficult to talk to people about his deep love for Jesus Christ, but he had one thing he did. Every Sunday morning at the hotel he stayed at, he would go down into the lobby. He would get a cup of coffee and a newspaper and he would just sit next to another person who was also reading the newspaper. He would invite that person to go with him to church. He would invite that person to go with him to St. Andrews Church where Dr. Alexander White was the pastor. Sometimes Rigby had to talk to two or three people in the lobby but usually he would find somebody who wanted to go to church with him. Rigby would go to church with that person, sit with that person. Well one Sunday, Rigby took a person to St. Andrews Church and the person was moved by the message and the person asked Jesus Christ into his heart, accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Rigby was so excited. He’d never seen anyone he brought to the church do that before and he was so excited to know he’d had a small part in that.
That afternoon, Rigby was just feeling great. He was taking a walk around Edinburgh. He was walking through a residential neighborhood and he saw on a sign on a drive the home of Dr. Alexander White, the Pastor at St. Andrews Church. He thought “I’m going to go up and tell Alexander White what happened today.” He knocked on the door and Pastor White came to the door. Rigby introduced himself and he said “I just wanted you to know that I brought a visitor to church with me this morning and God used your message because the person accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.” Alexander White said “What was your named again?” He said “My name is Rigby.” Alexander White began to tear up and he began to cry. He said “Rigby, I’ve been wanting to meet you for years. He said, “Come into my house.”
Rigby went into the house and Alexander White went back to the study and he came out with a stack of letters twelve inches high, all written by people who had been sitting in the lobby of a hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland when a man named Rigby had come up to them and invited them to St. Andrews Church. All of them had accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and seven of them had entered the full-time gospel ministry.
I mean, isn’t that a great ‘bringer’ story? You see, we need a whole church full of Rigbys! A whole church full of bringers! That’s what it means to be an evangelical church or a gospel church. We proclaim the gospel. We are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation. And we are also a bringer church. We want to have a congregation of people who bring the unreached that they might hear the gospel of Christ.
We’re not only to be evangelical, that only means to be a gospel church and to be a bringer church, but it also means to be a “seeker-friendly” church. This is so important. In fact, even if the gospel is proclaimed and even if the unbelieving are brought, if that church is not seeker-friendly the seed of the gospel will not normally bear fruit. An evangelical church is a seeker-friendly church.
You know, I think probably all of you have heard of Erwin Rommel. Erwin Rommel was, of course, the great German military leader, military strategist. He led many of the Nazi armies during World War Il. He was part of the plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler in 1944 and yet for years Rommel had willingly served the Nazis.
Rommel had written a book called Infantry Attacks. In that book, Rommel had laid out all of his strategies. His strategies were profound. Rommel had led Nazi armies to victory in Austria and Czechoslovakia, Poland and in France, but in Northern Africa the Nazi armies of Rommel were defeated. They were defeated by the Allied armies led by General George Patton, the great American military leader. Rommel escaped and he was stunned that he had lost and Patton took one German officer he had captured and he sent him back to Rommel. Patton sent a captured German officer back to Rommel with a four-word message. He said “Tell Rommel this. I read your book.”
Well, you see, as Christians the Bible tells us we have an adversary. We have an adversary and he is the devil. The Bible calls him Satan. He is the adversary. He has not written a book but we can know his strategies. We can know his strategies and the Bible reveals something of Satan’s strategies. The Bible tells us that one thing Satan attempts to do is snatch the seed. When the gospel would be planted, Satan attempts to snatch the seed. Even when churches proclaim the gospel and members of the congregation bring the unbelieving, Satan can snatch the seed. He can snatch the seed if that church is not a seeker-friendly church.
You know, Friday night Drew and I were home alone. Barb was at a woman’s conference and Heather had an activity. She was home for the weekend but she had an activity. Drew and I were sitting there and we were talking about dinner and we decided to order pizza. I said to Drew “What kind of pizza do you want?” He said “I want that new Pizza Hut pizza, the stuffed crust pizza.” Drew’s on a new nutritional program so he wanted the stuffed crust pizza. I called Pizza Hut. They have a citywide delivery number. I called and the line was busy. I called for a half hour and the line a was busy. Drew really wanted the pizza so I kept calling. Finally I got them and they told me that it would be a 2-1/2 hour wait for the pizza to be delivered, a 2-1/2 hour wait! The person I was talking to sounded really upset that I was putting them out. Well, you see, that’s not seeker friendly.
We live in world like that don’t we? We live in a world where, with respect to businesses and organizations, there’s just lots of groups that are not seeker friendly. Some people have suggested that our parking lot situation is not seeker friendly. That’s one of the reasons we’re so happy to move. We want a seeker-friendly parking lot. You see, if we’re going to be seeker friendly, if the seed of the gospel is going to reach the unreached, we also need to be a congregation that practices hospitality. If you read those little books of 2 and 3 John, time and again you see the Apostle John telling the churches they need to practice hospitality. The Greek word is “philoxenos ” which means “the love of strangers.” That’s what hospitality is. The love of strangers. We want to be a church like that where unreached people can come here and feel loved.
I’m baffled because I get letters and sometimes people write and they say “I’m so glad to be here. This is the most loving church and I’ve found so many friends and people have shown so much care.” Then other times I’ll receive letters from people and they’ll say “This is the coldest church and I’ll never come back again.” I don’t understand that. I don’t understand exactly what’s going on but you know it might be as simple as where they sit on a Sunday morning. It might be that simple. It might be as simple as who they are sitting next to on a Sunday morning. Are we a seeker-friendly church and do we practice hospitality and do we love strangers?
But to be seeker friendly doesn’t just mean to practice hospitality. It means to become incarnate. It means to become culturally relevant. I mean, this is such an important concept. If you remember nothing else this morning, please remember this.
I know you’ve all heard of the Wycliffe Bible Translators. Wycliffe Bible Translators have translated the holy scriptures into more than a thousand different languages and they have more than 5,000 fulltime missionaries working the world over, the largest evangelical missionary organization in the world. It all began 60 years ago with Cameron Townsend who was 17 years old. He was walking across Guatemala distributing Bibles that were written in Spanish. He came upon a group of people called the Kaqchikel people. That’s a hard word to say as you can obviously tell. But this tribe of people, he tried to give them Bibles and they said they didn’t want the Bibles. They could read Spanish but it was a second tongue to them. They said, “Why should we listen to you?” They said to Cameron Townsend, “Why should we listen to you? You don’t really know us. You’ve not lived among us. You don’t wear our clothes. You don’t eat our food. You don’t play our games. You don’t even speak our primary language. You don’t understand our culture. Why should we listen to you?”
He was convicted. The Holy Spirit of God convicted him and he entered their culture. He lived among them for 15 years. For 15 years he lived among them. He wore their clothes. He ate their food. He played their games. He learned their culture and he learned their language. He translated the entire Bible into their tongue. In droves they came to Jesus Christ. In droves they came to Jesus Christ. I tell you in the best sense he was seeker friendly because he became culturally relevant. He became incarnate to them as Jesus became incarnate to us.
We didn’t do so well with the American Indians, didn’t do so well with Native Americans because there were so few who were willing to go and live among them, so few who were willing to wear their clothes, eat their food, play their games, learn their culture. So few. And when Geronimo accepted Jesus Christ in 1903, only 6 years before his death, Geronimo complained that so many people wanted him to accept the white man’s culture as well as to accept Jesus Christ. Isn’t it true that missionaries from America and Europe have gone to Africa? For centuries we made the mistake of trying to convert them to the western culture rather than simply trying to convert them to this person Jesus Christ.
Well, the Apostle Paul understood this and as he took the gospel to the Gentiles, he knew he had to be relevant to the culture. He had to become incarnate. He was Jewish and he had lived in a Jewish culture but he was going into the Hellenized world. If he had wanted them, if he had expected them to practice the Jewish festivals, it wouldn’t have been culturally relevant. If he had expected them to eat foods in accordance with the Levitical dietary laws, he wouldn’t have become incarnate. If he had asked them all to receive circumcision, he wouldn’t have been seeker friendly. He understood.
So Paul said “Though I am free from all people, I have made myself a slave of all that I might win the more. To the Hebrew I became as a Hebrew that I might win the Hebrews. To those under the law, I became as one under the law, though not being under the law, that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law, not being without law towards God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak that I might win the weak. I became all things to all people that by all the means I might save some. I do all for the sake of the gospel.”
I tell you, there’s a lot of churches today that just aren’t culturally relevant, not willing to be incarnate and the devil snatches the seed. There are so many churches today that if an unreached person goes into a church and they just encounter hymns, some of which are hundreds of years old, and clergy in robes and responsive readings and they are all singing the Gloria Patri and it’s a church of high church liturgy, many of those unreached people are just going to walk out and it’s not going to feel relevant. Some will relate, but many won’t.
I know this is difficult. I hope you understand I love hymns. I love pipe organs that just fill cathedrals. I like robes. I think they’re kind of cool. Bob and I wore robes for a few years, but a lot of people just couldn’t relate to them. People from the world we’re trying to reach. There was a time when in our music we moved to a more contemporary style and hundreds of people left our church. Hundreds of people left our church. They wrote me letters. I understood how music is a matter of differing tastes, but I wondered if they understood the strategy and the call of this church.
This is an evangelical church. We are seeking to reach the unreached. We proclaim the gospel. We are not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. We want to be bringers. We want to bring the unreached and we want to be seeker friendly, culturally relevant. We want to become incarnate to the people we’re seeking to reach and we want to show hospitality, the love of strangers. Let’s close with a word of prayer.