Following on from yesterday’s post about making church accessible for non-regulars, I have been pondering what I perceive to be a short-sighted approach to evangelism.
I grew up in a church tradition that had a “gospel service” every Sunday evening. This was probably a vibrant and dynamic approach decades ago, but by the time I was there it had become somewhat bizarre. A weekly presentation of the gospel to mostly saved folks, with almost no fruit to speak of.
In various forms, we often seem to fall into this idea that if non-Christians are present, then the sermon has to be primarily or even exclusively a gospel presentation and call for response. I know some will argue that every sermon should be that, but hear me out. Every sermon should be good news, but not every sermon has to be exclusively aimed at converting souls.
I see the value in shop window preaching, for want of a much more appropriate label. This is where we preach to Christians for their edification, but alert to the fact that non-Christians may be looking in. It seems to me that sometimes non-Christians only ever hear one message until they make some sort of commitment, and then they get hit with this whole array of discipleship and spiritual growth and church life and sanctification and so on and so on. Why not let them see Christianity in action in our preaching?
I think this kind of exposure to Christians being Christians can be highly effective evangelistically. Furthermore it means that church can be church rather than evangelistic crusade every single week, yet at the same time be effective in evangelism. My desire is to make every Sunday morning accessible to believers and visitors alike, and sometimes to be more directly targeted at the visitors.
Something to ponder as we head into another year of church ministry.
Biblical Preaching 
You make an interesting point. But, it would be easy to take what you’re saying wrong. I’ve sat in the pews of far too many churches that used Sunday morning to preach about anything but the gospel. Based on personal experience I would probably take the opposite approach. I’m not a fan of the traditional “step forward and get saved” kind of climax, however that doesn’t mean you need to veer away from preaching in such a way that the Spirit is free to convict the lost and do His regenerating work. I don’t think a believer hearing the good news on a regular basis is so much for edification as it is for instruction in personal evangelism. “Feed my sheep” and “make disciples” means educating and guiding the brethren to answer their calling. Yeah, that needs to be well rounded, but at the center of that rounding must always be the blood of Jesus. For the saved: Preaching is leadership by example or it is little more than vamping. For the unsaved it is all foolishness if the Spirit is not speaking to the heart through the hearing of gospel preaching. Well, just a thought.
On the one hand it’s wonderful to know that there are preachers who are strongly convinced that they should be declaring the gospel every time they speak. The whole of scripture is about Jesus Christ and what he has done for us, and that should rightly be presented to a congregation when someone preaches.
On the other hand it a terrible shame (I could use stronger words…) when a preachers sees that call to the centrality of Christ as little more than boiling the gospel down to 3 identical points to be preached each and every week.
The whole counsel of scripture is about Christ, but it is about him in so many different ways. Occasionally the way the Bible speaks of Jesus is exclusively evangelistic in nature and clearly intended to reach out to lost people. Most of the time however the Bible speaks about Christ in much wider ranging ways, covering so many different topics and themes in hugely rich and varied ways.
Of course we should hear about Christ week in week out, but not the narrow Christ who has nothing more to say than repent and be saved. I want to hear about the Jesus presented in the Bible in all of his manifold glory!
Well said. I think we are tracking well. I wasn’t disagreeing, but saying it would be easy to misunderstand. I do appreciate the clarification. You’re central point is exactly right. I see Christ on every page of the OT as well as the NT. And yes, it touches myriads of topics, not just the simplistic boiled down four points or twelve points or what have you that some people love to use. I think such shallow evangelism is rubbish if that’s all there is to it. So many people lead churches, preach or teach, who don’t know any real theology beyond a few talking points or the typical Sunday school level of knowledge. Jonah ran, got caught, and God saves the sinner who repents. Yeah, that’s part of it. Where’s the rest? Abram’s wife’s servant Hagar and her son got tossed out on their ear and God cared for them. But what about all that dysfunctional family dynamics stuff? Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t have sex outside of marriage – but who preaches the truth about God’s jealousy and why its a GOOD thing? Ugh. Anyway, yeah, I think we’re on the same page.
Thank you Peter for your thoughts on having guests in our midst during services and its relationship to the gospel. It seems to me that far to often when we hear a statement like you made, “Every sermon should be good news” there are many who react due to an overemphasis in some circles to preach exclusively salvation sermons to the unsaved. This is not what I hear you saying, but what I do hear is that you believe the gospel is an essential part of a well balanced meal for believers, rather than a dainty morsel which is to attract unbelievers to its sweetness.
I have come to believe that the gospel is not an exclusive message for non-believers. The gospel is not exclusively for seekers. The gospel is for sinners! Unbelieving sinners and believing sinners and when I preach I hope to have both in the congregation and I am convinced that it is the gospel of Grace that they need to be fed.
I was recently struck by what Paul says to the believers in the book of Romans, how he was eager to preach the gospel to them, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. I have a feeling that Paul was intending to preach the gospel to the believers in Rome for he knew that it is in the gospel that the power of God comes to convict of sin as well as the power to save us from self-salvation.
I know that there are many well intentioned preachers and much preaching in non-seeker churches that focus believers attention on what the hearers must do and which have as Paul says in Colossians, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion but are of no value against fleshly indulgences (Col 2:2-23). But there is no power outside of the gospel to give us victory over our sins. It is as a believer understands the gospel of Jesus Christ that will enable them to overcome sin. I would say it this way. The imperatives of scripture are empowered by the Gospel indicatives. Faith in all that God has done for the believer (Colossians 1-2), is what will give us the victory over the sinful nature ( Colossians 3-4).
Thank you for you thoughtful and challenging posts. Keep up the good work, Peter! Preach the gospel!
I thoroughly agree with this point