Wrath of a Sales Lamb -- asks very pointed questions about how we evangelize today, even if you don't use tracts. What do you think about its points?

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2000

Answers

Mark -

That is great. I think I have the same reservations most of the time. (Yeah, I know, I have a similar tract on my web page.)

When I read of the revivals of people like Finney, Boothe, and Moody, what jumps out at me is that they did not use a sinner's prayer. The sinner did LOTS of praying, but no sinner's prayer. I see to recall one part of Finney's autobiography where sinner's were counseled to pray all night, if necessary, until they received the assurance that God in fact had saved them. (Yeah, I have a problem with that concept too, but it is a different argument.)

I think that many of our modern "witnessing techiques" are sales techniques in disguise. We don't "sell" people Jesus. Its interesting that neither Jesus nor the disciples used the methods we used. I don't have an answer or alternative at the moment. But it is a very true observation. The truth contained in the Gospel, combined with the work of the Holy Sprit in the life of the individual, produces conviction in the individual so he/she recognizes the need to get right with the Creator. No jingle or pitch will produce that.

-- Anonymous, March 29, 2000

In a related vein, how many of you have read "The Gospel Blimp," by Joseph Bayly (Zondervan, 1960), or "The Gravedigger File," by Os Guinness (IVP, 1983)? If you haven't, I'd recommend them both.

(I guess I'm showing my age in mentioning the former, though I didn't read it when it first came out. I first saw it when I was in Bible college in the late '60s.)

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2000

"Faith is not created by reasoning, but neither is it created without it. There is more involved in witness than throwing pre-arranged clumps of texts at unbelieving heads."

J. I. Packer

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2000

I had an interesting random thought this morning, and thought that it was related to this thread. Has anyone read "Christianity in Crisis" by Hank Handegraaf? (If you haven't, it is a critical look at the "prosperity doctrine" taught by many notable television evangelists.)

Here is where that fits in with this. I have struggled to reconcile the concepts historically accepted and documented concerning conversion experiences and the contradictory popularly accepted ideas of the "sinner's prayer" conversions. It occurred to me that many of the "easy believe-ism" ideas also go hand in hand with what is taught in the "prosperity doctrines." (Taught by the same people.) Now this is an off-the-top-of-the-head thought, but I started to wonder if there was a relationship. Since what we are discussing is the difference between true and false conversion, I am open to what anyone else thinks.

-- Anonymous, March 31, 2000