"What does Hybels say about being original,
creative, and authentic?
Relevant, too."
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Evangelism Day Gems from T. Shinnick
Today was Evangelism Day at MLC. It's always been one of my favorite days of the year. There are a lot of good thoughts being shared, so I thought I'd share a few of them with you on here.
The first presentation that I attended was titled "Strategies for Congregations to Reach the Unchurched". The biggest takeaway I got from this presentation was that the ultimate goal of evangelism is not to bring members into our church. Rather, the goal is to bring people into contact with Christ. I appreciated this perspective. As we see financial troubles and declining membership, it can be a temptation for people to think about how more people into the church. Even more nobly, one might think that we should always pull people into our churches because of our true handling of God's Word. While this certainly is a blessing to those who come to our churches, God has asked us to preach a message. We plant seeds and he does the rest. If he causes that person to join our church, wonderful. If he causes that person to join another church in which the seed that we planted can grow, we'll be with them in heaven. That too is wonderful.
The next presentation I attended was a discussion of evangelism through worship. In this presentation, Pastor Limmer presented a gem that expressed a sentiment I've always had but have never really articulated. In our world there is a huge emphasis on being relevant. In order to reach people who are looking for relevance, we must present them with a relevant message. After presenting that thought he simply said, "Law and gospel are the most relevant things in the world. We have all sinned. We all need a savior."
Perhaps the strongest presentation I attended all day was Professor Gurgel's presentation on evangelism and homiletics. Much of his presentation was the result of his research for his doctoral thesis on homiletics. [GJ - I have seen a DMin paper mentioned. That is not a doctoral thesis. Which school? The WELS worship conference listed schools for many speakers but not Richard's. Gurgle is a Church and Chicanery advocate.]
The presentation started out with a small group discussion resulting in a list of factors in preaching that either hold or repel attention. The thought is that in order to help people hear the message, we ought to present it in such a way that will not cause them to tune us out. This is not to say that the method of presentation creates or contributes in the creation of faith. We want to be wise in the way we act toward outsiders; making the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5). Professor Gurgel said, "If how we go about preaching practically invites the birds to pluck the seed of the path (Matthew 13:4,19), we are frustrating the very purpose of preaching." It's with this thought in mind that we went into this entire workshop. I don't want to hear anyone saying that this denied the efficacy of the Word. It didn't.
Now, in this exercise of attempting to finwhat (sic) compels and repels attention in a sermon, we had the interesting task of having a roomful of about 40 life long WELS men trying to think like people coming into church for the first time in a long time, if not for the first time ever. Therefore, if you'd like to disagree with any of these, please feel free to do so. These were just our thoughts (Well, they're technically the thoughts that were presented in the room that I thought were worthwhile):
What in preaching repels attention?:
An agenda driven by the pastor rather than the Spirit/text.
Incoherent thought
Arrogance
Poor preparation
What in preaching compels attention?:
Passion
Polished presentation
Relevant connections
This list drove much of our conversation for the remainder of the hour. The thought that was hit on the most was authenticity. It was best summed up in a quote that he presented which said, "If I'm not authentic, then they may think that Christ isn't real either." Achieving that authenticity is something that we will all strive for probably for the rest of our lives. This is something that extends far beyond the pulpit. Professor Gurgel's advice, which seems so simple, but is not always easy to carry out:
Don't preach or teach anything that you don't believe. There is nothing that's more inauthentic than faking authenticity. [GJ - Ask Paul Calvin Kelm, or Limmer. Yeah, that's it. Read Limmer's plagiarized email.]
The final workshop that I attended was on welcoming people to our churches and schools. The main thought that I took from this was that churches, just like people, can be approachable or unapproachable. There are any number of steps that can be taken in order to make our churches more approachable. This can be anything from presentation to strategy. It's something that should always be on our minds.
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Pastor Fred Guldberg has left a new comment on your post "Hope for a Pietistic Future in WELS: Church and Ch...":
GJ, Thank you for finding this post. The article sounds great, though from your couple of comments it sounds like you don't appreciate it. I would love to hear more of your thoughts - for entertainment purposes.
(Ty, congrats! You have arrived, my boy! How did he find you?)
GJ - I just started Blogg'n too. Please examine my work for doctrinal clarity - there must be something for your to correction, rebuke, or instruction. I'm not sure what we would do without your watchful eye keeping our Synod from going off the deep end.
Fred Guldberg
Star of Bethlehem Lutheran Church
www.wswelstar.org
