Evangelism

Paul stood in the meeting of the Arropocos and said,

Men of Athens, I see in every way you are very religious.

I guess that you've worked out now that we're talking about evangelism today,

and I'll just explain a little bit about that word for a moment.

But I want to just, forgive me if this kind of starts with a slightly depressing note,

and don't check out, but just hang on in there.

So recently, the statistics were published from the Church of England about the health of our churches.

And what you need to know is that between 1983, which was the year that I first became a senior pastor of a church,

in that year, 40.3% of the people of this country claimed some kind of allegiance to the Christian faith.

In 2014, that 40.3% had reduced to 16%.

In the first 10 years of the 21st century, that decline started to plateau a little bit.

And unfortunately, it then has accelerated since 2010,

although those statistics are slightly pulled out of shape because of COVID,

and the fact that we couldn't attend worship services during that time.

On Friday, I had breakfast with somebody who works at the heart of the church's bureaucracy.

And he said to me that nationally, the way the church is thinking is that during lockdown,

40% of our regular membership have not turned up in church again.

But the one bright bit of news on the horizon is that 15% of people have arrived who are new people.

It's not clear what that means entirely.

It might mean that people have come from other churches and gone to another church to kind of give it a shot, so to speak.

You don't have to look, and you don't have to have a PhD in statistics to see

that actually the Church of England is declining.

You remember at the beginning of the pandemic, we were all obsessed by something called the R number.

Do you remember that?

Someone say yes.

And the R number was that figure that if it went below one, the disease was spreading in your region.

But if it dropped below one, it was starting to rescind.

Well, some bright spark, a professor of statistics, decided he'd work out the R number of the Church of England.

And you'll have guessed, the news is that it came out at just under 0.9.

In other words, we are continuing to decline.

I should say, and this should worry you, especially those of you who have been around churches for a long time,

that in 2014, the percentage of people in the age range between 18 and 24,

the percentage of people in that age range who claimed any affiliation with the local church was just 2%.

In other words, at the moment, it doesn't look like there are many people kind of waiting to take the places of your seats

when God decides to call you home to glory.

I'm not saying that to depress you, but it seems to me, and this is why I've always had a problem with the House of Bishops in the Church of England.

It seems to me we can only talk about reality, because if we talk about anything else other than reality,

we can never get a plan together to deal with that reality.

One of my massive frustrations as a bishop was that nobody really wanted to know that the church was declining.

The data was in front of them, but they didn't want to know.

I remember once in the Church Times, by the way,

only get the Church Times if your blood pressure is running low and you want to raise it.

It said on the front of the Church Times that the headline was,

Peter Braley had just produced his church statistics for the last decade saying,

Church in Decline.

Then the subheading was, Bishops Not Worried.

And I wrote a letter to the Church Times and I said,

so what will worry them?

I still don't have an answer to that question, as a matter of fact,

20 years as a bishop almost.

So whatever evangelism is,

despite Alpha, and thank God for Alpha,

Christianity Explored and these process evangelism courses,

which have definitely had some impact on a very small number of people nationally,

more so internationally.

And if you want to be encouraged,

know that the R figure for the global church,

taking into account that most of the Western churches are in decline,

the R figure for the global church is 1.3.

It's growing.

But the one thing you could say is,

in the Western Church,

and the Church of England, I think,

would be particularly in sharp focus,

to conclude this introduction,

is that whatever evangelism is,

we're not very good at it.

We don't spread it very well.

And the net result is,

we're all growing old together in church,

which is a rewarding process to an extent.

But it's not the way that it's meant to be.

The root word, the Hebrew word,

of the word that is translated evangelism,

is a word that means the announcement of good news,

largely used in the context of good news in relation to battles.

It's about the announcement of victory.

The Greek word that interprets the Hebrew word,

before we get the English word evangelism,

is a word that means the announcement of good news,

the evangel, the euangelion in Greek.

The Church of England loves that oft-quoted,

cliched phrase of Francis of Assisi.

Francis of Assisi said this.

He said,

Preach the gospel at all times.

Someone say, Amen.

And then he said,

Use words if necessary.

The Church of England loves that.

Because it gets them off the hook of preaching the gospel.

The gospel that changed my life,

and if you're prepared to embrace it if you haven't already,

will change your life dramatically for the good.

The reason why St. Francis is so wrong,

I mean, we all know broadly what he was talking about,

but he wasn't talking about evangelism.

We all know what he meant,

but in Romans 10, verses 14 and 15,

Romans 10:14

Paul is speculating to this church in Rome

as to how it is that people become Christians.

And what he says is,

I don't have time to read this order,

but the conclusion is,

faith comes through hearing,

and hearing through the word of Christ.

And Paul goes through this thing saying,

How will people hear

if no one ever preaches it to them?

No, says Paul.

Faith comes through hearing,

and hearing through the word of Christ.

You can preach the gospel without words.

You can do as many good works

as God calls you to be,

but on their own,

they will never ever

lead people to Christ

via the good news about Jesus.

Incidentally,

I slightly struggle with the book that we're using

because I don't ultimately believe

that evangelism is a spiritual discipline.

And I say that because

evangelism is a gift given to people

who have the gift of evangelism.

The people whose gift is

to help other people find Christ

via the proclamation of the gospel.

So it can't be a spiritual discipline,

but this is where you come in, folks.

You may not all be called to be evangelists,

although Michael Green always reckoned

that there are more evangelists

in church congregations

than nobody ever knows.

Not even the people

who might have that gift, incidentally.

About 10%

congregations

have a gift of evangelism,

says Michael Green.

But,

and this is why

you can't get off the hook, folks.

All of us,

if we're followers of Christ,

are called to be witnesses.

Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

end verse 8.

You will be witnesses

to the ends of the earth.

What does a witness do?

A witness shares their experience of God.

And of course,

that makes an assumption.

And the assumption is,

you have some experience of God

to talk about.

Like I told you this before,

but when I was in local church ministry,

I was really keen

to kind of see

if I could persuade

this congregation

to take their part

in evangelism

by acting as witnesses

the other six days of the week.

We started that

with a little research

amongst the congregation.

We said to them,

suppose somebody

came to you

and said,

you know what,

I've been reading

about Christianity.

You know,

you gave me that book

and I've been reading about it.

I really want to become

a Christian.

What should I do?

Do you know what most members

of my congregation

would do

at the beginning

of this adventure?

They would say,

go and see Mike.

Not good enough.

So I want to talk to you really

about being witnesses

and what that looks like.

But let me tell you something

that really doesn't help.

The reasons for church decline

are far too complicated

and far too wide-ranging

for me to have time

to tell you them today.

You'll be very relieved to know.

But there is a modern aspect

of that

which is very troubling.

And that is,

the church seems to have joined in

with that thing in our culture

where we're entering

a kind of season

of self-hatred.

Let me read that one commentator

has written about this,

specifically about the Church of England

in a book that came out this year.

Talking about the trend

of self-hatred in our culture,

not allowed to love our country anymore,

don't talk about the Commonwealth,

don't talk about the Empire.

The Church of England,

writes Douglas Murray,

has long led the way in this trend.

For a generation,

it has found itself

in a position of having to apologise

for spreading its gospel

around the world

and being embarrassed

by its former missionary zeal.

In recent years,

it has also decided

to take upon itself

the most hostile possible critique

of itself.

If you really don't believe

in this thing,

if you really think

that everything to do

with the church

is something to be despised

and we need a new game plan,

this is not a message for you.

So let me just offer you

some thoughts

as we go through.

One of the things,

we read that

the risen Christ

told us we're all witnesses.

The closing words of Matthew,

and I know that

people's final words

on planet Earth

are either very helpful

or very not.

Remember what Jesus said

before he parted company

with his disciples.

You,

sorry,

go

and make disciples

of all nations.

Go.

We're obsessed

with getting people

to come to church.

Jesus says,

no,

go.

Go into all the world

and make disciples

of all nations.

Peter,

writing in

1 Peter 3

in verse 15,

says,

be prepared

to give a reason

for the hope

that's in you.

And what would you say?

Somebody came to you

and said,

I'd love

to become

a Christian.

What should I do?

I know what you say.

Go and see Mike.

Go and see Clive.

Go and see Ross.

Go and see Susie.

But being a witness

means

you have to take

some responsibility.

And as an evangelist

myself,

I can tell you

that my job,

our job,

is made so much easier

when you do your job.

It's an awesome

responsibility

to be a witness

for Christ.

Do you get that?

That some people

will make up

their minds

about Jesus Christ

on the basis

of what they see

in your life

when you're not

in church.

That's an awesome

responsibility

in my view.

So we come to

Acts chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

This,

incidentally,

is a very

interesting chapter,

in case it's

escaped you,

because it is the

only recorded

sermon we have

in the New Testament

where Paul was

preaching

to Gentiles,

to non-Jews.

we didn't read

this verse,

but in verse

16,

verse 10,

sorry,

I beg your pardon,

sorry,

verse 16,

while Paul was

waiting for them

in Athens,

he was greatly

distressed to see

that the city

was full of idols.

Look,

our church,

the church of England,

the church in the

West,

needs to become

more distressed

distressed

about the state

of our life

and our culture

as a nation.

If you look at

the world as it is,

and you're very

comfortable with

the direction

it's taking,

it's not a message

for you.

I can't

compel you

to be distressed,

but I can plead

with you to be

distressed for the

way the world is.

Paul tells us

that in

verse 16.

He also

tells us,

or implies

in these verses,

that Athens

was a culture

like ours

in this sense.

It was

gospel-averse.

Athens

was a great

center

of something

that

really is

impressive.

It was a

center,

the philosophical

center

of the world.

Amazing.

Amazing thinkers,

Aristotle and

Plato,

people who

300 years

before Christ

have had a

major impact

and have a

major impact

today,

for instance,

on how we

think about

political

governance.

Great minds,

but it was

gospel-averse.

There is no

philosophy,

particularly those

mentioned here,

Stoicism,

philosophies like

that,

that would

have any

time for

the idea

that God

became a

man.

They didn't

have much

problem believing

that their

gods might have

become monsters

who arrived

out of the sea,

but they

couldn't believe

that God

would ever

become a

man.

It was

culture-averse.

Paul was

seen as a

threat.

But here's

some thoughts.

Paul had a

plan for

evangelism.

If you

look in

Acts from

about chapter

12 through

to chapter

17, you

will see

Paul's plan

for evangelism

was consistent.

Start in the

synagogue,

open the

Old Testament,

preach to

warm contacts

people who

at least

believed in

God, and

try and show

them that

Jesus was

the Messiah.

When he got

kicked out of

the synagogue,

he went out

in the

marketplace and

started to

preach, and

that's what

we're reading

about in

Acts 17.

Paul didn't

stand up by

rubbishing

their culture,

by shouting

at them.

No, he

started by

engaging with

that culture.

I don't know

about you, but

I never get

the impression

that St.

Paul could

have had a

kind of

alternative

profession and

been a

stand-up

comic.

My impression

of him is

he's a

little

intense.

He's

the kind

of person

who quietly

drives me

mental, but

that's another

story.

And Paul

engaged in

their culture.

Remember, he

said, look, I've

been walking

around your

city, and

I see there

are thousands

of altars

dedicated to

idols.

He said,

and then I

found an

altar which

wasn't

designated to

any idol,

so I want to

talk to you

about the

God who

is unnamed.

He started

to preach a

sermon to

them, and

this really

irritates very

conservative

evangelicals.

He preached

to these

philosophers,

and he

never mentioned

the cross.

He had a

plan to

preach the

gospel to

Gentiles that

started with

creation.

ended with

judgment and

a call to

repentance.

So, let me

give you

something to

take home with

you today.

Let me tell

you what the

nature of a

witness is,

what you're

meant to be

like.

First thing

is, you're

supposed to

be filled

with faith

in the

Holy Spirit.

That's a

precursor of

your life the

other six

days of the

week, and

the seventh

day of the

week.

Witnesses

share their

experience of

God.

Secondly,

their priority

is to live

their lives as

God calls

them to

live it.

Thirdly, you

are meant to

be able to

give a reason

for the hope

that is in

you.

Fourthly, they

didn't let

their fear

mess them

up.

They rose

above their

fear.

And fifthly,

and this is a

problem for some

Christians.

Try and avoid

being weird.

But always

be honest.

People are

not that

interested in

your minor

triumphs in

life.

They are far

more interested

when you've

had something

go wrong in

your life and

somehow your

life is still

hung together.

So, some

practical things

for you.

One is, I

want to invite

you today, if

you've never

taken this

witness thing

seriously, start

now.

Start now.

Start to think

about that as

you leave this

church this

morning.

Secondly, start

by praying.

Pray about the

people you

know, and

please God, you

do know some

people who are

not Christians,

and pray for

them.

Pray that you

will become a

meaning maker in

their lives.

Thirdly, get

exercised in

your faith by

exercising menial

and undramatic

acts of love.

See, I

told you at

the beginning

that you're

supposed to

bring cake to

church next

week.

That means we

can feed our

faces, but how

many of you

will think about

baking a cake

for an unbeliever

this week, and

taking it round,

and just giving

it over to

them.

It says in

our culture that

the act of

writing a

letter is gone

now.

We're all

emails, aren't

we?

Well, I

suppose an

email can

convey God's

love.

I personally

like to

handwrite a

note myself.

That's probably

you're thinking,

he's just told

us not to be

weird.

Drop a note

to somebody,

an unbeliever,

especially if

you know any

unbelievers who

are going

through a

very hard

time in

life.

You could

pick up a

phone and

call somebody

who's an

unbeliever.

Try and

encourage them,

try and say

something.

It says,

seriously,

anybody in

this church

this morning

who couldn't

do that,

incidentally,

if you're a

lousy baker,

don't bake

anybody else

a cake.

Is there

anybody here

who couldn't

do that?

And who

knows?

That might

trigger a

conversation

that becomes

life-changing.

how many

of you

invite people

to come

to church

with you

on a

Sunday?

I've been

meeting with

a bunch of

guys for

four and a

half years

nearly now,

every day

in the weekday,

and none of

them are

Christian,

and they give

me a hard

time in some

ways.

I'm not

worried about

that.

But in

that four and

a half years,

I've constantly

invited them to

come to church.

I thought it'd

be a big

attraction to

say to them,

come Sunday,

I'm preaching.

Yeah, that

worked well.

Except on

Easter Sunday

this year,

one of them

turned up

at St.

John's

Clevedon.

I saw him

through the

smoke.

I'm just,

you know,

I'm claiming

that before

God as a

minor,

minor,

minor triumph,

but maybe

it's a

start.

Suddenly,

we can

talk more

openly about

the gospel.

I mean,

most of

these guys,

like a lot

of people,

like some

of you,

got lives

that are

total train

wrecks.

God knows

you need

his help

to help

you get

through.

So,

menial and

undramatic

acts of love

are things

that any

of us

could do.

maybe that's

what St.

Francis meant.

Fourthly,

commit to

learning an

outline of

the gospel.

There are

plenty of

them around.

You just

need to have

a plan

what to do.

Paul had a

plan.

Why can't

we have a

plan?

Why doesn't

the Church

of England

have a

plan?

plan to

re-evangelize

this nation.

Become

invitational.

Listen to

me.

You know,

I know

this is the

way you

think.

If you

asked a

friend to

come to

church and

they rejected

your invitation,

you're scared

that that might

mean the end

of your

relationship

forever.

Here's my

question.

If somebody

ditches a

friendship with

you on the

basis that you

once invited

them to

church, what

kind of

friendship was

it in the

first place?

Stick your

neck out for

Jesus, for

crying out loud.

I think I'll

write a chorus

called that.

And finally,

finally,

I started

out by being

really depressing,

giving you

the news.

You know,

there's only

one statistic

in the whole

of the Church

of England

that's vaguely

positive.

And it's

this, that

apparently

children's work

in cathedrals

has increased

by 4%.

Throw your

hats in the

air.

And that's

certainly true

of Bristol

Cathedral, and

that's partly

because quite a

lot of overseas

people,

who came to

the cathedral

thought it

was a

Catholic

cathedral.

And we

were not

quick to

disavow them

of that.

But I

want to end

by saying

there is a

great, great

opportunity

here.

Every day,

you pick up

your newspaper,

you turn on

the television,

we're in for

hard times,

guys.

Some of you

are going to be

in for hard

times.

I don't

know what

your financial

situation is,

but I

imagine if

it's anything

less than

stable, you're

a little

concerned about

what you're

going to have

to pay to

switch your

heating on

and to

eat and to

do the

things that

we've enjoyed

probably in a

way that we've

taken for

granted for a

long time.

But it's not

just going to

happen to people

in the

church.

It's going to

happen in

this community.

And one of

the things that

the church has

always brought

to the table,

I don't mean

your kitchen

table, I

mean speaking

figuratively,

is the church

has always been

an institution

which is added

to social

capital.

That is

community,

networks.

And if

ever there

was a time

needed for

the church to

stand up and

build social

capital in our

culture, not

instead of the

gospel, but

alongside the

gospel, surely

to God, this

is it.

This is it.

Started out by

saying if you're

going to take

your calling as

a witness

seriously, you

need to start

to pray.

Years ago, when

I was a

curate, you

could say all

the gear and

no idea.

And I had

this idea, I

read it in a

book about

charismatic

renewal.

It's a good

thing to walk

around the

area of your

church and

pray for

people.

And I read

that and never

did it.

I was walking

along one

day, I

suddenly thought,

oh, I

could pray.

So I

prayed, Lord,

send me

somebody who

I can witness

to.

And literally,

I'm not

kidding, suddenly

this woman fell

on the floor in

front of me.

I mean, I

know it's my

normal impact,

but fell on

the floor in

front of me.

And she was a

disabled person and

she tripped over

the step between

her drive and

the pavement.

I helped her

up, took her

into her house

and she offered

me a cup of

coffee.

And three

months later,

she was

baptized in

the church.

Health

warning.

Don't pray for

opportunities to

witness unless

you're prepared to

act on it.

So listen,

friends, I think

this is a great

challenge.

And I think

you could do

this, but all

it needs is your

willingness.

And I'm not

going to stand

up or put your

hands up if you're

prepared to take

this on.

I'm going to

assume that you

are committed

Christians.

I'm going to

assume that you

may not have been

doing this for a

whole bunch of

reasons.

Fear, can't be

bothered, whatever.

But I want to

ask you today to

think about this

as you leave this

church and decide

what you're going

to do about it

starting today.

Paul, in a

very adverse

gospel culture,

preached his

funny little

sermon and

we're told a

few people came

to Christ,

including a man

called Dionysius,

who was an

influential person

in that city.

The revolution

had started

there.

And it can

start in

Cleveland.

And it's not

just down to me.

It's down to us.

Let's pray.

I'm just going to

leave a moment

of silence.

And I'm going

to pray that

during that

silence,

God's holy

fire will

come upon

us.

...

...

Lord, your word tells us

that the gates of hell will not prevail

against your church.

But Lord, you didn't particularly have

the Church of England in mind

when you said that.

And neither did you have the church

in Western Europe.

With all its material advantage,

with all its buildings and plant,

and Lord, we confess to you,

we're sick of sitting on a disaster.

And Lord, I don't know whether

the guy who invented the R figure

is right or wrong,

but I do know the evidence is abundant.

And unless together we do something about it,

we shall just continue to fail slowly.

So Lord, I pray for these dear people

gathered here today.

Lord, would you visit them

with the Holy Spirit

and provoke them to do something

as an act of witness this week.

And I pray these things in Jesus' name

and the people who agreed

said together,

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.