Landmark Baptist

I just read a great book by a believer who has started 5 churches. I don't think we would consider him scriptural enough for the ABA but this book is pretty good. It's called Servant Evangelism by Steve Sjogren. It's not about getting crowds together like Jesus did when he fed the multitudes, It's not about having huge evangelistic crusades like Jesus did on the sermon on the Mount, It's not about changing traditions and new methods like Jesus did when he angered the Pharisees and the Religious rulers of the day, It's not about an organized door to door evangelism effort like Jesus did when he sent out the seventy to all the villages and cities, It's not about targeting certain parts of society like Jesus did when he sent out the 70 or "must needs" go through Samaria, or started his ministry in Galilee.....It's about serving....ministering to the lost.....with the attitude and humility that Jesus did it with throughout the NT. Hope you read it!

It depends on what "point" you're looking for?

"People only see what they are prepared to see"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view."
"When you have vision it affects your attitude. Your attitude is optimistic rather than pessimistic."
Charles R Swindoll
"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened"
Paul the Apostle
"What we see depends mainly on what we look for"
John Lubbock

Servant Evangelism has the lowest risk factor in evangelism. In other words, those who participate in this kind of evangelism have little or no fear to deal with, almost no rejection, and experience overwhelming acceptance. It is remarkable to me that more of us are not attempting it.

Oregonlandmarker wrote:Maybe we should rename this
"Coward Evangelism".
Our Lord deserves a little bit better than this!

The best evangelism books I have read are found right in the King James Bible. Strong bold, brave, deadly preaching that convicted the hearer, made many converts and never was there a "repeat after me" uttered. And in a lot of cases the preacher DIED!!

If you prefer not to look into God's Word, Go to the nearest "christian" bookstore and pick up "Martyr's Mirror" or "Foxes Book of Martyrs" (if those guys still carry anything of substance).

Brother Faulkner,
Your attitude towards this is down right offensive and prideful. You mean to tell me that showing compassion to someone is not a scriptural approach to evangelism?

Last Saturday about 15 of our Church members handed out bottles of water with the Gospel and our Church information on them at a Little League park. We had the opportunity to share Christ with about 10 people. "This water will quench your physical thirst, but Jesus will quench the thirst in your soul." Most of the time, Jesus met the physical needs of someone BEFORE or IN ORDER TO meet their spiritual needs. Bottom line is, when you soften the heart of the individual, they are much more open to the Gospel.

In Colorado, because of a bottle of cold water, I was able to show love and witness to a Lesbian couple. They mentioned that most Christians won't even talk to them. I told them, I wanted them to know the love of Christ. I was bold and told them that God's Word stands against their lifestyle. I also told them that God's Love could fill the longing in their hearts that caused them to enter their sinful lifestyle. I wouldn't have had that opportunity to speak openly to them if I hadn't shown them compassion before doing so.

I pray that God will soften your heart and show you the great opportunities of sharing the Gospel through Servant Evangelism.

You guys are telling me that Christians have to be taught to serve others?

I am beginning to think that most "Christians" are not saved. This should be classified as a form of evangelism, but an evidence of being born again.

That being said, I do not believe that you have to meet someone's physical needs in order to "soften" their heart for the gospel. This is saturated with Western concepts of Maslow's hierarchy which is founded on unbiblical concepts. The message of Christ appears to be that we must deny our physical needs in order to follow Christ. If Christian serve the flesh, we will receive carnal members.

Our problem with evangelism is that we are not evangelizing - proclaiming that sinners are sinners in need of the Savior. We need to teach our people to have compassion for those around them. They need to feel the cool breeze from heaven on the one hand and the heat from hell on the other. They need to look at their Bible and realize that they have the words of eternal life. They need to understand that unless they declare that message, people are going to hell. Preaching that gospel is the foolishness that will bring people to Christ.

The early church could have set up ministries to feed the poor, but instead they set up ministries to feed the widows that were already members. To the lost, they preached the gospel. So, the scriptural method of evangelism is to take care of those in the household of faith, and declare to the lost that they will burn in hell unless they accept Jesus as Savior. Until we do this, we may build nice churches, but we will never actually build Christians.

Instead of making sinners comfortable, what if we tell sinners that they are trash in the hands of an angry God? Why don't we explain to them that unless they come by the way of the cross, they will be cast into the cosmic trash heap to be burned forever? If such words seem offensive to our churches today, it is because we are far removed from the Biblical concept of hell and redemption. This is exactly what Jesus was saying when he talked of Hell in Mark 9.

I guess people are reading a different new testament than I am.....do unto others as you would have them do unto you......you do it unto me when you do it to the least of these! Do good unto all men! The Good Samaritan! on and on I could go....I do not understand what the issue even is! In my opinion people are just paranoid and scared that somehow it will only become about the good works and not the good news.....I think that is the least of what is happening among our baptists.....The problem with most Landmarkers is they only believe people can get saved if they hear preaching inside the confines of one of their churches on a Sunday Morning....that is why Landmark churches are dying and shrinking at an alarming rate. It has very little to do with the end times or people not wanting to hear....It has more to do with the parable of the talents!

Jon,

What I am trying to tell you is that being a servant is not a form of evangelism, but an evidence of being a Christian.

If your people are not serving others, then they do not know Jesus.

It is really simple.

studymore wrote:Jon,

What I am trying to tell you is that being a servant is not a form of evangelism, but an evidence of being a Christian.

If your people are not serving others, then they do not know Jesus.

It is really simple.

Is being a Christian a form of Evangelism?

Is being a Christian a form of Evangelism?

Not technically. It is not evangelism until the gospel message is declared. I think an open minded reading of Romans illustrates this.

Paul declared in Romans 1:16 that he was not ashamed of the gospel. He defines this in I Corinthians 15 as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Evangelism is declaring that good news that Jesus invites us to partake in His death so that we may walk in newness of life. Anything short of this declaration is not evangelism. Simply being a Christian doesn't count. That is why Paul could write to Timothy to do the work of an evangelist.

I guarantee you that you can find people in a variety of religions that are doing the same works and better works that Christians, but Christians are special because we have the Spirit. We have the Spirit by grace through faith. That spirit comes not by works of the flesh, but by believing.

Paul's words in Romans echo this.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Notice that the gospel message depends on its proclamation. Being a Christian is not the means that are sufficient to the task. We must rather publish, proclaim, preach the message of salvation by grace through faith.

Sure Serving is a form of evangelism....you can not divorce the character of the messenger from his message! A Christian who is not serving is sinning and sin hinders the message! To know to do good and to do it not is sin! You don't believe that sin hinders the message? You don't believe that someone living the life has more power in their message?

Once again you assume so much! I use only the KJV in my personal readings and at church....but not because it is The "Immaculate Translation"

Love is telling people the gospel but it is more than that also brother! If you don't understand that then you have bigger problems than debating me on this discussion board.

I have literally led hundreds of people to the Lord because I first loved them in a real, physical, tangible way and then they listened to the gospel with an open heart and were saved! If you have never experienced that maybe its because you need to try it.

You sound like the kid that says he doesn't like brocoli and then you find out he never tried it! How would he know?

I will be praying for you brother! Loving through good works does not mean you stop loving by telling the gospel.....It is possible to do both. Those doing only one or the other are missing out on incredible blessings!

Upon reviewing this thread again, I believe that we are not really in disagreement. There must be a foundation for the gospel to be effective. The method, the messenger, and the medium must be compatible with the message. Jesus established a paradigm of service to others. This should come naturally. If it doesn't, then our own salvation should be questioned. After all, it is a fact that we are save "unto good works."

I still believe that we are failing because we are not evangelizing. But, we are not evangelizing because we are not actually talking to those around us. When we give a thirty second presentation about Jesus, but do not develop the relationship with those around us, we lack a certain credibility. Our faith must be demonstrated by our service to ensure that the lost know that we actually believe what we preach.

I am still uncomfortable calling this "evangelism," because evangelism must end with the gospel being preached.

bro. studymore, I appreciate your comments. I am uncomfortable with you being uncomfortable with it because that tells me that you are making the assumption that evangelism is not being done in this model. IF that were the case then it would be called just "serving" but its called "servant evangelism" because they are connected in this method.

Can a person get saved just by being served.....no, not unless the Word has been previously shared with them....but a person can get saved just by hearing the Word but may not be open to it without the character and virtues of Christ being manifested in the messenger.

There are two errors people make and you are very quick to acknowledge the one 1. not sharing the gospel and only serving but the other it seems that you don't think is that big a problem even though it is the one that Landmarkers would struggle with more.....2. sharing the gospel and leaving off all together service and not being careful to maintain good works.