When Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17), He was giving a command and a promise: “Follow Me”—that is the command; “and I will make you fishers of men”—that is the promise. If we’re following Jesus, we’re fishers of men and if we aren’t fishers of men, we aren’t following Jesus.
When Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations…and surely I am with you always until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20), He meant, go take the world for Me, and I will go with you. That is our mission. That is our mandate. Sharing Christ must be our magnificent obsession.
Unfortunately, it’s evident we’re failing at our task. In recent years half the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention baptized three or fewer people. We’re not winning North America—we’re losing it. Three challenges must be dealt with if we are to reverse this tragic trend.
1. Distraction. Tucked away almost out of sight in a seldom dusted corner of the Bible is a passage that reveals this problem. It is part of a prophet’s warning. It is found in 1 Kings 20:38-40 (NIV): Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king by the way. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.’ While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”
Fredrick Speakman asks, “Can we be discerning and sense the prophetic edge of that simple confession, ‘While I was busy here and there, he was gone?’” This is the confession of any man who has some chief thing to do, but who so scatters his duties that the most important thing eludes him. That’s what happens when our best energies are spent on being merely busy. Many people feel this way and therefore recite in one form or another the words of T.S. Elliot—“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.”
In the midst of our opulent buildings, highly trained staffs, state-of-the-art technology and multiple quick-fix programs, the question persists—“Has anyone been saved here lately?” We must get past the distractions and get to the work Christ left with us.
2. Disobedience. The Bible commands us to minister to the whole person—body, mind and spirit. The failure to do so is condemned both in the Old and New Testaments.
In the Old Testament there’s a verse describing the sin of Sodom. We often focus on the detestable sins of Sodom, but Ezekiel 16:49-50 also says the people were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. The modern church has many times fallen into these same problems.
In the New Testament we note Matthew 25:53-68: “I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was a stranger, I needed clothes, I was sick, I was in prison… whatever you did not do for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did not do for me.” In this passage, every sin has to do with the omission of ministry. Jesus was very concerned about those in need. As Christians, His concerns become our concerns.
In the last 30 years practicing ministry evangelism in a town of 15,000 people with 92 churches, First Baptist Leesburg has reached and baptized almost 7,000 people to the glory of Christ. Most of the growth has been transformation growth—not transfer growth. And our transformation came when we began spending our time fishing for men instead of wrapping the fish someone else caught! This has been done primarily through ministry evangelism—homeless ministries, recovery programs for drug addicts, pregnancy care centers and more. We never knew the magnitude of the problem of hurting people until we started ministry-based evangelism. With more than 70 ministries, we’ve sought to meet the total needs of the total person so they might be made whole through a saving encounter with Christ.
3. Deception. Is Christ a way, the best way or the only way? The Bible is clear—He is the only way. Every unbeliever—Muslim, Jew, Baptist or whatever—who does not accept Christ will perish. We’ve been more interested in being politically correct than theologically sound! Little wonder there’s no zeal or passion for the lost when universalism is the pabulum being peddled from many pulpits. As we minister to hurting people, we need to be sure to minister in the name of Christ our Lord and not water down the gospel.
In order to get past these challenges, we must refocus and make the number one priority the number one priority. We must repent and take the whole gospel to the whole person that they will be made whole in Christ. We must reject political correctness and return to theological soundness and boldly proclaim there is no other name by which one can be saved but by the name of Jesus! Christ has entrusted a hurting world to our hands. I pray we will see serving hands coming from loving hearts in which Christ resides.