A Word for Preachers...William Taylor on Evangelistic Preaching

"To call upon men constantly to come to Christ and to repeat perpetually the words of Paul to the jailer, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,' without at the same time telling them who Jesus Christ is and what it is to come to Him, is the merest mockery. It is using the name of Christ as though it were some cabalistic charm and reducing the Gospel message to an empty formula. If therefore we would be effective evangelists, we must be ready to give an answer to him who asks us, 'Who is this Jesus that I believe upon him? What is there in His dying that has any relation to me?'"

William M. Taylor, in his book The Ministry of the Word
cited in What is Biblical Preaching? by Eric J. Alexander

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

"[I]f neighbors see church members loving their city through astonishing, sacrificial deeds of compassion, they will be much more open to the church's message.  Deeds of mercy and justice should be done out of love, not simply as a means to the end of evangelism.  And yet there is no better way for Christians to lay a foundation for evangelism than by doing justice."

Tim Keller

The Problem With Evangelicalism

Joe Carter had a provocative post the other day in which he spoke about the "fads" and "fixtures" of evangelicalism.  In it he mentioned the following ten fixtures which he found particularly harmful not just to evangelicalism but to evangelism as well:

1. Making Converts
2. The Sinner's Prayer
3. "Do you know Jesus as..."
4. Tribulationism
5. Testimonies
6. The Altar Call
7. Witnessing
8. Protestant Prayers
9. The Church Growth Movement
10. Chick Tracts

I happen to agree with the general thoughts behind his points, if not with all the points themselves.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Read the whole post here and let me know what you think.

(HT: Paul McCain)

Congratulations to Jerram Barrs

Congrats to my former professor Jerram Barrs who recently was honored by Outreach Magazine. His excellent book, Learning Evangelism From Jesus was named the book of the year in the area of Evangelism.

This is a well deserved honor. I recently taught a Sunday School class on evangelism, and this book was one of my primary resources in preparation. Jerram epitomizes someone who has the heart of an evangelist and is truly one of the most Christ-like individuals I've ever had the privilege of meeting. It is no exaggeration to say that among the highlights of my seminary education was the opportunity to learn from him.

Kudos, Jerram! And thank you for your service to our Lord and to the Church.