2008 T4G Sermons

Perhaps many of you are already aware of this, but the sermons from the 2008 Together for the Gospel Conference have been made available free of charge here at the T4G website.

This series of messages shall hereby be considered mandatory listening material for those of you who are aiding and abetting the Reformed Mafia!

Enjoy!

So, You Wanna Be A Rock Star?

Imagine the feeling...

You walk on stage, the crowd is roaring, the smoke machines billow, the lights are flashing, the girls are screaming and fainting all over the place. You are the star of the show. It's all about you! This is your moment to shine! You're about to give the audience the show of a lifetime!

Now back to reality...

What I've described seems to be what some preachers are seeking these days. I've actually seen videos and heard audio clips of certain ministers taking the pulpit while the audience cheers as if Nickelback has just taken the stage. In fact, with some preachers it's obvious, they want the spotlight on them. They want denominational fame. They desire to have all eyes on them and to be the stars of the show!

A few years ago, before I left the Pentecostal movement, I attended a service at a very progressive Pentecostal church not far from here just to see what the buzz was all about. I was amazed at what I witnessed. Though it was a small church just outside of the city limits of a rural Georgia town, it had all the trappings of a secular rock concert. It was a real circus.

They had everything a despiser of God could want: flashing lights, smoke machines, loud music, and plenty of man-centered "praise and worship" that had little to no theology or true reverence for God. It was just awful. One thing that stood out to me was how the preacher was escorted to and from the pulpit flanked by ushers sporting Secret Service type communication equipment. It was obvious that this pastor was much too important to spend any time mingling with the commoners. Needless to say, I never returned...

If you're in the ministry and you desire to be the star of the show and have church services like I described above, let me give you some candid advice. If truly want be cheered by thousands of adoring fans, then Gospel ministry is not what you need to be doing! Go buy yourself a guitar, learn to play it, and then start your own garage band. Maybe if your real lucky, you might be a rock star someday, but whatever you do, don't waste your time pretending to be a minister of God.

God has called us to preach the Word and be a servant in His Kingdom. He hasn't called us to be the stars of the show. Whenever we begin to think we're the stars of the show, we have fallen into a grievous sin. I believe any praise we receive as ministers should immediately be directed to God, we have no right to it. We have nothing in which to boast. It's all about Him. It's His show. He's the Star. He should be the main attraction.

Brothers, we are not rock stars!

photo: from wikipedia

Evangelists Lament Reformed Resurgence

I just visited the Founders Blog and there's an interesting post about a Baptist Press article that covers a recent meeting of Baptist evangelists who are concerned with "the growth of Calvinism and the rise of a Willow Creek-style of non-confrontational evangelism within Southern Baptist churches." I'm going to pitch in my 2 cents here, but please check out the BP article and Ascol's comments on the Founders Blog.

There's one thing in particular that I want to highlight from the BP article:

Evangelist Jerry Drace is quoted as saying that some young Calvinistic pastors are "so leaning in this morphed Calvinism that they almost laugh at evangelism. It's almost to the extent that they believe they don't have to do it. So [Calvinism] gives them an excuse not to do evangelism."

Almost laugh at evangelism? Come on brother Drace! You must be kidding...

I hear a great deal of talk about these mysterious Calvinists who are anti-evangelism, but finding one is about as easy as spotting the Loch Ness Monster. I have yet to meet an SBC Calvinist with that attitude. I'd like to suggest that perhaps these young Calvinist pastors aren't "almost laughing" at evangelism, but at the buffoonery that is commonly mislabeled as evangelism! Maybe they've come to realize that true evangelism has nothing to do with adopting the methodology of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus!

Instead of meeting up to find ways to place the blame for their lack of bookings at the feet of Calvinists and Willow Creekers, why don't some these evangelists take a hard look in the mirror and see if perhaps their modern evangelistic methods may be part of the problem? Could it be that after decades producing millions of false converts that some of us are ready to stop the spiritual carnage by returning to our theological heritage? Perhaps some of us are simply interested in outreach methods that are a bit more Biblical and honoring to God?

Spend some time looking at the websites of some of the evangelists in the SBC. What you'll find on the websites is almost depressing. It's not surprising to me that some of these evangelists are concerned about the Reformed Resurgence in the SBC.

If I were one of those "vocational evangelists" who are in the business of peddling a pragmatic, results-driven, side show pseudo-Gospel, I'd be worried too! Any shift toward returning the SBC to it's doctrinal foundations might mean I'd have to put away the clown costumes or get ready to update my resume for secular employment!

Did You Think You Would Walk Away Unscathed?

Evangelists: Tomfoolery For Christ?

I was once a State Evangelist for the Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) in Georgia. As State Evangelist, I wasn't very successful at getting bookings. I think I was only booked for one revival service the entire time I was on staff. In the annals of the greatest failures as Pentecostal evangelists, I'll certainly be ranked at the top!

Many reasons could be cited for why I was a failure as an evangelist, but I will give four: (1) it obviously wasn't the Lord's will, (2) because I wasn't a member of one of a well known family in the Georgia COGOP, (3) I refused to stoop to the level of becoming a cheesy self-promoting conference hoping religious politician with a goofy grin on my face and a bunch of business cards in my hand, and (4) I'm just not a great preacher to begin with!

I was once told by a seasoned evangelist that the best way for me to get known was to "get in the back pocket of some of the Bishops in the church and ride on their coattails". Like many occupations in the world, I learned that the success of a COGOP evangelist really depended on who you knew -and just knowing Christ wasn't enough! It didn't take me long to realize that I wasn't going to be much of a State Evangelist unless I learned to be good at the fine art of schmoozing. Not long after this epiphany, I resigned the position of Georgia State Evangelist.

In 1 Corinthians 4:10, Paul told the church that the apostles were "fools for Christ's sake", but some folks seem to have taken that verse a bit too literally and applied it to evangelists as well. This morning I spent some time perusing through some websites of certain Baptist evangelists and some of what I saw really bothered me. Moreover, some of what I saw really pained my soul. In the name of "soul winning" some men have resorted to becoming more like court jesters than heralds and ambassadors of the Kingdom of God!

When you look at some evangelist websites, you will often see great claims about how many revival meetings have been conducted and "decisions made for Christ". When I see these numbers touted, I'm not impressed at all. Statistics have shown that modern evangelistic methods have a fall-away rate of about 90%, it makes the statistical boasting of some evangelists about as abominable as an Obstetrician claiming to have delivered thousands of babies, only to learn that 9 out of 10 of those births were stillborn. Modern evangelism and it's pragmatism is a tragedy, not something in which to boast!


When one considers all the magicians, comedians, clowns, and ventriloquists that churches bring in to conduct revival services, is it any wonder that the message of the Christ is not taken seriously and so many people fall away after a "decision for Christ"? Do we really believe that we can entertain people into faith and repentance?

Some will argue that these methods are needed in order to get people in church to hear the Word. Perhaps, but I'm of the opinion that the primary place of evangelism isn't within the church meeting, but in the world. We should evangelize sinners so they might be saved and come to church in order to be discipled from the Word of God. Trying to gear the church service to appeal to sinners is shortchanging Christ's sheep and bound to fill our pews with false converts and future apostates.

I recently heard (or read) somewhere that some full time evangelists are concerned about their future. I'm glad! Some of them need to be! Maybe it will goad some of them into forsaking the silly methods they employ. Frankly, there's a number of them that need to start preaching the unadulterated gospel or quit and get a secular job! It's time to put an end results driven revivalism. If not reigned in, these man-centered evangelistic methods will continue to produce thousands of false converts who will eventually fall away.

Now, I realize what I have just written may have just ruffled more than a few feathers. Don't misunderstand, I'm not against evangelists, nor am I against people using their talents for the glory of God. In fact, I wish there were more Christian entertainers. It would be nice to take the family to a show or a movie where we could be entertained by someone using his or her talents for God's glory. However, I think these things have their proper place and that place isn't behind the pulpit.

I also know there are some evangelists who are faithful in preaching God's Word. I thank God for these men. These men need to be commended, supported, and booked for revivals. I have a hunch that many of the best evangelists are probably the ones who don't have to tell you how great they are, rather, they are the ones who's reputation for being used of God will far exceed any boasting or conversion statistics they can put on a website.

Let us make no mistake, the Gospel is powerful! It's the preaching of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit that converts a sinner! It's not the Howdy Doody Show or some second rate side show attraction that the church needs to fulfill it's commission, rather, it's personal evangelism, the faithful exposition of God's Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit that we need.

Let us pray and seek God for a true revival!

(Images from and linked back to wikipedia)

Making Myself Irrelevant

I'm sick to death of the use of the word "relevant" in relation to Christian preaching. Either a church uses it to advertise ("Look how relevant we are!"), or a pastor is castigated with it ("His sermons aren't very relevant.")

In these usages, I surmise that "relevant" means something like: You can begin to use this stuff and put it in practice immediately. It's not all airy-fairy, pie-in-the-sky preaching.

Well, I'm sick of it. I'm especially sick of the fact that the preachers who are loudest about their relevance seem to be the ones of the Emergent stripe, who have almost totally left off the systematic preaching of the Scriptures, in favor of topical sermonettes on how-to instructions that would fit perfectly well on an episode of Oprah.

When greater "relevance" is sought in preaching, one or more of the following may really be going on:

1. The preacher is so boring that it becomes impossible to grasp the fulness of his message, leaving the hearer with disjointed bits and pieces that cease to function together as a consistent truth. The boring preacher is another thing I'm sick of, but that's fodder for another post. It's tough to retain anything when you're nodding off.

2. The preacher has abandoned the Word in favor of trying to be relevant. (It's amazing how this works, but the one who chases "relevance" in his preaching is the one who has left behind the very thing that makes his preaching useful at all.) He has lots of good jokes and interesting stories, and he has developed his personal preaching style to an art form. He's interesting, but delivers nothing real.

3. The preacher has done a poor job of showing how the truths of the Word of God ought to effect his flock. Yes, pastor, this is part of your job description. You err if you simply exposit the Word, even faithfully, and fail to help your people see the application. Even doctrines like the Trinity and the Incarnation (and maybe especially ones like that) need to be presented in a way that elicits a change in your hearers. That's right: I said the Incarnation ought to have an observable effect on people who believe it. Shame on you if you leave the weighty doctrines of the Word under a glass case, behind a velvet rope. Encourage the people to reach out and touch it and grapple with it. It won't break.

4. Either the pastor or his congregation, or both, have lost sight of the power of the Word of God to effect immediate change with respect to our deepest need. What could be more relevant than eternal life? Than deliverance from hell? Than being transformed into the image of Christ? Than conquering the remaining motions of defeated sin? Pity the Christian who believes he's so advanced that the hearing of these things is no longer relevant in his mind.

5. The congregation is lazy. It can't maintain a train of thought for longer than a commercial break. It can't be bothered to really think anymore.

6. The congregation equates the presence of the Holy Spirit with their breaking out in goose-bumps. It's become so experience-oriented that it can no longer believe that the central act of Christian worship is the attentive, faith-filled hearing of the Word of God.

7. The congregation has to be entertained. This is just as much a tragedy as the boring pastor in #1 above. Both are evils to be despised in the churches. As a preacher, I refuse to try and compete with your satellite television, your Ipod, or your X-box. Stay at home if you're addicted to those things, and call upon them in the day of Judgment.

8. The congregation wants to attach Christ to their old lives; they don't want Christ to put their old lives to complete, utter, irretrievable death. Give me some tips about how to raise my kids. Help me be a better business man. Give my family some moral guidance. But don't talk to me about dying with Jesus, about what real repentance is, or why I might need to do it.

9. The congregation has developed itching ears, and can't stomach the preaching of doctrines which challenge the traditional teaching they've always received. All this talk about fallen man's depravity and moral inability to turn to God in faith...well, Preacher, that ain't they way I always heard it. God loves us enough to let us choose to go to hell if we want, didn't you know, Preacher?

I could mention more if I really sat and thought about it. I'm sure you could too. Give me Revival, not Relevance.