Posted on 05/02/2007 9:54:44 AM PDT by Gamecock
The longer you’re a believer, the less you think like an unbeliever. After you come to Christ, your interests and values change.
Because I’ve been a Christian for most of my life, I think like a Christian. I don’t normally think like an unbeliever. Worse than that, I tend to think like a pastor and that’s even farther removed from an unbeliever’s mind-set! That means I must intentionally change mental gears when seeking to relate to non-Christians.
If you look at most church advertising, it’s obvious that it was written from a believer’s viewpoint – not from the mind-set of the unchurched. When you see a church ad that announces, "Preaching the inerrant Word of God," who do you think that ad appeals to? Certainly not to unbelievers!
Personally, I consider the inerrancy of Scripture as a non-negotiable belief, but the unchurched don’t even understand the term. If you’re going to advertise your church, you must learn to think and speak like unbelievers. The spiritual terminology that Christians are familiar with is just gibberish to the unchurched.
I’ve often heard pastors complain that unbelievers are more resistant to the Gospel today than in the past. I don’t think that is true at all. More often than not, resistance is just poor communication.
The problem is that message isn’t getting through. Churches need to stop saying that people are closed to the Gospel and start finding out how to communicate on their wavelength.
No matter how life-changing our message is, if we’re broadcasting on a different channel from the unchurched, it won’t do any good.
How do you learn to think like unbelievers? Talk to them! One of the greatest barriers to evangelism is that most believers spend all their time with other Christians. They don’t have any non-believing friends. If you don’t spend any time with unbelievers, you won’t understand what they’re thinking.
I began Saddleback Church by going door-to-door for 12 weeks and surveying the unchurched in my area. I wrote down in my notebook five questions I would use to start Saddleback:
1. What do you think is the greatest need in this area? This question simply got people talking to me.
2. Are you actively attending any church? If they said yes, I thanked them and moved on to the next home. I didn’t bother asking the other three questions because I didn’t want to color the survey with the opinions of believers. Notice that I didn’t ask, "Are you a member?” Many people who haven’t been inside a church for 20 years still claim membership in some church.
3. Why do you think most people don’t attend church? This seemed to be a less threatening and offensive wording than: "Why don’t YOU attend church?” Today many people would answer that question with "It’s none of your business why I don’t go!” but when I asked why they thought other people didn’t attend, they usually gave me their personal reasons anyway.
4. If you were to look for a church to attend, what kind of things would you look for? This single question taught me more about "thinking like a unbeliever” than my entire seminary training. I discovered that most churches are offering programs that the unchurched are uninterested in.
5. What could I do for you? What advice can you give to a minister that really wants to be helpful to people? This is the most basic question the church must ask its community. Study the Gospels and notice how many times Jesus asked someone, "What do you want me to do for you?” He’d begin with a person’s needs.
This survey has been reprinted in dozens of books and articles. Several thousand churches have now used these five questions in their own communities. One denomination that I consulted with used these questions to start 102 new churches on a single day! If you haven’t ever surveyed the unchurched in your area, I strongly recommend that you do.
I discovered that most churches are offering programs that the unchurched are uninterested in.
While I think a couple of these questions are a good opening for evangelism I do not think we should take our cues for what church should look like from the pagan.
Church is for the believer, not the pagan. God's people are commanded to come together and worship.
“Church is for the believer, not the pagan. God’s people are commanded to come together and worship.”
Amen to that!
keeper
Zero times.
Zero times.
= = =
Off the top of my head, I’d say that’s not true.
Christ typically met people’s needs BEFORE exhorting them.
In fact, it was His miracles in meeting people’s needs that drew so many people to Him.
Rick is not so far off following that model.
Associating with satanic CFR, he’s light years off.
One denomination that I consulted with used these questions to start 102 new churches on a single day! If you haven’t ever surveyed the unchurched in your area, I strongly recommend that you do.
= = =
Throwing supposedly Christian rocks at this sort of productivity for The Gospel and The Kingdom of Jesus The Christ
is probably triggered by demonic forces from hell. Sheesh.
Those questions are great questions. They have brought thousands of people into The Kingdom.
Yet all the saints hereon can do is throw rocks? What hideousness.
The rock throwers might have a slight justification if they’d brought 10% of the souls into the Kingdom that Rick has.
Christ penetrated into the heart, soul, relationships, bodies of His listeners. Then He ministered to their greatest needs. THEN He exorted them, most typically.
Rick’s questions do that well.
And the small groups at Saddleback do well at ministering to their needs and maturing them in Christ.
Lord, God, please correct Rick regarding his CFR associations according to your priorities, Lord. Keep him focused on YOUR priorities for him vs the critiques of the peanut gallery crowd. Cause him to seek your face daily, Lord and follow your Spirit faithfully. In Jesus’ Name.
Off the top of my head I remember plenty of passages where Jesus simply walks straight up to an injured person and heals them ("Take up they bed and walk") or instructs them directly ("Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees") or responds to their questions ("What must I do to have eternal life?").
At least a time or two He asked them what they would have Him do to/for them.
And, a time or two He asked if they WANTED to be well/healed.
Are they really the same thing?
What about the message to repent?
Where did the Apostle Paul meet the felt needs of the unbeliever (don't tell me Athens, again...it didn't happen)?
I don't recall those passages.
Perhaps you can cite them so I can learn.
However, this means that Warren's rhetorical assumption (i.e. that Jesus surely did this many times) is in error.
That's different from "what do you want me to do for you."
What an astounding statement. Perhaps one reason our present society is so Godless is because we're being told to think and speak like unbelievers. And from a pulpit, no less!
The spiritual terminology that Christians are familiar with is just gibberish to the unchurched.
That's partly your fault, Pastor. Speak up and speak with the truth of Scripture. God gives ears to hear. Your job is to be faithful to the word of God.
And this essay is stark and damning evidence you're not up to the task.
OK. If and when I get a round tuit.
They get called to repentance quite regularly.
Earning enough of a relationship with them to speak truty is wisdom.
Holy Spirit wisdom.
How many souls have you won to Jesus walking up to folks on the sidewalk, grabbing them by the neck and demanding that they repent?
I wasn’t there.
If ALL your statements out of your mouth were publicized and spread on a big skyboard . . . I assume we’d find no contradictions, lies or seeming lies?
But I've never claimed to have planted a church that someone else planted.
That's not a good habit for a pastor.
And why did you have to add the grab by the neck part?
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