{"id":564,"date":"2018-05-04T23:59:20","date_gmt":"2018-05-05T06:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/divergence.blog\/?p=564"},"modified":"2018-05-04T23:59:20","modified_gmt":"2018-05-05T06:59:20","slug":"if-necessary-use-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/05\/04\/if-necessary-use-words\/","title":{"rendered":"If Necessary, Use Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I like and respect Ed Stetzer<\/a>.\u00a0 He is one of the few evangelicals\/Southern Baptists who understands and addresses the short-comings and failures of his own tribe.\u00a0 He\u2019s been willing to take some heat over the years for doing so, and I respect him for that.\u00a0 He is thoughtful, intelligent, and insightful.\u00a0 I believe he loves the Lord and wants the best for evangelicals.<\/p>\n

However (you knew that was coming\u2026), I came across this essay<\/a> in the online edition of Christianity Today and was troubled by some of the ideas and lines of thought contained therein.\u00a0 From his perspective inside the evangelical world, and from their theological understandings and emphasis, I can of course see why he believes what he does here and why it is important to him.\u00a0 I just want to point out, from my perspective, why I think this line of emphasis is both unhelpful and on shaky theological ground.<\/p>\n

First, he writes of creating a culture of accountability as to evangelism:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll often ask the staff to tell our team who they\u2019ve shared the gospel with most recently\u2014it\u2019s a form of accountability that I\u2019ve found to be most effective in organizational settings\u2026Individuals who are truly passionate about building thriving church communities will be willing to push the envelope on their comfort level in order to create disciples\u2026Does this approach sound forced? Maybe it does. But the point is that after a few times of being asked, \u2018Who did you share the gospel with this week?\u2019 our team members and colleagues won\u2019t need to fumble for words. Sharing Jesus after a while will become something all of us do automatically\u2014not because we have to, but because we want to. It will be something that happens naturally, flowing out of a love for Christ and a desire to build his kingdom in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I read this, I actually laughed out loud.\u00a0 Yes, it does sound \u201cforced\u201d and there\u2019s good reason: it is!\u00a0 Think about it Ed: These are people who work for you.\u00a0 You are their boss.\u00a0 Whether they are paid staff or not, you can have a profound effect upon their future prospects.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t think that isn\u2019t going to factor in to their motivation for \u201csharing,\u201d I think you are being naive at best.<\/p>\n

No one wants to be embarrassed in front of their peers and the reason they were fumbling for words, is because they were.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure they won\u2019t let that happen again, even if they have to invent someone, I\u2019m sure they will have a story of who they shared with next time they are asked.<\/p>\n

Talk about destroying any sense that evangelism or sharing one\u2019s faith should be organic and natural.\u00a0 This goes to the worst type of evangelistic sensibility, which is that of meeting a sales quota or the bosses\u2019 (pastor\u2019s) expectations.\u00a0 How in the world does something become \u201cnatural\u201d and done because we \u201cwant to\u201d when we are being singled out by our boss, in front of our co-workers, to see if we are doing what was supposed to be natural and not coerced?\u00a0 The logic here escapes me.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Ed meant if they are coerced, or shamed into doing it, it will then become natural, self-motivating, and done out of love for Jesus.\u00a0 Right, life experience tells us that shame and embarrassment produce all those wonderful motives and results.\u00a0 Not<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If a person were sharing out of shame or embarrassment, would Ed claim such a person as a success or proof his method works?\u00a0 I would certainly hope not, but who knows, maybe Ed would rather have a person shamed into sharing (because at least they are then sharing) rather than the person who rarely if ever shares, but when they do, it is completely honest, genuine, and authentic.<\/p>\n

Second, he tells us verbal sharing is king or privileged:<\/p>\n

\u201cSome have attributed the quote \u2018Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary\u2019 to St. Francis of Assisi. To set the record straight, St. Francis never said that. But nevertheless, I believe it\u2019s misguided a lot of Christians, giving them the impression that actions are holier or of higher value than words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, that \u201cimpression\u201d is correct.\u00a0 Actions are<\/em> of higher value and holier than words.\u00a0 Just ask any woman in an abusive relationship\u2014like the woman Paige Patterson<\/a> \u201ccounseled\u201d to stay with her abusive husband, who then returned to him with two black eyes.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t an \u201capples and oranges\u201d comparison.\u00a0 It is a relational truth, whether applied to evangelism or any relation between two people.\u00a0 Actions speak louder than words.<\/p>\n

Imparting information about God or the gospel through spoken words is not as holy or of more value than living, in action, the gospel.\u00a0 We all know this to be true.\u00a0 If we want to know someone, if we want to know if they and what they are telling us is trustworthy, we watch what they do<\/em>, not what they say.\u00a0 I could verbally share the gospel every day with someone but if that sharing wasn\u2019t backed up by actions, a life of love, then those words are emptied of value and any holiness.<\/p>\n

Ed goes on:<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, the things we do for God\u2014the acts of self-sacrificial service and obedience\u2014matter. But chances are, serving at a soup kitchen or volunteering at an animal shelter are not in and of themselves going to bring anyone into a relationship with God. The gospel is certainly demonstrated in deeds, but it is primarily proclaimed in words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Putting aside what a mute Christian must feel when reading that, this is just factually and theologically false.\u00a0 Many have encountered God through those very acts.\u00a0 Ever heard of Mother Teresa?\u00a0 Ever heard of these questions:<\/p>\n

\u201cThen the righteous will answer him, saying, \u2018Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?\u2019 And the King will answer them, \u2018Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.\u2019\u201d (Matt 25)<\/p>\n

Notice what\u2019s not in that list?\u00a0 \u201cI was lacking information about the gospel and you never verbally shared it with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further, nowhere did Paul tell us that faith, hope, and verbal sharing remain but the greatest of these is verbal sharing.\u00a0 Love remains, and love is something that is done, is an action; it is not something we simply speak.\u00a0 Words about love are never the same as loving action. God demonstrated<\/em> his love, he didn\u2019t simply write it in the sky or voice it.\u00a0 He embodied love, the gospel, in the Word<\/em>, which was Christ.\u00a0 A life lived, not just a word spoken.<\/p>\n

Ed is rightfully not trying to create an either\/or dichotomy.\u00a0 We need faith and<\/em> works, we need to share in both word and<\/em> deed.\u00a0 Unfortunately, he is (like most modern Protestants), trying to privilege verbal information, verbalizing, speaking, over loving action, regardless of words or verbalizing.\u00a0 Here he is completely modern, and, I would suggest, wrong.<\/p>\n

Finally, we have this command:<\/p>\n

\u201cA new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.\u201d (John 13)<\/p>\n

Notice the \u201cas I have loved you\u201d was embodied first in actions, not words.\u00a0 Any words about serving and love, would have no meaning without the context of actions.\u00a0 As he was washing their feet, nothing needed to be said.\u00a0 When one hangs, lifeless, on a cross\u2014there are no words.\u00a0 Further, it is this type of love that will allow people to \u201cknow\u201d what it means to follow Christ.\u00a0 That love will tell them much more about Christ than words ever could.<\/p>\n

I am not saying we should never or rarely verbally share the gospel.\u00a0 I am saying verbally sharing is far, far below the importance of loving actions, a loving life.\u00a0 Without that, words are, well, just words.\u00a0 Blah, blah, blah\u2026I can\u2019t hear you\u2014your actions are too loud\u2014they drown out your words.<\/p>\n

Only love (in silent action) allows us to \u201chear\u201d the gospel.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t care who said it, whoever said, \u201cPreach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words,\u201d said something Biblical, theologically sound, profoundly insightful, and true.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say the same for Ed\u2019s piece.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I like and respect Ed Stetzer.\u00a0 He is one of the few evangelicals\/Southern Baptists who understands and addresses the short-comings and failures of his own tribe.\u00a0 He\u2019s been willing to take some heat over the years for doing so, and I respect him for that.\u00a0 He is thoughtful, intelligent, and insightful.\u00a0 I believe he loves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3524,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[53,110,146,245,428],"class_list":["post-564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christianity-today","tag-ed-stetzer","tag-evangelism","tag-love","tag-southern-baptists"],"yoast_head":"\nIf Necessary, Use Words<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I like and respect Ed Stetzer.\u00a0 He is one of the few evangelicals\/Southern Baptists who understands and addresses the short-comings and failures of his\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/05\/04\/if-necessary-use-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If Necessary, Use Words\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I like and respect Ed Stetzer.\u00a0 He is one of the few evangelicals\/Southern Baptists who understands and addresses the short-comings and failures of his\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/05\/04\/if-necessary-use-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Divergence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-05T06:59:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darrell Lackey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@darrelllackey1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darrell Lackey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/05\/04\/if-necessary-use-words\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/05\/04\/if-necessary-use-words\/\",\"name\":\"If Necessary, Use Words\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-05T06:59:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-05T06:59:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#\/schema\/person\/d88a32b8d4b5f40fbd6ccbfce4e0f813\"},\"description\":\"I like and respect Ed Stetzer.\u00a0 He is one of the few evangelicals\/Southern Baptists who understands and addresses the short-comings and failures of his\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/05\/04\/if-necessary-use-words\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/05\/04\/if-necessary-use-words\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/05\/04\/if-necessary-use-words\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"If Necessary, Use Words\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/\",\"name\":\"Divergence\",\"description\":\"Commentary Regarding Fundamentalism - 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