HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-03-08, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 1989.
From the Minister's Study
Lack of evangelism is withering churches
BY JAMES H. CARNE, PASTOR
THE MISSIONARY CHURCH
AUBURN
He stood there with his helpless
hand. Actually, his whole arm was
atrophied. It was not a congenital
defect but appeared to have been
the result of an accident or a
disease.
Now he was helplessly handi
capped. He may have even been
reduced to begging. Jerome, one of
the fathers of the early church,
citing from an apocryphal gospel of
his day, describes the man as
having been a mason. But now his
arm hung helplessly by his side and
anyone knows that it is impossible
to lay brick and block with a
helpless hand. (Read his story in
Luke 6: 6-11).
One wonders if this man does not
represent in large measure the
modern day church. Many church
es were born in the fires of revival
Resurrection
theme of sermon
Greeters for the fourth Sunday in
Lent service at Blyth United were
Bill and Marion Young.
Ushers were Vera Badley, Deb
bie and Albert Stryker and Jim
Walsh. Bev Walden was in charge
of Junior congregation. The flowers
in the sanctuary were placed in
loving memory of Dean and Shane
by their parents Barbara and
Murray Musty.
The senior choir sang an anthem
entitled “Bethlehem, Galilee,
Gethsemane’’. The Grade 1 class
under the leadership of Brenda
McDonald and Gayle Poore recited
the scripture passage John 11: 35.
Rev. Ramirez read a letter from
London Conference concerning the
Ethiopian Medical Appeal. The
spread of meningitis in Ethiopia is
rampant and may affect 27 million
people. Donations are gratefully
accepted.
The sermon was entitled “Jesus
Wept, the Love for a Friend.’’ John
11 relates the story of Lazurus,
brother of Mary and Martha who
becomes ill and dies. Upon hearing
the news Jesus wept, prayed, and
then resurrected him from the
dead. Rev. Ramirez spoke of three
pictures he received from this
event: 1, it showed a glimpse of our
future resurrection; 2, it portrayed
the unity and power of God in his
son Jesus; 3, it revealed the human
relationship of Jesus for his friend
a loving affectionate bond shown
by his emotional act of weeping.
The sacrament of baptism follow
ed the message. Baptized was
Mary Nicole Thompson, daughter
of Stephen Thompson and Brenda
Edgar.
Thoughts and prayers from the
congregation and choir are extend
ed to Marjorie McNall who is
presently a patient in University
Hospital, London.
Brussels 4H club
to visit Spin Rite
BY MARGARET JARVIS
On February 27 the Brussels One
4H knitting club held their weekly
meeting at Kathy Bridge’s home.
The group started the meeting off
with the roll call and read through
meeting three. The members then
decided on which activity they
would take part in. After many
ideas of what to do they decided
that the club would travel to the
Listowel Spin Rite to observe the
many different stages of the wool
making process. They then went on
to their knitting. Everyone has now
correctly finished the first sampler
and some are half-way through
sampler No. 2.
and evangelism and were once
vigorous and vibrant. Now they are
deserted and dead ... and reduced
to begging. A former neighbour
told us in a recent visit that her
huge city church has a congrega
tion numbering now fewer than 50
and they are seeking to rent out
parts of their facilities in order to
pay the bills. Other churches feel
that they have to resort to bazaars
and bingos to keep afloat. Church
closings are commonplace, even in
communities that are growing as
the result of high-priced accommo
dation in neighbouring cities and
towns.
What is it that has crippled so
severely the church? It is the loss of
its primary function, the ministry of
soul-winning and evangelism.
When a church loses its emphasis
on evangelism it goes immediately
into a survival mode, a concern
about self-preservation. A mission
ary reported recently that a danger
that is being confronted on the
mission field is the inclination of
the established national church to
simply appoint pastors to organized
churches and to neglect evange
lism, the sending of workers into
neighbouring villages to minister to
individuals and to establish new
preaching points.
What, exactly, is evangelism? It
is not the mere confirming of
people who have grown up in the
church; it is not proselytizing that
results in the bringing of a member
of one church into the ranks of
another; it is not community visita
tion with the purpose of inviting
people to church so as to swell the
ranks of attenders. In some church
es, where the word is still a part of
its vocabulary, this is what is
meant.
Many years ago a Roman Catho
lic priest confided to me that some
in that church had come to under
stand that, to be converted, meant
more than a person switching from
one faith to another. And so it does.
One dictionary defines evangelism
as “the zealous preaching or
spreading of the gospel.’’ It means,
literally, to proclaim good news.
Evangelism has become passe in
some churches because they have
long since desisted from preaching
the bad news of sin and its
defilement, for which the good
news of the gospel is the antidote.
In other churches “going with the
gospel’’ is the problem; preaching
is directed toward those who are
Christians already and is confined
to the safety of the sanctuary,
never venturing out into the “high
ways and the byways’’ where the
people are who need to hear it.
Confrontation is also a factor in
evangelism that many find diffi
cult; it is not popular to come right
out and ask people how it is with
their soul. But the church used to
evangelize. It was not uncommon
for a Christian to get up off his
knees where he had been praying
about the spiritual welfare of his
neighbour and to cross the conces
sions to visit him and press upon
him the claims of Christ.
A past6r friend of mine, on a tour
of China, would lose himself every
day from his group, and, finding a
crowd of Chinese, would hold up to
them a placard on which was
written in Chinese characters “God
so loved the world that He gave His
only-begotten Son ...” That’s
evangelism at its best, and that’s
the “arm” of the church which has
dried up and become useless.
Come to think about it, if the
church cannot any longer bring
people to salvation through Jesus
Christ, what can it do that is
meaningful?
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