Good Question! You are right almost all of them talk about evangelism, very few Do anything with it. Some do door to door as a church "ministry" Some leave it to individuals as they see fit. Most pay others to GO where they won't or can't to do what they know they should do. Thing is NOT ONE Church has reached their own community for Christ. They sure do a good job talking about it though. How about something more than LIP SERVICE?
I know what F.E is, David. While we are on this subject - one which has nothing to do with Is 58 -- what churches present F.E to the exclusion of preaching or teaching the gospel?
As a pastor -- speaking as a pastor --- the issue is a practical one. What influence can I exert to bring some (if not all) of the congregation to a point in growth finding them the willingness to even die for what they believe. A second and related consideration, as a pastor, has to do with the avoidance of a deathwish. God is the One who brings people to this point in time and conviction -- but I am charged to present the case by example (I Pet 5:3). We need to be careful not to claim that preaching is the responsibility of every Saint or that it is a mark of maturity -- and I don't think you are saying this. At the same time - the church is, in my opinion, fat, lazy and overly concerned for its own comfort and right standing -- both in the community and in the "eyes of God." The struggle of Bonhoeffer illustrates the conflict within the mind of a saint who is fully given to pacifism and, at the same time, concerned that he should and must be doing his part in the fight against evil. Bonhoeffer, a kind and gentle theologian recognized the tension between turning the other cheek and compromise. Where we might arrive at a different conclusion (i.e., a move on his part to kill Hitler), our decision to stand against the darkness can be no less an _expression_ of the reality of his (Bonhoeffer) God. The radical absurdness of the evil Hitler came to bear on Bonhoeffer's theology. The war against darkness had something to do with theology, back then. Who will know what one's theology will be in the same situation. But those who can receive the charge must be concerned to bring others along within the church. If we seem to be alone, we may not have done a good job of disciplining the larger fellowship.
JD
