Monday, June 27, 2005

The Next Great Evangelist?

Billy Graham has been the reigning king of evangelists longer than many of us have been alive. He recently appeared on Larry King Live, and as I understand it he said that may have been his last television interview before he passes away. He also just held his last crusade in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, so the evangelistic "torch" will now be passing to the next generation. Beliefnet.com is currently holding a poll to determine just who will be Graham's successor as preeminent evangelist.

Of course, Franklin Graham is currently tops on the list. After all, he is Billy's son and he is officially taking Billy's place in the organization. Not only that, but Franklin has done some noteworthy things in his own right. I have some respect for Franklin Graham. Currently coming in second is T.D. Jakes. Now, I have some issues with Jakes. First, there's the modalistic view of God that he holds. Basically, he doesn't hold to the orthodox formulation of the trinity. This does not mean that he is not a Christian, it just means that he holds to an error that has been rejected in the church for nearly 2000 years. Holding a false belief about the nature of God can have unforseen negative consequences. Jakes apparently subscribes to the "try Jesus, you'll like Him!" approach to evangelism. Here is how he responded when asked why he is a Christian rather than a Buddhist or something else:

I’m a Christian because my faith works for me. It meets me at the point of my personal needs; it gives me a foundation to stand on when all the world seems crazy. The fact that Christ died for me and rose from the dead and continues to live and influence my behavior is significant to me, and it’s been effective.


But what if someone says that atheism works for them? What would Jakes tell them? This approach to evangelism does not do justice to the gospel. The Gospel is the message of Christ crucified, resurrected, and reconciling people to God. It doesn't have much to do with what "works" when you face the trials of life. Now, I do think that Christ carries His children through their trials, but that is not THE reason to become a Christian. BUT, I would happily vote for Jakes over the man who inexplicably holds third place.

Coming in third is Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church. By now most people know who Osteen is through his best-selling book Your Best Life Now. Frankly, I'm astounded he's on the list, let alone getting votes. Why would I take Jakes over Osteen? Because at least Jakes seems to care about the Gospel. Osteen is more concerned with people living a nice life. His message is something like "God wants you to have good health, a nice job and a good family life." Sin? I don't think that gets much airtime at Lakewood. That's negative, and Osteen doesn't want his people going home feeling low. The kicker is, folks, without sin, there is no gospel. As I've heard Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason say, there is no reason for the Good News unless we know the Bad News first. If you don't talk about sin, you are not an evangelist. Period.

The only remaining evangelist in double figures (12%) at the time of this writing is Luis Palau. This man has my vote. He was asked what his favorite prayer is in a beliefnet interview, and this is what he said:

O God my father, I believe that you created me, that you love me, that you even like me, O God, and even though I don’t deserve it, because I sinned against you, I have broken your moral laws, I believe that you sent your son, Jesus Christ, and that he died on a cross to take away all my guilt, to wash me spiritually, and Lord Jesus I believe that you rose from the dead, that you hear my prayer, and right now I open my heart to you. Please come into my life, Lord Jesus, make me your child, give me the assurance of eternal life, fill me with your holy spirit, and I will serve you, and I’ll obey you until I see you face to face in heaven. Thank you, Father, I am yours forever because Christ lives in me. In his name I think you, Amen.


While I could nitpick on a few issues, I think by and large Palau has it right. There is sin, and there is the need for Jesus to overcome the sin. Earlier in the interview he also indicated that he believes Jesus is the only way to heaven, which is not a given with popular "evangelists" this days. I also know Palau is a man of integrity. In the interest of full disclosure, I have a brother-in-law who does some work for the Luis Palau Evangelstic Association. I like what I have heard from him about Mr. Palau. He is a true, genuine minister of the Gospel.

The current results of this poll are a sad commentary on the state of evangelicalism today. This is because most people who claim to be Christians don't know what the Gospel is! How could they vote for the quality of an evangelist when they don't even know what the message he carries should sound like? If someone doesn't know what a guitar sounds like, it is useless to tell them that "such and such a person is a good player." You must have knowledge of the true standard before you can know who is good at explaining that standard.

Consider this my plea for an education in basic theology for all Christians. We have a responsibility to get to know God and His message as they are revealed in the Bible. If we do that while keeping a heart that burns passionately for God, the list of candidates for "the next great evangelist" might be a mile long (by God's might). Then feel good churches "try Jesus you'll like Him" evangelism will be dumped on the ash heap of history, where they belong.

2 comments:

Trying said...

Hi Joshua,

The Gospel of Jesus is so precious. To compare one evangelist to another and the preaching of the Gospel in a ratings contest demotes the very Gospel Jesus is asking us to present. To criticise his disciples in his work only takes away from Jesus' message.

I don’t know you and have never met you but I want to encourage you to embrace an attitude that promotes those that promote the word of the Lord.

We have a hard enough time presenting the good news to the world without criticising it from within. It takes courage, commitment and zeal to preach the Gospel. One soul is worth heavens praise. One life saved is another that does not fall away. The life of every person is subject to the Word of God and for men and woman to preach it to those that have not heard or understood the love of Jesus. It is this very reason we need to see a dying world capitulated from an eternal destiny that can be prevented through the preaching of the Word of God.

I know it’s important to you too. Let’s embrace the word of God and those that pursue it. A close pastor friend of mine once said “Christians are the only ones who shoot their wounded”. He was speaking of the attitude of Christians toward other Christians. Why don’t we embrace them…. champion them and speak words of life about them.

The message TD Jakes preaches is to reach those who are lost. It may not be the preferred message of everyone, but his impact is certain. He is not preaching to you or me but a world lost. I have seen many people respond to God through his preaching. You can reach someone with words of love, with tenderness, mercy and kindness. Yes it is true that the Word of God is important and that it be preached correctly, but it is the heart that requires the most thorough examination. The heart is what people respond to, not the doctrine or the message of condemnation. It is the love of Christ… the real tangible love that inspires a heart to move and be moved.

In kindness

Drew Abraham

CLINTON INETEMONA DUKEH said...

HI JOSHUA
I JUST STUMBLE INTO YOUR BLOG THROUGH GOOGLE SEARCH. AM A CHRISTIAN AND ONE THING I WILL SAY IS THAT IN THIS OUR GENERATION WHERE SIN IS PACKAGE AS A BRAND.OUR FOCUS AND ENERGY SHOULD BE HOW TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL AND INFLUENCE OUR WORLD FOR CHRIST.LET FORGET ABOUT WHO WILL BE THE NEXT GREAT EVANGELIST AND FOCUS OUR ENERGY ON HOW TO TRANSFORM OUR WORLD.JESUS CHRIST HAS GIVEN US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION AND WE MUST DELIVER IT TO OUR WORLD.