Personal Thoughts on Seven Deadly Trappings

I pointed earlier to a post by Joe Carter at the evangelical outpost called Fads and Fixtures: Seven Deadly Trappings of Evangelism. I only had a chance to skim it this morning but I took it to work and had a closer read.

I am going to make some comments about the article because there are many things I agree with him on but there are some clarifications that I would like to add. So, please bear with me. I see that there are about 40 comments about this post on Joe's site and I haven't read them but if I get the time I may at least skim through them.

I will not quote Joe's points. You will need to read the article to follow my comments about it.

The first deadly trapping that Joe mentions is The Sinner's Prayer and I would agree with him that no "magical" prayer words will give anyone a "ticket to heaven." A prayer like this is a tool that can be used to help someone into the Kingdom but there needs to be understanding of what it means on the part of the pray-er and if there is no followup, no discipleship or mentoring then it probably will just be words. Entry into the Kingdom is not attained in this manner. If this is a main focus in our evangelism then it is a deadly trapping.

Number two is The Altar Call. I am probably not in complete agreement with Joe on this one. Our differences here may be in part the difference between Reformed theology and Wesleyan theology. It is certainly related to the fact that the church I grew up in is one that gives a lot of focus to the altar call and I have been in many a prayer meeting following the sermon where some time is spent on this, many times to very good effect.

I do have some difficulties with it. I can't say that I've seen "bullying" used to get decisions as the quote from Packer mentions, but I have seen what I consider an over emphasis on emotions. This happens when the singing gets drawn out and the speaker begins to plead and beg (maybe it is a form of bullying that I just have never recognized) to not let this opportunity pass you by. When I have led meetings where I offered an altar call I have tried to focus on making a decision based on rational thought and not just emotion. We do have to recognize that emotion is a part of us and it does play a role sometimes in decision making. It just has to be kept in balance with thought and reason or it can lead to "false conversions."

The altar call cannot be a demanding thing by the preacher or else the problem that the Packer quote speaks to becomes real. But I would hesitate to say that the altar call itself is a "deadly trapping" because, used properly, it does give an opportunity for someone to understand that now is the day of salvation for them. And if the Holy Spirit has used the spoken word of the preacher to convict in mind and spirit, then it can be that opportunity. But, like number one, the convert cannot just be abandoned, there must be followup or it is potentially meaningless.

Number three is Do you know Jesus as... On this one I would completely agree with Joe. The story he relates is sad and using this approach as just another "notch" in the belt of evangelism truly makes it a deadly trapping. Joe says, "Instead of asking about a 'personal savior' you might want to simply try to get to know the person." And actually, this is very similar to some of the stuff Brian McLaren and the emergent church people are saying (in my opinion.)

Number four is Tribulationism and I am totally in agreement with Joe on this one. One thing that especially bothers me is the escapist secret rapture before the tribulation belief. We can get so concerned with trying to figure out the second coming of Jesus that we forget that we are supposed to be obedient to the teachings taught us in the first coming of this same Jesus.

Number five is Testimonies and Joe's point is valid but I would say that at the right time in the conversation it may be meaningful to share your story about Jesus in your life.

Number six is Witnessing and to Joe's comments I would say exactly. Witness should be a noun more often than a verb and the visible witness speaks louder than our spoken witness.

Number seven is Chick Tracts and Joe simply condemns them as a tool of the devil. If you've never seen these tracts (and I haven't seen one for years) then you can check out Chick Publications and make your own decisions.

I think Joe's main point in all of this is that we can't package up Jesus and sell Him and His salvation as just another product. "Pass out Chick tracts, recite the canned 'how to get saved' speech, get them to say the sinner's prayer. Above all, close the deal."

What we need is to come face to face with Jesus as revealed in the Gospel. As Joe says, the Gospel "is one fixture of our faith that will never go out of style."