Why Pastors Avoid Witnessing

by Lyle Pointer

2. Ministers have only been trained in a confrontational model of evangelism and other professors have belittled this approach.

3. Pastoral ministry has embraced secular psychology as a model for local church ministry; therapy has replaced evangelism.

4. Large, institutional churches, particularly within he setting of a college or university atmosphere, have become models for ministry in the local church

5. Higher education has placed a focus on the foundational studies of theology and Bible while lowering the importance of sharing one's faith with others; practics and Christian education have become the neglected stepchildren of religion departments.

6. Contemporary thinking in or society, namely pluralism and relativism, leave ministers who are trained in the bible and who believe in objective truth wondering how to address the philosophical positions espoused by the average American.

1. We must encourage pastors to discuss openly, even with the skeptical society, the spiritual realm--how God's Spirit is at work in the human spirit to bring about lifestyle change (redemption and reconciliation).

2. Our seminary and universities must strengthen the practics and Christian education departments by selecting men and women who are able both practically and academically. Hopefully some of our theologians and Biblical scholars will become professors of Christian education and evangelism. John Wesley serves as a model for such a career move; an Oxford don became a revivalist.

3. While a person's background serves as an influence in who they have become, we believe the grace of God can radically alter the future of individuals who might otherwise be imprisoned by their past. Evangelists recognize the need for pastoral care, for one plants, one waters and cultivates on both sides of the harvest.

4. Growing churches outside of a religious center are far better models of evangelistic endeavor than are typical college churches. Churches that merely collect transient Christians do not function with the vitality of a truly outreach oriented church which is connecting with a secular society.

5. Evangelism is a worthy Biblical and theological pursuit in its own right. Evangelism should wed solid theological, historical, and Biblical studies with the dynamics o the spiritual, sociological, and psychological. Spiritual formation, both gradual and instantaneous, takes into account how God is at work in each of these arenas.

6. Contemporary Christianity must seek to achieve an historian's evaluation of the church when he writes that the church has always outlived, out loved, and out thought the world. Just as Wesley sought to find a middle ground between the enthusiasts and the skeptics of his day, so we must advocate our views with Spirit inspired intellect. We must regard pluralism and relativism as open doors to the articulation of our faith. After all, pluralism tolerates all positions and relativism says we can believe whatever we want to. Why not become proponents of a living, loving relationship with Jesus, who alone brings us into fellowship with God?

Last Modified: June 4, 1998