“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!”
This is exactly how I feel through the first half of this year! Global Evangelism Ministries has been able to see 23,969 people indicate “first-time” decisions for Christ. This is an incredible work of God. To think that because of the faithfulness of people, like you, we have been able to travel over 46,000 air miles, stand on four different continents, and preach the gospel to nearly 60,000 people is overwhelming! Little did I imagine, in 1992 when God first called me into full-time evangelism, that I would be able to report all these facts. What an incredible God we serve!
With all these good things, it might be a bit surprising that my heart is heavy. Today, as I was reading and listening to the Lord, my heart became troubled at the great need these results represent. It dawned on me, perhaps for the first time, how much needs to be done in the Kingdom. When I think about the millions of new Christians living throughout the world, I wondered who was going to disciple all of these “babes in Christ?”
Today, the church seems to have failed to teach our members that we are all called to a lifestyle of Christian living. Remember, Christianity is a 24/7/365 calling. We need men and women in the market place who are living their faith to the fullest potential. Too often, the football term of “weekend warriors” seems to be applicable to today’s Christian. Sadly, most of our church members are “fired up” on Sunday only to “fizzle out” Monday – Saturday. This truth can be seen in the businesses, shops, and offices of far too many “professing” Christians.
We are living in a day when people are bombarded with words about faith. From Washington to Wall Street, the term “faith based” is thrown around like fresbie in the local park. It is carried away by the breezes that blow under its’ lift. We need men and women who “live out” their faith in every avenue of life. The church needs its members to be saltshakers, and darkness breakers in the everyday and ordinary things of daily living. We don’t need good church members, we need Christians who are “sold out” to Jesus Christ and unashamed to carry His name in everything we do.
It seems to be that churches today are more concerned with buildings and budgets than with the souls of men. We are often told to “give more” so we can prepare for the future needs of our churches than we are to “live more” for Jesus Christ. What the world needs is NOT more Church buildings, rather more Christian building. Now, don’t get me wrong. I think the church should seek to do all it can, with all it has, to reach a community for Christ. However, the church fails when it develops a “Field of Dreams” mantra of “if we build it, they will come.” The ministry and message of Jesus Christ was not concentrated on a religious edifice, it was built on seeing individual lives confronted with the transforming message of grace and faith. It was all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
There is a marvelous little book now available entitled, “EXECUTIVE Influence: Impacting your workplace for Christ” by Christopher Crane and Mike Hamel. As the promo for the book states, “Executive Influence is full of sound advice on ‘taking your faith to work.’ The vast majority of believers are to dispense salt and light in daily doses in the workplace.” If you are interesting in learning how to see your Christian life radiate in your workplace, then this book is for you. I would encourage you to buy it at your local Christian bookstore or order it online at” www.familybookstore.net
As I travel around the world, I can tell you that next to pure evangelism, the greatest need of the day is that of Authentic Christianity, lived out in every nation on the earth. It is my prayer that each person reading this will join me in making our faith real and personal in everything we do.
