How two highly-motivated cultists revived my interest in personal evangelism.

It was somewhere in the midst of our discussion of blood transfusions, the personhood of the Holy Spirit and the war in Iraq that my heart broke for the two neatly-dressed gentlemen at my front door.

My budding friendship with several members of the Watchtower Society (aka Jehovah’s Witnesses) has drawn me away from my chores many a Saturday into the convoluted world of their cult. I’m beginning to wonder why they keep coming back to my door–I’m showing no signs of softening my position, and neither are they.

But these guys are making me ask myself some interesting questions. Mostly about why I’m home doing laundry and mowing my lawn while they’re pounding the pavement spreading their version of “the good news.”

It’s easy for me to chalk their misguided zeal up to some form of demonic deception or rabid legalism. But what if they’re telling the truth when they say they care about my soul? Their heretical theology and intrusive evangelistic tactics aside, JWs have an uncanny way of reminding the church why we’re here: for the sake of the lost.

I find it easy to slip into the “virtual Christianity” that Reinhard Bonnke describes–sending a check, saying a prayer and leaving the rest to the experts. But ultimately the responsibility for taking the gospel to the ends of the earth rests in the hands of each of us.

As you will read in this issue of Ministries Today, this task remains unaccomplished, but the tools and opportunities we’ve been given for completing it have never been more diverse and exciting. It’s as though God is saying to us: “Here you are. It’s not going to be any easier. But I want to make sure every saint has an opportunity to speak, and every sinner has a chance to hear.”

Not too many of us find this a particularly enjoyable task, and we’re amazed by soul-winners for whom evangelism comes so naturally. But my weekend visitors have reawakened me to the exhilaration of sharing my own experience of knowing and loving the Creator of the universe. It’s just too bad it took two highly-motivated cultists to revive my interest in personal evangelism.

Perhaps, that’s why our gracious God is bringing the “ends of the earth” to our doorstep, in the form of immigrants, refugees, international students, the secular marketplace and, yes, even the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

He’s hoping we will rediscover the joy of making His mission our mission: to seek and to save that which was lost.

Opportunity is knocking. Will we answer the door?

by Matt Green
from Ministry Today magazine
July/Aug 2004

We need more pastors like Tommy Barnett–engaged with things that matter.

I’ve worked with pastors whose skills and professionalism could have landed them high-paying jobs in the business world, and I’ve served others whose gifts were better suited for the Teamsters’ union. Tommy Barnett, whom I had the privilege of interviewing for this issue (see “Dream Weaver,” page 38), belongs in the first group.

Pastors of large churches like Phoenix First Assembly aren’t entrusted with their burgeoning flocks just because of an ability to manage programs and invent new church- growth schemes. God has seen fit to bless their ministries because He has created them with gifts tailor-made for their unique situations.

From my brief time with Pastor Barnett, here are a few observations of the types of people that God often calls to fulfill the ministry of the shepherd:

Simplicity: While the world may extol the virtues of a complex person able to weigh options, calculate risk and analyze potential, a good pastor keeps it simple: “Preach the Word, and love people,” my father–himself a pastor–once advised me.

It’s not that a pastor is disengaged from the complexities of life, but he or she has the ability to immediately sift through challenging enigmas, separating the eternal from the temporary. It’s no wonder that the effective ministry of a pastor surrounds the three things that are anything but temporary: God, His Word and people.

Focus: Successful pastors like Tommy Barnett have the uncanny ability to focus–not just on the lofty goals that keep them in the prayer closet and the board room, but also on the individuals who sit in their offices seeking counsel.

When you’re in a room talking with Pastor Barnett, you and he are the only ones there. Not that this comes naturally. If anything, the gift of focus is one that must be honed and practiced, as one’s ministry grows and one’s sphere of influence broadens.

Dependency: Once again, this is not a sought-after quality, but without it a pastor will become a smoldering wick in a matter of years. Leaders like Tommy Barnett constantly extol the value of those whom they lead, recognizing that their effectiveness is contingent on the partnership of those who share their visions. They have learned to depend on God–and others.

Good pastors revel in the productive service of those whom they lead–even when it has the potential of eclipsing their own ministries. Unthreatened, they recognize this for what it truly is: an indication of their own fruitfulness.

May God raise up more pastors like Tommy Barnett–simply engaged with the things that matter, focused on God and His people and willing to take the risk of dependence.

by Matt Green
from Ministry Today magazine
May/June 2004