The pit-falls those called as Evangelists must avoid...
Evangelists tend to make some mistakes of the head. These include:
1. Become so fixated with keeping the doors of the Kingdom of God wide open for as many as possible to enter that they may unconsciously or consciously begin to play the numbers game.
Today you hear evangelists claim that half a million people gave their lives at a crusade. When you check out the statistics, you will notice that probably first time decisions were about three thousand. All the rest may have been believers who were mass mobilized through their pastors to participate. The numbers game is very dangerous one, though it is one of the chief tools with which evangelists raise money. 2 Samuel 24.
2. Trying to help God. By going extra mile to simplify the gospel, some evangelists tend to de-emphasise the real deal: Conversion or change of the spirit man from death to life; from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to that of Jesus Christ. The result is that people can answer altar calls and fill out decision cards without necessarily being saved and a real understanding that they are called to receive the power to live a new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17. Unconverted people are not truly saved.
3. Some Evangelists tend to take Prophets of old as their model, rather than Jesus Christ. In effect, their messages tend to focus on impending doom which they use to drive people to fear. While some decisions made out of fear may stand the test of time, it is not a reliable basis for bringing people into the Kingdom of God.
4. Some modern day evangelists have made the gospel programme more complex and expensive, staging money guzzling crusades. In the end, the cost deters some people God has called from stepping forward because of the high bar already set by visiting Evangelists.
5. Some Evangelists have turned gospel meetings into religious equivalents of show business complete with exquisitely decorated stages, strobe lights, high velocity music by the main musical acts in the season. Those attending tend to be so carried away by the dazzling sights and pomp attending the superstar preachers that all forms of solemnity are lost. That such things take place in fora where the key transaction is the souls of humans is a serious let down.
6. As the case of one of the well known evangelist of the day shows, Evangelists can be so concerned about achieving what they deem targets from God that they neglect their own families and may display extreme insensitivity to emotional needs of their spouses. Songs of Solomon 1:6 addresses this anomaly. So also does 1 Corinthians 9: 24 - 27.
-Excerpts from Lesson #10 of GSoM Course 112: The Ascension Office Gifts (Five Fold Leadership Gifts) published by Global School of Ministry on face book today. All materials are free from Babylonian copyright restrictions because the Word of The King cannot be bound! Please share freely on and off face book!
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