Melissa Baker asks why pastors may be in danger of losing the plot, and suggests what to do about it.

Do Christians struggle to evangelise? Do we make the most of our opportunities? Have you ever wondered where terms such as politeness, manners, and respect have gone? Where has the society gone in which people looked out for one another, trusted without question, and invented machines to help build a better place? When did western society become complacent? Is our complacency tied into the fact that we live in a world of technology with no limits and our time can be eaten away so easily? It is so difficult to tell the difference between a non-Christian and a Christian these days. Have Christians become so busy and intertwined with technology that we have forgotten how to be in relationships? Have we forgotten what is truth? When did our fight for the truth end? How do Christians stand firm in today’ s western society, a society that has left God, goodness, and truth behind? Recently I watched Kate and Leopold on DVD. I began to see that life has become so whitewashed and belittled in comparison to the earlier years. This film illustrated extremely well the stark contrast of today’s hectic world with that of two centuries ago. Life once was built upon life, but it is now a life built on power, greed, and haste. Some time back, certainly not in my lifetime, things moved slowly, surely, and life had a promising future. Quality truly was better than quantity. As the population grew, technology changed, and so did the attitudes of the people. People have become lazier and less enthusiastic about life. People are too rushed, too bothered, and too absorbed in self. How can people find God, if Christians are also complacent, rushed, and bothered? Today’s citizens of the western world largely look after themselves. They move with the flow. They see less need for God in their lives. It is a sad reality of time. But Christians still have time to create history by bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We know the God of peace. The God who is a quality Builder and Creator. The God who can reach through the harshness of today’s society and bring love. Throughout the Bible we see evidence that the Lord looked after His people and set them apart from the rest of the nations. He established the land, held back seas, sent rains, caused land to yield crops, but also caused famine, withheld rains, determined natural boundaries and moved nations about the land. We from our own lives can also see evidence that the Lord has looked after us. But do we share this with others? We need to take a long hard look at ourselves – our beliefs, our values, our behaviour, and our actions. During the first few centuries, the Church placed value on beliefs, belonging, and behaviour. Do we today continue to see the importance of these three areas? A long time ago, Christians fought for their beliefs at all costs. Does this still exist? Perhaps we should see our role in the community as Augustine saw his role in North Africa – a rescuer of souls. During his 34 years as Bishop of Hippo he witnessed Christianity’s influence as it spread into every town. Augustine played a vital role locally, but he also left an impact upon the history of Christendom as a whole. During the sixth century, Caesarius, Bishop of Arles, built on Augustine’ s work. He was concerned about non-Christian neighbours. He urged Christians to reach out to them and be ready to explain the Christian religion to them at anytime – living out their beliefs through their behaviour. Our attitude is very important. We can see this through the growth of Christianity during Augustine’s and Caesarius’ day. There was evidence through the Church’s history that Christians wrestled with the Gospel – finding its inner meaning and truth, but there was also evidence of believers struggling with telling others about Jesus. Is this any different from today? Even those who knew Jesus and walked beside him struggled with a hesitancy to witness (John 7:10-13). Paul in his letter to the Corinthian Church outlined many problems they faced: divisions from personality issues in leadership and belief in doctrines; prominent members were living in immorality; individual Christians were taking each other to court over minor disputes; misunderstandings about the meaning of Christian liberty; disorders during weekly services; and even false teaching about the resurrection. The Church’s focus seemed to be on itself, not on others. Only a few Christians were actually evangelising! Is that any different from today? Are you too caught up with things in your own life? Is your focus on yourself or on Jesus? From the second century, non-believers were barred from the Church. It was the deacons’ role to stand at the door and screen those who would come in! Christians who had been baptised were the only ones allowed in the church. Worship was designed for Christians to meet with God. Where is our focus? Are we inclusive or exclusive? If our Sunday services are for Christians to meet with God and each other, then what are we offering for the seeker? Should they be separate? During the third century, Christians were heavily persecuted – more than we could ever imagine in the western world today. Simply bearing the name ‘Christian’ was a crime. Christians were forbidden to hold church meetings or even visit Christian cemeteries. Known leaders were executed, property was confiscated, church buildings were destroyed, Christian books were taken, and clergy were imprisoned. During the Diocletian persecution (303-311) all Christians had to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods and if one refused to worship these and the Emperor it was considered treason. During this period, many Christians were willing to suffer as martyrs, rather than betray the Lord. There were also many who renounced their faith under torture. Following each wave of persecution, the church leaders were faced with a difficult question – what do you do with those who repented after lapsing under the pressure of persecution? In Australia, we might never go through a period of persecution like other Christians have gone through. Yet, we continue to deny who Christ is? What harm will come to us? Throughout time, there were many periods of persecution, but the Church continued to grow. Having so much opposition actually made the Gospel ‘burn all the brighter’. Do we struggle because we do not have heavy opposition? In the fourth and fifth centuries, preaching was given great importance, primarily to correct belief. The heavy theological sermons may have brought Christians back on track, but their behaviour died from lack of instruction. Even though Christian ideas were so popularised, they became items of everyday conversation. It is important to realise that this did not lead to an immediate transformation of society. So much of our time goes into preparing a sermon. How can we encourage our congregations to speak of the things they learn from the message so it brings Christ to others? The rise of Islam directly influenced the political and economic development of Christendom. Islam became Christianity’s greatest opponent. From the seventh century, Islam spread throughout Asian cultures, growing faster than Christianity. Christians in England and Ireland began to see this as a threat and started evangelising through Europe. Meanwhile, the majority of the Church was debating ‘filioque’ – ‘Did the Holy Spirit descend from the Father through the Son or from the Father and the Son?’ By the end of the eleventh century the East and West churches had split, leaving very few to evangelise, while Islam spread like wildfire. The rise of Islam still holds the majority of countries today. Muslims still evangelise better than Christians. They are right now working out ways to evangelise Australia. Muslim leaders overseas have a plan to evangelise right on our doorstep, to take over communities in Sydney. And we cannot deny that they are succeeding: look at communities like Lakemba. How long will it take for Christians to get real about their faith and to speak into the hearts of people right here? I’m sure you would agree with me that you would not want your community area won to Islam! If this is so, then what are you doing to ensure it is won for Christ? When I think of an evangelist, I remember back to those church history lessons at Morling College, where I took it upon myself to read most of John Wesley’s journals. This man’s mission in life, his experiences, and value system fascinated me. His mark was to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people wherever they were willing to listen. Wesley used every single situation and conversation to speak love into people, allowing God to transform their lives. For 50 years, he rose at 4am every day to preach at 5am in the open fields, even during thunderstorms. Thousands of people stopped and listened to the message. They hung upon his words with absorbed attention. This is something that certainly does not happen in today’s society because we have lost the art of listening to something that’s of worth. Wesley was effective for Christ. He was one of the few people in his time that reached out to people and shared Christ with them. What did the Church do? Shut him out. The middle and higher classes saw him as a threat. He stirred the hearts of the lower class and brought about change through Jesus. But even through this Wesley was persistent and never gave up. Wesley in some degree was reviving an old 1st Century tradition where the travelling teacher’s main objective was to increase righteousness and knowledge of the Lord in the communities they visited. What a great idea! Where has this ministry role gone? I remember one journal reading very well. Wesley was on his way to Northampton on his horse. It was in May 1742. Wesley encountered another man on a horse and started a conversation with him. The other man openly told of his opinions. He said that his fellow rider was rotten at heart and that he must be one of John Wesley’s followers. Wesley of course told him that it was he! The man embarrassed took off on his horse. Wesley, however, rode something like 8,000 miles each year on horseback, being the better rider and was able to keep close to his side, endeavoured to show the man his heart and the love of Jesus Christ. Wesley never gave up declaring that Christ was Lord. He spoke to the blacksmith when his horse was getting a shoe change. He gave out his tracts everywhere he went. He led people to Christ, got them praying on their knees and singing to God, even on a 23-hour boat journey. People assaulted him in the streets about his beliefs; he turned around to them and spoke in love. Some came to know the Lord. Christ always guided his thoughts, actions, and words. So how should we make the most of every opportunity? When we look into the life of Paul, we see that he told others of his personal encounters with Christ (Acts 9:1-28; 28:20-31). This is the most powerful testimony that demonstrates that Christ lives today. Our actions are also a testimony to the world (1 Peter 2:12). When Wesley got slandered for being who he was in Christ, what did he do? Speak in love. His actions spoke louder than anything else. The early Christians were alert to the patterns of their culture and community. They were able to relate the message of Christ to that community and draw upon narrative and images of their time. (And we thought this was a new concept!) They evaluated every situation and ensured that they continually practiced life-giving insights that would set people free from bondage. Are you complacent? Do you struggle to evangelise? Do you demonstrate Christ to your community in a way that they understand? Are you making the most of your opportunities? G.A. Smith, author of ‘Book of the Twelve Prophets’, challengingly states, ‘The great causes of God and Humanity are not defeated by the hot assaults of the Devil, but by the slow, crushing, glacier-like masses of thousands and thousands of indifferent nobodies. God’s causes are never destroyed by being blown up, but by being sat upon.’ The only way that Christianity can make a difference in this world is if we are making a difference. If our focus is continually on Jesus, then our actions will be of worth to Him. Then we will be able to speak the love He requires of us. Then we would be able to tell others of our personal encounters. Then we will, above all else, serve our Lord with a willing heart, so that others may know. We have the key to set people free and give them life in Jesus. Kreider says ‘People have no time; in a throwaway culture they do not really cherish material things; there is a crisis of relationships and a heartrending dearth of joy.’ What is our role as pastors in the future of Christianity? What if we took on Augustine’s role as the rescuer of souls? What if we reached out to our non-Christian neighbours as Caesarius encouraged? What if we embraced Wesley’s mark to carry the Gospel to anyone who was willing to listen? What if our churches were known as communities of compassion and truth? What if the community admired our churches and many curious inquirers walked through our front door? Can we learn from the past, offer authenticity, and make a contribution to the future of Christianity? We can. If we are willing to push aside the challenges of today’s world, then we can do all these things through Jesus.

Rev Melissa Baker is a Sydney-based adult educator and pastoral carer. Her new book, Jade’s story: a two way street, is featured in this issue of Mosaic. A Bible study based on this article and Hosea 13-14 is at http://www.baptistpastors.org.au. This article appeared in Mosaic 5 (3), 2003, edited by Rod Benson. To subscribe, contact