Why don’t we witness?

by T. C. Pinckney                                                                                           Vol. XVI, No. 6, July 2003

Southern Baptists rarely witness. Oh, a few of us do regularly, some occasionally, but most of us not at all. Evidence?

In 2002 Southern Baptist churches recorded 16,247,736 total members, 11,189,579 resident members, and 394,893 baptisms. A simple division shows that there was one baptism by SBC churches for each 28.33 resident members, one for each 41.14 total members. In our own Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia, in 2002 we counted 4,620 baptisms with 127,192 resident members which comes to one baptism per 27.53 resident members, only slightly better than the nation-wide figure. What accounts for such dismal statistics?

I believe there are several contributing causes.

First, it is too easy to join most SBC churches. All a person must do is walk the aisle, say he believes in Jesus, and that’s it. The congregation is delighted to vote for his membership, and soon he is baptized. But he may never have had explained to him what the church expects of members. He may not even be truly saved; he may just have given in to an emotional moment. In other words, he may join in virtually complete ignorance of what changes being a church member should make in his heart and the way he lives.

Every church should welcome anyone who responds to the invitation, yes. But each person should then be a candidate for membership. And candidates should be required to attend a class of at least several hours on the true significance of salvation, the biblical responsibilities of church membership, how the local church and other areas of Southern Baptist polity operate, and how the church deals with members who fail to observe their member responsibilities.

Second, our rolls are replete with “social Christians”. That is, for thousands upon thousands of Baptists, church has become not the focus of their lives, not a life-changing experience, but instead only a comfortable club which makes no or absolutely minimal demands upon the individual and certainly never attempts to convict of sin ... or even address it. Therefore, when a pastor begins to preach the Word and condemns sins familiar to one or more of the members – divorce, abortion, gambling, adultery, avarice, not tithing, not regularly participating – certain members start scheming to change pastors. They would rather oppose the pastor than their own sin. And, unfortunately, many pastors are satisfied just to tickle the ears of their congregations by telling them what they want to hear, not all that the Bible says.

Preventing the membership of any more “social Christians” is the first essential step in correcting this problem. Confronting those already members is the follow-up phase. Of course they should be confronted in love with a sincere goal of reclaiming them for Christ. But if they persist and are recalcitrant, they should be disfellowshipped.

Third, our integrity is debased by so many non-resident members. Look again at the figures cited above. SBC churches carry over five million folks on their church rolls who never attend, who have moved away, and whose addresses in most cases are unknown. Of course there are some circumstances under which non-attendees should be kept on the roll. If a frail, elderly person moves to a nursing home and cannot come to church, that is understandable. Such should be kept on the roll and ministered to. But those who simply do not and will not come, those who have left the area permanently and whose whereabouts are a mystery, should be removed from the roll after a reasonable effort has been made to locate them. Let’s forget about bragging rights and be honest with ourselves and others about the size of our churches.

Fourth, most of us seldom if ever witness. Few Southern Baptists truly and regularly seek opportunities to speak to someone about Jesus. In fact we ignore obvious opportunities. We make excuses such as:

– I witness through my actions. Well, it is true that if our actions belie our words we are soon recognized as hypocrites and our words are vain. But very few if any are won to Christ by actions alone. After all, to be converted an unsaved person needs a certain amount of knowledge about who Christ is, what He did, and that He did it all. It is hard to see how actions alone could convey that information.

– I’m too busy. If that is my excuse, I simply have a wrong set of priorities. How can the temporary demands of a job, or keeping the house, or the lawn, or sports, or investments – which continue only for the very few years we spend in this life – outweigh the eternal blessings of having been used by the Holy Spirit to bring a lost soul to a saving knowledge of our wonderful Savior?

– I don’t know what to say. Poppycock. We are told in God’s Word that the Spirit will give us the words. And there are many very effective witnessing tools available. If you feel you can’t remember the witnessing program, write it down and carry it in your pocket. Then read it when you have a witnessing opportunity.

– I’m scared, shy. Why are you afraid of this mere human being to whom you should witness, and not afraid of being confronted by Jesus when you stand before His throne? We know that every one of us will be judged, and we know that every word we ever uttered (and by extension, every thought, every action) will be made public before Him. We need to focus our awe on the One who deserves it, not on some other person. And then face it, every one of us is scared in some degree. Just go ahead and witness anyhow. Our love for Jesus should trump fear of people.

– I’m just not cut out to witness. More poppycock. Of course some are more gregarious than others. Words flow easily from some, hesitantly from others. But that is not the point. If the Holy Spirit has placed you in a witnessing opportunity, you are the chosen one. It is your responsibility before God to tell the Good News to that lost soul. You cannot save him, but you can make sure he hears the Word and at least has the chance. And if you don’t, you will answer for it directly and personally to Jesus.

Let’s go back to some numbers. In 2002 Southern Baptist churches reported 11,189,579 resident members. So, if every resident Southern Baptist won just one person to Jesus in a year, another11,189,579 people would be saved. The next year, if each of the original 11+ million and each of the previous year’s converts won just one person, 22,379,158 more people would be saved.

At that rate, how long do you think it would be until the United Sates was completely transformed? Less than five years! Just imagine America without abortions, with virtually no divorce, with no abandoned children, with minuscule violence, theft, murder, with porn shops turned into chapels, with decent movies and TV shows, with churches overflowing, with ample money to send everyone who wants to go (of whom there would be multiple tens of thousands) to the foreign mission field, with the blessings of God packed down and overflowing!

And all we need is a real change in our expectations of our church members, a casting aside of our convenient excuses, and a willingness to speak up for Jesus!

How about you? Will you pray and seek to win at least one soul to Jesus this year?