Another great post from Ed Stetzer on those who claim they don't witness because they don't have the gift for it. In No Such Thing as "the Gift of Evangelism" , Statezer takes on this notion that only certain people have the gift of evangelism and because so few people think they have it, they are excused from witnessing.
Recently, I spoke at the Church of God Triennial meeting in Decatur, IL. One of the things I talked about was my belief that there is no such thing as "the gift of evangelism." Part of my concern is that I hear many people saying they don't have the "gift of evangelism" and thus believing it is not their responsibility to do evangelism (since they don't have the "gift"). And, since evangelism can be a challenge at times, that seems to be a "gift" that people don't want.
In the mid-90s, a well-known leader who created a "spiritual gifts test," told me that about 10% of people have the gift of evangelism. Yet, that number seems to be on decline. Barna recently released research saying, "Among the interesting facets of the research was that just 1% of believers claim to have the gift of evangelism (down from 4% five years ago)."
Hmmmmm.
I don't think this means there is a widespread growing realization that no one has the gift of evangelism. My best guess is that it is because people are talking themselves out of their obligation to do evangelism.
I often find that people are perceived as being "gifted" in a certain area that happens to be what they like and are most comforable doing but that doesn't excuse any of us from proclaiming the Lord to the lost. It is not just the pastors job, or the overseas missionary. It is certainly not something that can only be done in the context of a church meeting. It is the responsibility of all believers, all of the time. Not everyone will be out on the street preaching but all of us know lots of people who are lost and need to hear about Jesus. Don't hide behind "the gift of evangelism" or lack thereof to excuse you failure to be a witness
3 comments:
I'm pretty sure I don't have the gift of doing dishes. Or dusting. And certainly not the gift of cleaning out the catbox. It's a shame, really...I think I'm really more gifted in browsing the internet and eating cookies. Yup, those are my gifts. :)
I remembered taking an "Evangelism Styles" profile several years ago, so I googled it. Here is a link to a Word doc with soem great questions, evaluations and explainations of the different styles and methods, as well as the cautions for each. http://www.sfceurope.org/resources/downloads/csm2007/joe_z/evangelism_styles_questionairre.doc
Arthur,
This is off topic, but just for fun I clicked on your sitemeter link. It seems we have been blogging for about the same number of years and you have single digit percentage more site visits over those years and I have single digit percentage more page views. Pretty much neck and neck. FYI trivia.
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