Sharing the Gospel

I want to honor the memory of a fellow, and not make it seem like he an object of evangelism in this post.  Ric Collis was the son of long-time church members, but had not lived in Morehead for decades.  He gave the church the biggest gift I have ever known someone to give.

A few weeks ago I found out he had terminal cancer.  He himself had only found out a few weeks before.  There was nothing to be done, except maybe some palliative care.  I called him and he was remarkably calm about it.  there were some tests to be done, to see what could be done to slow the disease, but he would die from it.

A few days after that call, his best friend and my church member Jim called and said it was progressing very rapidly.  I decided that I could not wait until some business took me to Louisville, it was now.

A lot conspired to keep me back, especially the threat of weather.  People were well-meaning, but I needed to go, and what else is 4 wheel drive for if not nasty weather?  As I drove up, the Lord placed Acts 10 on my heart, Peter at Cornelius' house.  I knew it was because Ric had grown up in a believers' house but had not professed faith in Christ, and was a generous person... much like Cornelius.

In the hospital, we spent some time reminiscing... and then we had to get down to business, sharing Christ.  Jim and I emphasized that salvation is about faith in Jesus.  Because of grace God does not hold our sins against us if we repent and believe in Jesus.  But that is hard to believe!  The lawyer in Ric wondered how God could leave all our sins on the table like that. I told Ric that I felt God wanted me to share from Acts 10.  By verse 4, the tears were flowing.  And yes I read almost the whole chapter!  At verse 43, salvation came.  Ric clasped our hands and we prayed for him to receive Christ, to have peace in his final days.

He died 5 days later.  He is home.

Funerals

It's been a long week. A good week, but a long one. And I say a good week, even though there were two funerals. A funeral is an excellent time for a kind of evangelism, “apologetics.” As we become more and more secular, death is seen as some kind of anomaly. The secular mind tends to fear death, to disbelieve it. It happens only to old people who are carefully secluded away so it won't scare children... or adults. And even then, death is seen as an injustice, evidence that God does not exist or does not care. So, on that level, if people thinking that way come to a funeral (and sometimes they do, to honor the person being memorialized), there is a chance to present the claims of the Gospel, the reason for the hope the deceased had in Christ. It's not an easy thing for the unbeliever-- they are alternately attracted and repulsed. From the vantage point of a preacher, you see indifference, surprise, comfort, hostility. But the point is to acknowledge death as the consequence of sin and death and to acknowledge eternal life as the reward of faith in Jesus Christ.

And the deep mourning of the family is also something that a strong, Christ-centered funeral addresses. I remember a funeral that Howard Willen took me to. He was the pastor at First Methodist in Lexington, who helped me immensely, not the least way was helping me discern a call into ministry. Because I was going into ministry, he took me along to things like meetings, hospital calls, nursing home visits... and funerals. So at the first one...

It was interesting. I knew I was going to have to get used to funeral homes. Caskets. Mourning. Death. And constant reminders of death. What a weird job pastors have, I remember thinking. Most people would actively try to avoid going to a funeral home. And yet, we go, and will be with the people as they are dying, perhaps when they die. I won't lie, it's tough. But you get to go with Jesus, and occasionally you see some signs and wonders.

Well, Howard and I were headed into Kerr Bros. funeral home, the one downtown. It was a cold day, maybe winter. Howard had said he would call me if there were a funeral so that I could see how they were done. As we went in-- I will never forget this-- he said, “Let's kick the devil around.”

How? Death is his turf. Mourning and hopelessness is his game. But the Gospel is preached in the face of death. And the death of the believer's physical body is the first step to resurrection to eternal life.

So I am always ready to roll at a funeral. I've got Good News. How good it is to be able to offer the consolation of the Lord!

I wrote some of this in the middle of the night. Nadia had a nightmare, I got her and brought her into bed with Jessie and me. And then Nadia ran me out. Three episodes of Burn Notice later and I was still wide awake.

Now it is Saturday evening, a bit of snow coming down. I had a great Sabbath. Slow morning to go over the sermon. Great lunch with our DS Terry Reffett—we chewed some of the same dirt in Clark County. Good, slow day with the family. Right now a fire in the fireplace. Going to read a few more chapters of My Side of the Mountain with the boys. Thinking back to how Dr. Willen scooped me up out of the gutter, and how good the Methodists have been to me and my family.

Priming the Pump

Jessie is working with Tracy Tackett (the fellow helping us get our website moving) to put some downloadable (is that a word?) evangelism tools on the website. In advance of them bieng up there, let me tell you a little bit about what we're trying. We will have some of them available in church on Sunday.

One of the things that I find very quick and easy in faith-sharing is to have some cards with information about the church-- worship times, address, basic info like that. Then, you can easily leave that with your tip at a restaurant (don't tell me it doesn't work—Mary Philips has helped three servers find the Lord this way!), or pass it to someone in line at the grocery store. Or you can give it to a friend who doesn't already have a church home. Or... you get the picture.

What we are hoping, then, is to have a download on the website where you can print off your own cards and have them ready to hand out.

One of the cards is a favorite of mine, a card inviting families to our Children's Ministry. Jessie made a compact little card. When I am out and see a family, or a dad having a special lunch with his kids at McDonald's, I just walk up and briefly say something like, “it's great to see you having so much fun as a family.” Then, as I give them the card, “I'd like to invite you to our church and the great children's ministry we have going on there.” That's pretty much all you have to do. Sometimes there is a conversation that happens. Sometimes not. But it's ok. You get the word out.

I will let you know when we get the downloads up. But in the meantime, pray and prepare your hearts to be more open about your faith. To be ready to just simply cross the space in the store or at work to give a simple invitation to church. And then after praying, you will be ready!