Can’t Buy Me Love
What elements must accompany a faithful presentation of the gospel? What can a pastor do to ensure that others in his ministry are presenting the gospel in all its fullness? What are some ways you have seen decisions for Christ effectively acknowledged? What responsibilities does the preacher have to lead people in a public response to the gospel? When have we oversimplified or made the gospel formulaic? When have we made the gospel too complicated, and demanded more in our evangelism than the Scriptures do?
Crawford Loritts
- We gravitate between what is the Gospel and the effectiveness in sharing of the Gospel.
- We don’t question our strategies, we’ve become so pragmatic that the results define success.
- We need to hold the content of our message and the holy, anointed, God-given motivation and approach in tension.
- We make assumptions that have gotten us in trouble.
- People end up in heresy because they gravitate towards what works and edit the content, rather than questioning what is working and why it’s working.
- We have a stewardship issue with the Gospel.
- We’ve given a broad definition of the Gospel.
- What does it take to enter the Kingdom of God?
- Paul did not have a speech impediment in 1 Corinthians 15:3-11.
- The four elements of the Gospel are in there.
Steven Furtick
- Presenting the message creatively isn’t watering it down.
- I would never leave out sin, Christ, grace, or confession of sin.
- I have a problem when we hijack the word Gospel we make it to mean our propensity to how we believe or view it.
- I love the Gospel.
- We need a deep and solid love for the essentials.
- The message is offensive and it offends… we can’t play defense with it.
- You have to boldly invite people to a relationship with Christ.
- Focus on the authenticity of the message.
- I am called primarily to preach the Gospel, not to critique it.
Crawford Loritts
- What we forget is that inherit in the Gospel is urgency.
- That’s why there are certain methods to evangelism.
- Hell is forever.
- Conversational preaching is not Biblical preaching.
- We have an urgency in our message that cannot be denied.
- Don’t be casual about eternal matters.
- Preach with urgency and relevance.
- Put the clothes of people on the message.
- Give people the opportunity to respond.
- Sometimes our theological constructs get us in trouble.
- Please stop front-loading the Gospel.
- If someone is drowning, don’t point out the features of the lifeboat.
- Point people to Jesus.
- Don’t crowd the message of the cross with complexity.
- It’s simple and profound as it is.
Steven Furtick
- I will err on the side of preaching the Gospel and asking people to respond to it, not to critique it.
James MacDonald
- The tone is not what makes the urgency, it’s that the Gospel is leading people towards a response.
Wayne Cordiero
- We need to give people opportunities to cross over the line of faith.
T.D. Jakes
- We are in an age where we want to come up with a recipe for everything.
- When we try to get methodology down to a science we defy the mystery of the Gospel.
- We have a problem when we compare the different styles and methodologies of how we do ministry.
James MacDonald
- Bill Hybels had his staff write down the 5 things you can’t leave out of your Gospel presentation.
- Love, Evil, Rescue, Choice, Restoration.
- Jack Graham: God gave us the pattern for a confession of faith.
- Steven Furtick: Baptism is an important step of obedience that marks our identification with Christ.
- Be slow to judge someone as a false teacher.
- Love the Gospel by preaching it effectively and not critiquing it.
- Crawford Loritts: There is an arrogance that sets in when we elevate our approach to the Gospel where we take that sense of urgency off the table.
- James MacDonald: The most biblical way for people to respond isn’t signing a card or walking down an aisle. The Biblical mandate is for people to picture the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ through baptism. It’s the first thing that saved people should be do. We need to be driving toward the urgency of the Gospel and a response to it.
- Steven Furtick: The power is in the Gospel and in the foolishness of the cross. We need to be willing to tear off the roof to get people to Jesus.
- Mark Driscoll: To critique the man and his message is to only make the Gospel message more glorious.
- Jack Graham: Never preach without giving people an opportunity to respond. The method isn’t the issue, the urgency in it is.
- James MacDonald: We implore every man to come to the knowledge of Him. To be casual or indifferent to it does not honor the Gospel.
- Jack Graham: We need to overcome the mindset of evangelistic churches as being shallow.
- James MacDonald: We need to make more disciples and better disciples.
How does emotion play into a Gospel presentation?
- Steven: It plays heavily, both positively and negatively. Engaging people emotionally is within the bound of the New Testament preaching model we see with Paul. “I served the Lord with great humility and with tears…” Don’t create a false dichotomy between the content and emotion. There is a danger in everything and there is a danger in a cold and indifferent preacher. I’d rather have a hot heart.
- Crawford Loritts: You cannot reach people without speaking to their hearts. You’ve got to care about people’s souls, their sin and their bondage. That gives authenticity to your message.
- James MacDonald: Preaching is theology coming through a man that is on fire.
