So how do we upgrade our evangelistic wiring?
1) We need to plug into God’s power.
This might seem basic, but it’s too often overlooked. In many pockets of evangelicalism we’ve settled for what we can produce in our own power. It’s entirely possible to build a growing, successful organization with the right amount of money, talented leaders and skill for marketing. This isn’t a wholesale indictment of churches that possess these qualities, but rather a warning against trusting in these qualities apart from God’s blessing. When we really value God’s power, prayer becomes the priority over performance.
Don’t make the mistake of forging ahead into a new method of carrying out a personal or corporate mission without seeking the blessing of the One who owns the mission. Before you do anything, spend time praying for God’s clear direction as you seek to develop new ways of communicating the gospel.
2) We need to learn to speak human again.
In 2000, three years before Myspace existed and four years before Facebook entered the world, some amazingly insightful guys wrote The Cluetrain Manifesto. They saw the social web coming before it arrived. In the preamble to their 95 theses, they wrote these words to “the people of earth”:
“A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter—and getting smarter faster than most companies.
“These markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny, and often shocking. Whether by explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. Most corporations, on the other hand, only know how to talk in the soothing, humorless monotone of the mission statement, marketing brochure, and your-call-is-important-to-us busy signal. … But learning to speak in a human voice is not some trick, nor will corporations convince us they are human with lip service about ‘listening to customers.’ They will only sound human when they empower real human beings to speak on their behalf.”
Now, go back and read that quote again but replace the words companies and corporations with the word churches. It’s a bit chilling. As long as we are determined to keep our churchy wiring, we will fail to connect with our culture. And as long as we keep our grip on our programmatic, ritualistic, institutionalized version of the church, we will fail to capture the hearts of the hurting desperately in need of relationship.
Jesus was wildly popular among the common people of Israel because He refused to keep the Pharisees happy by dressing the part of the religious leader. He became human, spoke human, hurt as a human and touched humanity in every respect. We should do the same.
3) We need to lead proactively.
Reactive leadership is killing us. When Jesus declared the “powers of hell will not conquer” the church He built, He wasn’t kidding around (Matt. 16:18, NLT). We have nothing to fear—the ultimate victory is already won. So why, then, do we hide in our bunkers waiting for the next cultural battle to come along? Why do we try to start saving our churches only when they are almost dead? And why do we attempt to understand technology and innovation only when it seems safe to do so?
It’s time to go on offense. By “offense,” I am not attempting to invoke a military image. I’m simply saying it’s time for the church step up and lead, which requires tremendous courage. It means going first and being an example to others.
I get that this is hard. I really do. When I was a student at Western Kentucky University, I saw this play out in the speech communication classes I took. Every time we came to a spot in the curriculum that required class members to give a speech, the question from the professor would inevitably come: “Who would like to go first?” Then came the long pause, during which students shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
The one who goes first has to break the ice and make mistakes without the benefit of seeing others figure it out first. Going first is not our natural inclination, but in a world in need of restoration and in a constant state of cultural flux, it’s really time. The alternative just isn’t an option anymore. Faulty wiring restricts the flow of God’s power through us. Even worse, bad wiring can be rather destructive to the church, spelling our eventual death if we don’t assess and adapt our approach and our language to each new generation.
It’s time to lead. It’s time to do some rewiring.
Brandon Cox is the founding pastor of Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He has served in small churches as well as at one of America’s largest churches, Saddleback Church, and is an editor, mentor and community facilitator for pastors.com. His new book, Rewired, from which this article came, released in February.
Joseph Mattera