Truth is ancient; it's grey hairs may make it venerable;
it comes from Him who is the ancient of days. --Thomas Watson

 

28 October, 2005   comments: (0) Today's Evangelism   Spurgeon On Conversions: Be Careful Counting "Unhatched Chickens" A mega-church pastor recently defended his obsession with counting converts: "So we celebrate the numbers (people). We obsess about the numbers (people). We lay awake at night thinking about how we can reach more numbers (people). We cry when one of our number-friends repents and comes to Christ. We weep when, in a great 21st century moment of revival, we see 400+ numbers (sinners) make a decision to leave their lives of sin and follow Christ." People sometimes tell me that my blog is too focused on Charles Spurgeon, with all of the quotes and writings of his that I post. This is by design however. I cant think of anyone who gives as effective an antidote to the modern seeker-driven movement, as the 19th century Prince of Preachers. That's because Spurgeon pastored a mega-church, but not one that was built through man-centered pragmatism. He was extremely evangelism-oriented, but unlike so many modern mega-churches, Spurgeon did not abandon sound doctrine. This quote from Spurgeon sums-up that point: "The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire". [more] Going back to our modern mega-church pastor. I think we get clarification from another statement that he made: "There will be hundreds here this weekend who haven't made a decision yet to follow Jesus". His numerical assessment of a 21st century revival at his church - is based on "decisions". This appears to be the modern error of decisional regeneration again. Another pastor from this same mega-church, posts a weekly blog update which he entitles "BOX SCORE". It's a virtual "trophy case" of numeric statistics for the weekend's services, and what techniques and music selections were used that weekend. For him, numbers equate to "a score". The remainder of this article is from Spurgeon's book "The Soul Winner" as it deals specifically with the issue of "numbers", and what our attitude should be about numeric statistics: Spurgeon - The Soul Winner: [Hurrying] to get members into the church is most mischievous, both to the church and to the supposed converts. I remember very well several young men, who were of good moral character, and religiously hopeful; but instead of searching their hearts, and aiming at their real conversion, the pastor never gave them any rest till he had persuaded them to make a profession. He thought that they would be under more bonds to holy things if they professed religion, and he felt quite safe in pressing them, for "they were so hopeful." He imagined that to discourage them by vigilant examination might drive them away, and so, to secure them, he made them hypocrites. These young men are, at the present time, much further off from the Church of God than they would have been if they had been affronted by being kept in their proper places, and warned that they were not converted to God. It is a serious injury to a person to receive him into the number of the faithful unless there is good reason to believe that he is really [born again]. I am sure it is so, for I speak after careful observation. Some of the most glaring sinners known to me were once members of a church; and were, as I believe, led to make a profession by undue pressure, well-meant but ill-judged. Do not, therefore, consider that soul-winning is or can be secured by the multiplication of baptisms, and the swelling of the size of your church. What mean these dispatches from the battle-field? "Last night, fourteen souls were under conviction, fifteen were justified, and eight received full sanctification." I am weary of this public bragging, this counting of unhatched chickens, this exhibition of doubtful spoils. Lay aside such numberings of the people, such idle pretence of certifying in half a minute that which will need the testing of a lifetime. Hope for the best, but in your highest excitements be reasonable. Enquiry-rooms are all very well; but if they lead to idle boastings, they will grieve the Holy Spirit, and work abounding evil. Nor is it soul-winning, dear friends, merely to create excitement. Excitement will accompany every great movement. We might justly question whether the movement was earnest and powerful if it was quite as serene as a drawing-room Bible-reading. You cannot very well blast great rocks without the sound of explosions, nor fight a battle and keep everybody as quiet as a mouse. On a dry day, a carriage is not moving much along the road unless there is some noise and dust; friction and stir are the natural result of force in motion. So, when the Spirit of God is abroad, and men's minds are stirred, there must and will be certain visible signs of the movement, although these must never be confounded with the movement itself. If people imagine that to make a dust is the object aimed at by the rolling of a carriage, they can take a broom, and very soon raise as much dust as fifty coaches; but they will be committing a nuisance rather than conferring a benefit. Excitement is as incidental as the dust, but it is not for one moment to be aimed at. When the woman swept her house, she did it to find her money, and not for the sake of raising a cloud. Do not aim at sensation and "effect". Flowing tears and streaming eyes, sobs and outcries, crowded after-meetings and all kinds of confusions may occur, and may be borne with as [coincidence] of genuine feeling; but pray do not plan their production. It very often happens that the converts that are born in excitement die when the excitement is over. They are like certain insects which are the product of an exceedingly warm day, and die when the sun goes down. Certain converts live like salamanders, in the fire; but they expire at a reasonable temperature. I delight not in the religion which needs or creates a hot head. Give me the godliness which flourishes upon Calvary rather than upon Vesuvius. The utmost zeal for Christ is consistent with common-sense and reason: raving, ranting, and fanaticism are products of another zeal which is not according to knowledge. We would prepare men for the chamber of communion, and not for the padded room at Bedlam. No one is more sorry than I that such a caution as this should be needful; but remembering the vagaries of certain wild revivalists, I cannot say less, and I might say a great deal more. Read the rest of this chapter from Spurgeon's Soul Winner book. Chris Carmichael explains why true revival is missing in these churches. Is modern evangelism producing mostly false converts? Read why salvation can not be turned on and off by man. Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.91   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism