One well-known charismatic minister who identifies himself as an “evangelist” published this quote recently in one of his books. “We can preach the Gospel all day long, but that won’t win souls. That won’t win the hearts of the people. We can talk, try to theorize, theologize, reason, argue, debate, and spend time trying to prove that Jesus lived, but that won’t win a heart. How often do we see the religious mindset that believes that the more Scripture quoting, the more yelling, the more hell fire and brimstone preaching, the greater the chance to win someone over for the Kingdom? Likewise, how often do we see people sitting or standing there listening in stone-cold silence or indifference?”
This comment is typical of an attitude I have been seeing more and more in Christian circles recently. There seems to be this contempt for the preaching of the Gospel accompanied by the idea that it simply not enough. Preachers seem loathed to preach the simple message of salvation as though it were beneath their academic level; an insult to their profound intellect. I have seen how some crusade preachers never touch the core elements of the Gospel choosing rather to address social issues and give tips on better living. I have not heard the Gospel coming from the vast majority of the most fashionable preachers on television or the popular preaching circuit. I have heard recently how some have declared that the “Gospel” is really not the message of the cross while another told me recently that he wasn’t even sure how to preach the Gospel.
