Guest Viewpoint: Who’s Dying?

Writer: Keith Davis

There is a lot of discussion concerning the decline or plateauing of many Southern Baptist Convention churches. In this discussion we hear about churches that are dying a slow death. In response, we begin pushing for greater evangelism and outreach.

Keith Davis

Keith Davis

I have to ask the question when I think about this: Who’s dying? If a church is “dying” because its membership is declining, should our solution be to go out and evangelize a lost world? We should be doing that already, but for another reason. It seems the greater reason to go and evangelize would be because a sinner is dying. This is what it all comes down to: Should we be seeking for the sinner to be saved because we are dying — or because they are dying? I understand that intentions and motivations come into play, and it is hard to judge another person’s motivations. But it is not quite as hard to judge our own intentions if we stop and do a self-examination. I also understand this is like walking a fine line. But I think it is worth looking at.

I remember a teacher cautioning us as pastors to not use the visitation program to grow the church membership. He was talking about our reasons for visiting and witnessing. What is our motivation for witnessing to a lost person? One indication of our motivation might be who we are promoting to sinners. Are we presenting Christ to a lost world, or are we presenting the Church to a lost world? In other words, do we talk about a Person — or a place — when engaging in conversation with a sinner? Jesus had a similar discussion with the woman at the well in John 4. The woman began to talk about the place of worship (verse 20), but Jesus wanted her to see the Person to be worshiped (verses 10, 23-24). I know we use the Church to present our Savior, but it seems in many cases there is a heavier emphasis on the Church than there is on the Savior.

Another indication of misplaced motivations might be when we put emphasis on visiting the lost. Is it greater when our membership rolls are down, or is it the same all the time? To give this a balance, declining numbers might be a wake-up call because we have not done the work of evangelism as we should.

Let’s make a greater effort to reach out to a lost and dying world. But let’s also keep in mind that life-saving devices should be thrown into the sea to save those who are perishing — not to save a sinking ship.

Keith Davis is pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church, Spartanburg.