And the Survey Says - Christians Don't Witness As They Should
An Evangelism Explosion survey of 1002 Americans conducted by Lifeway Research in December 2021 found an alarming disparity between unbelievers’ openness to talking about spiritual things and Christians’ willingness to actually speak about them.*
Some key takeaways from the survey are as follows:
- 71% say that it is very important to have hope in their life
- 74% say that it is very important to have peace in their life
- 66% say that it is very important to have purpose and fulfillment in their life
- 55% say that it is very important to have certainty they will go heaven or have eternal life
- 61% say their interest in spiritual matters hasn’t changed compared to before COVID-19, but 32% are more interested
- 66% say they are open or very open to having a conversation about the Christian faith with a friend
- 52% say they are open or very open to having a conversation about the Christian faith with a stranger
- 65% say they are open or very open to talking with a friend about having a relationship with God
- 53% say they are open or very open to talking with a stranger about having a relationship with God
- 71% say when meeting someone new, they are open or very open to hearing their life story
- 69% want to hear why someone thinks their faith helps with a core human need
- 4 out of 10 (40%) say they wouldn’t think about faith on their own if a friend or family member didn’t bring it up
- 51% are curious as to why some people are devoted to their faith
- 6 out of 10 (60%) say that many of their friends who claim to be Christians rarely talk about their faith
“This study reveals that most Americans are open to talking about faith,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research.
But the sad, sorry realization is that the conversation is simply not happening as often as it ought.
Why is that? Can we blame cancel culture? The current war on Christianity? Closed mindedness on the part of the masses? New restrictions on religious liberty?
“It really isn’t about religious liberty, people not wanting to hear, or religion being off-limits. The reason conversations are not happening about the Christian faith is that Christians are not bringing it up.”
“Now, perhaps more than ever, people are open to conversations about faith [A whopping 32% of respondents said that since COVID, they are MORE open to talking about spiritual things], yet few Christians actually take the opportunity to engage in personal evangelism,” says Dr. John B. Sorensen, President and CEO of Evangelism Explosion International.
At a time when “one in 5 religiously unaffiliated Americans (20%) say they are more interested in spiritual matters,” it is heartbreaking to find that some 60% report that their “friends who claim to be Christians rarely talk about their faith.”
*About 38% of respondents were identified as already having some measure of Christian belief.
It’s hard to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” when we can’t seem to open our mouths to speak to our neighbors and friends. How can we close our lips when he has “commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42).
“For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (I Cor. 9:16 ESV)
I've Decided to Carry Narcan
The drug problem has gotten so bad in our major cities, that Kyle Clark, a journalist and newscaster on 9News, Denver, Colorado, tweeted out this week that he has decided to carry Narcan* with him at all times.
“It’s a simple thing that we can do to save lives, as fentanyl kills hundreds of Coloradans a year. The City of Denver is now mailing Narcan to any resident who asks for it. … All across Colorado, you can ask for Narcan at a pharmacy and get it without a prescription.
"If you know someone who is having an opioid overdose, you can easily administer Narcan as easily as you do an allergy spray, and potentially save their life. And it can’t hurt them or someone else accidentally.
"We learn how to do the Heimlich Maneuver on the off chance that we could someday use it to save a life. Same thing with CPR.
“I’m gonna carry Narcan; and I ask you to consider it, too.”
Note that Narcan does NOTHING to stop substance abuse. In fact, even its lifesaving, overdose-reversing effects are strikingly temporary, and further medical intervention has to be immediately sought, following its administration.
As such, some commentators were quick to point out that such efforts might save a life “in the moment,” but the person will still die if their addiction is not permanently addressed.
*[Narcan according to the SAMHSA, is “a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist—meaning that it binds to opioid receptors and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids, such as heroin, morphine, and oxycodone, [and fentanyl."]
As Christians, we’ve been given the life-saving remedy that can save not just the body, but the very soul of a man. But do we carry it with us at all times? Are we prepared to administer the cure at a moment's notice? Do we even recognize the enormity and the urgency of all the dying souls around us? And we're not just talking about addicts.
We are confronted daily by the walking dead – in our classrooms and offices, and subway cars, and grocery stores; on our sidewalks, and highways, and street corners; even in our churches, and in our own living rooms! People all around us are spiritually dying and need the cure of the saving grace of Jesus.
Clark is right. We’re willing to learn the Heimlich Maneuver and CPR. Some might even be willing to carry Narcan. But will we carry the truth of the Gospel both in word and deed, always at the ready to share with a dying soul?
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” 1 Pet 3:15 (NKJV)
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Rom 1:16 (ESV)
“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” Rom 10:13-14 (ESV)
Make Your Meter Run Backwards
Have you ever thought about putting solar panels on your home? Did you know that if you do, you can actually make your meter run backward? On a bright sunny day, as the sun beats down on the panels and they produce more energy than you can use, the surplus causes the bi-directional meter to run backward.
Instead of paying for electricity, the electric company credits you for the extra.
Each of us is given a stewardship of grace. Those who are faithful stewards will produce more light than those who are poor stewards, both now and in eternity.
Daniel wrote, "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever" (Daniel 12:3).
The greater glory with which the faithful will shine in their resurrected state is God's way of crediting it back to them.