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TYLER?LifeWay Christian Resources President Thom Rainer told participants at the Church Leadership Conference Oct. 14 in Tyler that evangelistic churches and small groups are evangelistic because individuals take responsibility for sharing the gospel in their circles of influence.
The meeting at Friendly Baptist Church was the final of three regional Church Leadership Conferences sponsored by the SBTC this year. Two previous events were held in Euless and Houston.
Preaching from the Acts 4 account of Peter and John’s arrest for proclaiming the gospel, Rainer said the men were solely focused.
“Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard,” Rainer said, quoting from Acts 4:19-20.
Having just published the book “Simple Church” with Eric Geiger earlier this year, Rainer said one of the book’s assertions is that churches should focus on doing a few things well rather than attempting many things with mediocre results.
Peter and John were not distracted, Rainer said, from their one objective of preaching the gospel, but many churches, by contrast, have so many activities that “we forget the main thing.”
“We are so busy doing good, we are not doing that which is the best,” Rainer said. “We can be so good at doing ‘church-tianity’ that we fail to be bearers of the good news of Jesus Christ. I’m as guilty as you are. As a matter of fact, I have accountability with someone every week.”
Rainer talks with his son weekly and the two report to each other how faithful they were to share the gospel.
Rainer said LifeWay recently developed a CD, available for $1 each, with a simple gospel presentation by Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren and additional material from several recording artists, including Casting Crowns.
“I hand these to people and say, ‘Here’s my name and here’s my e-mail address if you have any questions.'”
Rainer said he bought 100 of them for each of his three sons, “and they already are getting people saying they’ve accepted Christ because of this.”
“They are so many things we could be doing at church, but are we doing the main thing?” Instead, Christians must be like Peter and John, “unable to stop because of the things we have seen and heard.”
Peter and John were courageous also, Rainer stated. Amid intense opposition, they were willing to face death or imprisonment but unwilling to stop preaching.
“God is calling courageous Christians,” he said. “God is calling those who can can take an adverse situation and turn it around for the gospel.”
Rainer said his wife recently faced cancer, though she is in remission and doing better. Upon being diagnosed, she vowed to be a witness.
“‘If I die I die, and we all will. I’m going to heaven,'” Rainer said, quoting his wife’s words. “She says, ‘If I don’t, I’m going to pray that the Lord will use this to be a witness for him.’ ? She’s become in many ways a witnessing machine, if I can use that in the best sense of the word.”
