New Covenant Glory: The Minister's Motivation

As most of you know, I serve as the Pastor of Local Outreach Ministries here at Grace Community Church. It's my job to oversee our church's efforts to evangelize our community here in the greater Los Angeles area. I also teach a class on the theology and practice of evangelism each fall semester at The Master's Seminary. And in all the discussions that I participate in and read about with respect to evangelism, there's a topic that always shows up in the books, blogs, articles, and round table discussions. And that is: How can pastors motivate their people to evangelize? What is the biblical motivation for evangelism? That's a question that never fails to be a chapter in a book, the subject of an article, or a topic of conversation.

You see, as Christians, we all understand that it is our duty to evangelize. The New Testament commands each and every one of us to be regularly engaged in the proclamation of the Gospel to the lost world around us. Whether taking to the streets, knocking on doors, or simply taking opportunities to speak to your co-workers and neighbors in your daily routine, we all understand that we have been commissioned by our Lord to preach the Good News of forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith in Christ alone. And yet, there are so few of us who do it. And there are even fewer of us who do it without constant reminders and motivation. And so pastors and professors and other Christian ministers talk, and write books and articles, to help one another think through the biblical motivation for evangelism. In fact, this week I'm heading to Carey Hardy's church in North Carolina...