The Debate Between Evangelism and Church Ethics

Sheep stealing. Now there's a phrase with a nasty connotation to it, yet it is not uncommon to hear Christians use this phrase. The phrase "sheep stealing" refers to when one church increases its attendance by drawing in members of other churches.

"Sheep stealing" often can become a point of contention between churches. Regardless of the fact that we are all brothers in Christ, "sheep stealing" can sometimes create tension between churches to the point that members of one church are no longer welcome at events hosted by other churches. While we would all like to believe that this is not true, it is an unfortunate and sad reality.

Recently, I heard a pastor speaking with members of his church about evangelism. In this conversation, the pastor declared that it was in no way the church's intentions to steal members from other churches. He referred to the fact that taking part in actions such as "sheep stealing" are against church ethics.

Now, at first, this may sound like a noble statement, but after reflecting on it for a moment, I was reminded of a story that was told to me by the pastor who lead me down the path to salvation. Every Saturday, this pastor's church took a bus full of evangelists out into different neighborhoods and began knocking on doors. One time, a pastor who lived in one of these neighborhoods confronted the evangelists saying that these people all went to his church and asked them to leave the neighborhood. To that, the pastor leading these evangelists replied, "Not a single person that I've spoken with today had ever heard of salvation. I'm not about to let their souls go to hell just because they go to church every Sunday."

Are we letting people go to hell just because we don't want to cross a line that we call "church ethics?" Now, I'm not suggesting that churches fill their pews by recruiting in the parking lots of other churches, but I am asking if we are denying people enlightenment and salvation in order to avoid offending religious leaders. What would Jesus say to that?

We feel that it is our duty to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to atheists. There are no church ethics that prevent us from ministering to people of Jewish, Hindu or Muslim faith. Why then, would we be reluctant to minister to someone who wants to be a Christian, but just does not know Jesus Christ? If a man has the opportunity to be lead to Jesus Christ, should he be denied that opportunity simply because he is affiliated with a church that is not meeting his spiritual needs? If you would be willing to deny that man the opportunity to be introduced to Jesus Christ, do you need to be introduced yourself?

The fact of the matter is that Christianity is about relationships. It is about our relationship with God. It is about our relationship with Jesus Christ. To a lesser extent, our relationships with the people within our church play a role in our development as Christians as well. Sometimes, two people are not going to be able to connect for a reason that no one can explain. If that is the case between a shepherd and his sheep, would it not be better for that sheep to leave and join a flock where he may better hear God's message? As a shepherd dedicated to spreading the word of God, would you not want that for a member of your flock? If God calls a member of your church to move on to a church where he may better understand the message, do you have the right to call him back? If God calls upon you to reach out to a member of another church who is not receiving His message, do you have the right to deny God?

As we grow in our Christian walk, sometimes change is imperative. After all, growth is change. Sometimes as we grow, we find that we need to become more involved in our church, become more dedicated to our devotions, or take on a new role in evangelizing. Other times, we may find that we need to leave the church we love to go help a church in need. As a pastor, what could make you more happy than to see a member of your church do that?

We all know that pastors have a lot of pressure on them to maintain their church membership and inspire growth. Not only does that pressure come from the higher ranking officials in their churches, but they place a lot of that pressure on themselves. Intentional or not, membership statistics get evaluated as do offering revenues and when a member leaves a church, it hurts both of these statistics. This is where we need to take a step back. If a member leaves a church, to go to another church where he may have the opportunity to grow in his Christian walk, we need to let him go with a smile on our face. When it comes to church attendance, only one thing should matter: how many people AROUND THE WORLD are being reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ?

When Jesus spoke about the dangers of religious leaders, was he only speaking about the leaders of His time, or was he speaking about the leaders of today as well? It is time for "church ethics" to take a backseat to salvation.