Top 10 Reasons Christian Evangelists Fail to Bring People to the Lord

Have you tried to bring the people that you love to Christ and failed? Have you ever looked at someone living a life full of sin and wondered why we can't draw them away from Satan? If you have, like many other Christians you are looking for new ways to reach non-believers. Before you drive yourself crazy, check out the Top 10 Reasons Christian Evangelists Fail to Bring People to the Lord.

10. The Persecution of SpongeBob - OK. SpongeBob is a dork. We all accept that, but it doesn't make him gay unless you're talking about the definition of the word where it means happy! SpongeBob is basically an overgrown kid living on his own and most people don't even consider the possibility that he's gay until they hear some Christian evangelist ranting and raving about it. Even if he were gay, would it matter? Jesus specifically commanded that we do not judge, thus we shall not be judged. Lay off SpongeBob! Persecuting him is not helping you win people over.

9. Church is an Exclusive Club - Look, if I have a members only club that is hard to get into, everyone is going to want to get in, but if I try to get people to join my members only club, nobody is going to want to be a part of it. It seems silly, but that's how people work. I wholeheartedly agree that sometimes to live a Christian life, you have to let go of some of your old friends, but people need to come to that conclusion on their own or with the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The more you tell a new Christian, or a soon to be convert for that matter, that they have to disown their friends, the more you freak them out.

Furthermore, the fact that Christians tend to only want to hang out with other Christians makes no sense from an evangelical standpoint or from the point of view of following Christ. Jesus dined with sinners. The Pharisees attempted to discredit Him by questioning His actions, but Jesus explained that it was the sinners who needed Him more than the righteous did. By that logic then, wouldn't the unsaved need Christian fellowship more than Christians would? Jesus witnessed by relating to people. He spoke to the fishermen of fishing for men. He spoke to the women at the well about water. If you do not (and thus cannot) truly relate to the non-Christian, how can you effectively witness to them?

8. The question, "Where have you been?" - If you cared, you'd already know. Case closed. If you have something else you're trying to get at, be up front. What could make someone feel more uncomfortable returning to church after having not been there for two months than having a dozen people ask him where he has been and why he hasn't been in church? If you want new churchgoers to frequent your church, engage yourself with them, become their friend, and make them feel comfortable. Don't harass them if they don't come every Sunday. That's not evangelizing; it's just annoying.

7. The Exile of Harry Potter - Could anyone tell me where in the Bible it says that Harry Potter is a tool of the devil? Harry Potter is simply a fabulous series of books that plays out a classic good versus evil storyline in such an entertaining way that it draws children to reading. Grant it, the movies are more popular than the books, but in many cases (for instance that of my son), seeing the movies inspires children to read the books. Now there's a crime: glorifying good while encouraging kids to read. What was I thinking? In all seriousness though, what some Christians dislike about Harry Potter is that they feel it encourages children to use magic and witchcraft in their play, thus incorporating it into their lives. As parents, it is our responsibility to make sure that our children understand the difference between real and make believe as well as the difference between right and wrong.

There are many works of fiction out there that glorify magic that Christians do not have a problem with; in fact they sometimes embrace them. Let's take a look at The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for instance. If children decide to replicate this movie in their play, someone will have to play the witch. The concept of stepping into a wardrobe and entering another world seems awfully magical to me. As far as the lion goes, when Aslan dies and comes back to life, he credits old magic. Sure, Christians claim to endorse this movie because it is supposed to be somewhat of a parable, but it is not a Biblical story by any stretch. Jesus did not lead an army of oversized talking rodents, nor did He credit magic for His resurrection. Furthermore, no one can explain to my satisfaction way how Aslan is supposed to represent Jesus in a land that receives a visit from Santa Clause.

I've had the opportunity to question several Christians as to why they embrace C.S. Lewis' creative stories, but publicly condemn Harry Potter. After they give almost the exact same generic response, I typically lay out all of the similarities between the two series and then ask again why one is good and the other is bad. The most common response that I get is, "I can't get into detail because I've never seen a Harry Potter movie."

It's okay to the follow the recommendations of people that you trust in your own actions, but when it comes to preaching, preach the word of God, not the word of man. By going out and publicly taking a stand against a series of movies and books that they have never seen, many Christians have put themselves in a situation where they appear to be mindless drones when they are confronted in a debate. That is certainly not the most effective way to win people over to your side.

6. People think that church is all about sex and money - What? That's the craziest thing you've ever heard, isn't it? That is the perception that many people have.

Let's take a look at the money side of it first. Tithing is a biblical concept. If you know the Bible, you can see the validity to that statement, but if you don't know the Bible, it sounds like just a way for the church to make money. If a non-believer walks into a church during a service that some churches call "Commitment Sunday" or "Tithing Day," chances are that person may never step foot in that church again.

Many pastors are sensitive as to how preaching about offering and tithing can make both non-believers and financially strapped believers feel. As a result, they often make a point before the offering of reading a Biblical passage that supports giving to the church, but also stating that no one should feel uncomfortable if they cannot or choose not to give. However, sometimes, when a church starts growing, its financial needs grow as well as this "disclaimer," if you will, loses its home in the pulpit. This "disclaimer," though, could be the thing that makes a skeptical non-believer give church a shot. Once it's gone, the skeptic may go with it.

For the last comment about why people think the church is focused on money, I'll share a brief moment from my wedding day. My wife and I lived in upstate New York, but were getting married on Long Island in the same church where her parents were married. Before our wedding, the priest came up to me and told me that we needed to take care of the mandatory "donation." I was prepared for this and took my checkbook out of my jacket. Looking over my shoulder, he asked if it was a local check. We had been traveling to the island for our marriage classes and everyone involved in the wedding knew that we were not from the area. It was obvious that the check would not be local and I explained that. The priest told me that he could only accept a local check or cash. I did not have the cash on me. He told me that he could not proceed with the wedding until the matter was settled. Our wedding ceremony was actually delayed until I found a family member who had $300 in her purse. What do you think my perception of the church was after that?

In regards to sex, I'm not going to even touch the issue of the church and homosexuals in this section, because it's covered in other parts of this article, but in general, the media does a phenomenal job of publicizing every sexual incident that takes place in the church and giving non-believers great ammunition when they decide to verbally bash Christianity.

Recently, in Quakertown, PA, a murder took place over a love triangle in a church. A pastor was in romantic relations with one woman in the church. Another woman, who was infatuated with the pastor, murdered his lover because she was jealous of her. This story was all over the news for days and most certainly tainted the image of Christians in the Lehigh Valley.

A more common story, however, is the one that we frequently hear about children who are sexually abused by members and sometimes leaders of the church. These are the types of stories that truly keep people from the house of the Lord. What parent wants to bring their child to a place where he will be put into danger? It's time for churches to require more extensive background checks on anyone who will work with children, and put partner rules into place so that children will never be in a one on one situation with an adult. It's also time for parents to concede to the fact that they can't just blindly leave their children with anyone in the church. It seems horrible that we have to take these kinds of precautions in church, but the bottom line is that Satan is working everyday to try and get inside the church, and when he does, he's going to do his best to make sure that no one is brought to Christ there.

5. Hate the sin, not the sinner, unless the sinner's gay - Why do Christians feel like they need to tell every homosexual out there that he's a sinner. When walking up to someone with a placard that says "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" brings that person to the Lord, will someone please let me know?

To anyone who has ever seen the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, there is a scene in which two high profile homosexuals (they are actually straight men pretending to be gay) walk out of a party and are greeted by a bunch of loud, violent, radical Christian protestors. Now this may not be the way of all Christians, but it is a perception that is held due to the actions of some, and perception is reality. Christians need to embrace homosexuals as they would any other sinner, lead them to the Lord, and let the Holy Spirit speak to them about their sin when He sees it fit.

I have sat in church groups where comments have been made such as ninety percent of gays are drug addicts. Another time, one churchgoer mentioned that most of the people she worked with were gay men. This was met with a response of, "so you work with all women." What if there was a closet homosexual in either of these groups? Would he come back to the church or perhaps turn to a religion, or atheism, where he would be accepted for who he is?

To clarify, I am not by any means suggesting the legalization of gay marriage, for we are warned about allowing our society to openly accept sin in the book of Revelations, but I am suggesting that we show no hatred towards homosexuals, just as we don't protest against gossipers or people who steal paper clips from work. Pray for them instead.

4. You mean, I can't have fun anymore? - This is a real concern for non-believers. They think that Christians are just a bunch of sticks in the mud. Maybe we seem that way, but I know that I enjoy my life. Either way, if we come off as boring and bland, we are not enticing people to join us.

First of all, look back to Reason #9 and think about exclusivity. If we make ourselves exclusive, it is easy to be classified as a boring group. If we integrate ourselves into society and relate to people, it is more difficult to be judged as such.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a Christian who had just spent four years on a college campus full of atheists. It was a great opportunity, because he was able to discuss arguments against Christianity that had been presented to him, and also the rebuttals that he had given. One argument, however, that he struggled with was that Christians with money are phonies. "How can you follow the ways of Christ and drive a Mercedes?" he asked. I understood his struggle, but I asked him, "If living that lifestyle allows a Christian to relate to the rich and help bring them to Christ, how can it be wrong?"

The bottom line is that we must continue to relate to people and have fun how they like to as well as how we like to if we're going to be effective evangelists. I love the Lord. I long to spread His word, but it's not the first thing I say to people when I meet them. I get to know them. I relate to them. I make them enjoy being in my presence. Then I evangelize when the Spirit tells me to.

3. Evangelize with words, not actions - When I rededicated my life to God, the most effective tool I had in evangelizing was the difference that my loved ones saw in me. By that same token, every time I get angry, raise my voice, or say something that's not very Christ-like, it gets brought to my attention. Kids who have parents that smoke, usually smoke whether or not their parents tell them it's bad. It's the same way with religion. If you want people to know Jesus Christ and live a righteous life, you have to do so yourself. If you just talk about it, no one will listen.

Here's a great example of where we often fail to evangelize with actions: Sunday morning. Have you ever missed a family function or failed to help a friend on a Sunday morning because you didn't want to miss church? Think about the impact that must have had. Your family or friend is probably a non-believer, or they would be in church on Sunday morning, and when you failed to help them, you gave away a potential opportunity to evangelize. Is that what Jesus would have done? When Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, he reminded us that we were not made to meet the needs of the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made to meet our needs.

Whatever the situation, we must always remember that as Christians, our actions are under a microscope and the slightest slipup could cost us a chance to lead someone to Heaven.

2. Over the top is unbelievable - We have free will. We must remember that. When people say that everything they do is for God, they are actually saying that they do not sin. After all, why would you sin for God? But the Bible tells us that we are all sinners, so when someone says that they are not, they are either lying or disputing the word of the Bible. Either way, declaring that everything you do is for the Lord, is a dangerous declaration.

I have heard people say that when they go to the alter, they don't think about what to say. They just let the Spirit bring the words to them. I actually heard one man say this and then use the word "crap" while leading the praise and worship portion of our service. Once again, this seemed unbelievable to me.

Christians always want to talk about how our Father guides them as to the decisions that they make in their daily life, but they never want to admit that sometimes God doesn't speak to them. For some people God may direct their every move, but for others, He may force them to make some of their own decisions, and that's okay. Following the example of Christ would not take much effort if God was telling us every move to make anyway. Being forced to make a decision doesn't mean that God doesn't love you or you can't hear Him; it simply means that He has decided that you have a choice that you need to make on your own. Don't feel like you need to prove your Christian worth by declaring every time the Lord speaks to you. If you fudge it even a little bit, at some point you'll slip up and everything you say will seem unbelievable.

1. Evangelize law, not Christ - So often Christians want to preach about right and wrong, but don't even mention Jesus Christ. All you have to do is bring people to the Lord, and let the Spirit work. We complicate this way too much. It starts with: 1) Accept Jesus as your Savior 2) Ask for forgiveness of your sins. If you try to evangelize to someone, skip these steps, and go straight to the law, you'll fail every time.