By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – “Soul winning is our goal,” Preston Condra told the Baptist Message when asked how best to describe his ministry. Condra, with his wife, Kelly, co-founded Sufficient Word Ministries “to edify, increase, and equip the church.” “We want to help train believers to start conversations in evangelism and to feel more equipped and confident in starting conversations which lead to winning people to the Lord,” he explained. He said the ministry focuses on “a gracious and easy” way for believers to engage others and “explain the Gospel simply and clearly.” The conversational approach focuses on three simple principles, he said: caring (ways to initiate natural, no-pressure conversations); clarity (about what to say); and confidence (to respond to questions with biblical answers). Condra said the methodology is as simple as seeking permission: “Can I ask you a question? It’s religious so it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.” Then, asking something broadly spiritual such as “What do you think about the Bible?” If the conversation is positive at that point, “We take them right to the Gospel, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, and ask them ‘What do you think … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor FORT WORTH, Texas (LBM) – O.S. Hawkins and Matt Queen have pub[1]lished a primer for pastors about how to give “an effective, God honoring, public invitation, void of manipulation.” Queen spoke with the Baptist Message to share why he and Hawkins feel there is a need for such a renewed focus on intentional calls from the pulpit for repentance to salvation, and how their new book, “The Gospel Invitation,” addresses the need. “Churches are baptizing fewer people on the whole,” Queen underscored. “You go into some church services, and they don’t give an invitation.” Moreover, he revealed three primary reasons for the lack of an invitation: -- “There is a well- meaning discipleship culture that has put forth the idea that for someone to come to Christ they must spend a lot of time investing in a relationship over a long period of time,” he explained. “The idea of calling someone to immediately and publicly trust Christ conflicts with some discipleship views. -- “Some people associate a public invitation with Arminianism, and that is a theological conflict,” he observed. “Also, there have been past abuses in terms of manipulations. So, some well-meaning people are trying to … [Read more...]

By Ron F. Hale, special to the Baptist Message JACKSON, Tenn. (LBM) -- Will Rogers once quipped, “If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging!” Yet, the Southern Baptist Convention continues to toss spadeful after spadeful. Chuck Kelley is the president emeritus of and the distinguished research professor of evangelism with the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While he was leading the seminary, he was the only SBC entity head who voted against the 2010 initiative called the Great Commission Resurgence. Now retired, he has provided keen analysis in his new book, “The Best Intentions: How a Plan to Revitalize the SBC Accelerated Its Decline,” that shows the Convention’s decline in every vital ministry measurement (membership, worship attendance, baptisms, church planting, and gifts through the Cooperative Program) since that centralization of power at the national level. Responsible leaders in business, military, and church know that one must always “inspect what you expect.” Kelley’s book successfully makes the case that the GCR has not met the expectations sold to Southern Baptists, and even more so, it has led to growing failure. DRAMATIC CHANGES The GCR report focused on … [Read more...]