I am convinced that to dream dreams and see visions in relation to our evangelistic task is an urgent necessity of the Adventist ministry. In this crucial hour, divine wisdom impresses us with the truth that no one can accomplish an evangelistic task beyond his vision and dream. George Deakin said that "a vision without a task makes a visionary; a task without vision, a scoundrel with neither occupation nor benefit; but a vision with a task, a perfect missionary." 1
The apostle Paul had his missionary vision renewed after the Holy Spirit prevented his trip to Bithynia (Acts 16:7). His vision of the Macedonian man (verses 9, 10) was three-dimensional. It was a vertical vision, for he realized that the "Lord had called us" and that this call was for a specific evangelistic task. It was an inner vision that showed him that the evangelistic tasks he was endeavoring to carry forward were too narrow. He needed to move into new territory, to broaden his understanding of God's call to spread the gospel. It was a horizontal vision, for he saw Macedonia, and Europe beyond. He saw the empire, he saw the world, he saw clear down to our day. The frontiers of the task of God went beyond the immediate call to "come over into Macedonia, and help us." The gospel had to go to all the world.
In response the apostle moved in the direction of duty. Thanks to his unshakable conviction, his intense compassion, and his undivided consecration, the apostle came to be an instrument of power in the hand of God. His loyalty to the evangelistic task assigned to him was a decisive factor in assuring that the saving message would reach all of the world, including us.
Ours is an age that is relatively secure in its techniques and knowledge, but confused when it comes to goals and destiny. Bombastic when it comes to power, but fearful when it comes to weakness. A society relatively rich materially, but spiritually bankrupt. We need, therefore, the vision of God in order to advance beyond our own vision. Without vision there is no life. The best we can do with a man when the last of his missionary dreams is dead is to bury him.
It is possible that the personal tasks of some ministers may be impeding the evangelistic task that we must accomplish. There is no possibility of haggling when it comes to the renewing of the vision and pushing the limits of the kingdom toward more distant frontiers. No, there are no options; the challenge of the evangelistic task demands that we decide between burying ourselves in conformism, negativism, and pessimism, or dreaming dreams of grandeur.
Evangelism is more than a program, more than a strategy, more than a methodology; it is a passion that crystallizes in rescue: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away" (Isa. 49:25). This is a rescue that demands urgency because "the increasing wickedness is such that multitudes are rapidly approaching a point in their personal experience beyond which it will be exceedingly difficult to reach them with a saving knowledge of the third angel's message."2
What do we lack?
I have asked myself sometimes, What are we lacking to complete our task of proclaiming the message of the third angel here and then going to our home up there? We have money, time, an effective ecclesiastical structure, a brilliant program, a beautiful message centered in the person of Christ. Perhaps what we lack is to be the man, the believer, filled with enthusiasm to advance the task (see Eze. 22:30). Fervent love for God and for His task is the secret of success in evangelism. Any undertaking not founded on love is a dead enterprise. Successful ministers are those who have maintained the fire burning on the altar of enthusiasm and have advanced with faith, even against all hope.
When D. L. Moody, the great evangelist, heard the English minister Mr. Varley say, "Moody, God expects to demonstrate to the world what He can do with a man that is totally consecrated to Him," he later declared, "By the grace of God, I will be that man." Does your heart respond to this call too?
It seems to me that the Adventist Church, at least in some regions, has limited the power of its Christian testimony by its defective concepts. It has been too pulpit-centered. The biblical principle of the universal priesthood of the believers (1 Peter 2:9) has not been understood or acted upon. Hence evangelism has come to be regarded as the task of a few specialists.
The minister who is so involved in his ministerial tasks that there is no time left for the salvation of souls is not fulfilling his task as a minister. The work of evangelism is not separate from pastoring.
Every minister who has been called by God to minister in this church can use his or her gifts and capabilities to attract souls to the foot of the cross. A minister who cannot do this is not truly able to be a minister. It is important to remember that the very center of the ministry is the salvation of souls; if there is failure in this point, no other success can be accept able.
The preachers in some Adventist pulpits today are intellectual, up-to-date, and theological. But I ask myself whether their approach is adequate for the challenge of the hour. As someone has said: "Rather than deal with subjects of the moment, we should deal with themes of eternity"; or as the Spirit of Prophecy has indicated: "The preaching of the Word should appeal to the intellect and impart knowledge, but it comprises much more than this." 3 If my observation is correct, we must recognize that the missing note is evangelism. If the world is to be warned, moved, and attracted to the foot of the cross, every Adventist minister and every member of the church must enlist voluntarily in the evangelistic proclamation.
Theology versus evangelism?
The church suffers a great loss when we try to separate theology from evangelization. This separation is a theological aberration. The two are never separated in the Scriptures. Paul, the major theologian of the apostolic church, was also the evangelist par excellence. We cannot find in the biblical account even one example of someone who dedicated himself to theology independently or exclusively. All of the apostles were fervent witnesses of Christ, and their first and most important task was not speculation or investigation, but proclamation. The message they proclaimed, the evangelistic kerygma, was filled with revealed theological content, but their chief efforts were bent toward saving souls.
If God in His infinite mercy poured out His Spirit in pentecostal fullness when the church was born, He can do the same at the culmination of its history. But we have a daring enemy against whom we must struggle. His name is apathy.
It seems that the desire for recognition and acceptance has driven the church into formalism. Where form and liturgy become central to worship, the church becomes lethargic. The ideals that best express the nature of the church sleep, and apathy robs us of the love for evangelism. We have the wick, but it is not lit; we lack the spiritual force to lead the people of God toward the frontier, the place where the kingdom of God can be extended. In some of our churches the language of Zion is no longer spoken with clarity. We do not speak; we go to church to sleep. The pillars of the church have been converted into pillows. We sleep and the voice of God is not heard; the revival and the power are delayed.
But even now there is hope. God is awake, and "when we bring our hearts into unity with Christ, and our lives into harmony with His work, the Spirit that fell on the disciples on the day of Pentecost will fall on us." 4
We need God's fire to finish the task. We have a mission we cannot and must not renounce. Evangelization is a challenge without options: the saving of souls must take priority. In some areas of the world the ministers are on fire, the church is burning, and the gospel is advancing. But in other areas the church is lukewarm, because the ministers are not on fire. There is power, but it is limited; only the power of God is infinite. As an ecclesiastical structure we can make plans and select strategies, but God has the sum total of power, and He can grant it to the church. "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you," Jesus said (Acts 1:8).
In a certain measure we are the architects of our own weakness, because we depend upon ourselves. We illuminate ourselves with the dying glow of our own light. But if we are to receive the pentecostal power, we must submit ourselves to God. "When we have entire, wholehearted consecration to the service of Christ, God will recognize the fact by an outpouring of His Spirit without measure; but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not laborers together with God." 5
My conviction impels me. We must seek fervently the baptism of fire. If our people were as eager to receive the baptism of fire as they are to receive the baptism of water, we would open the way to a fervent, dynamic church filled with pentecostal charisma. Then our testimony would be a voice and not an echo. A voice that proclaims the greatness of God and the imminence of His return."
1 Leonard Ravenhill, ed., Why Revival Tarries
(Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1959), p. 23.
2 Ellen G. White, Evangelism (Washington,
D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1946), p.
25.
3 Ibid., pp. 209, 210.
4 Ibid.,pp. 697, 698.
5 Ibid, p. 699.