Whoops: Preaching to the Unchurched (8)

The reason I started this blog was to try and help pastors who truly want to reach people who are far from God, but may need a little help with that. This is about the only thing I do well, so someone suggested I share ideas. — Anyway, I recently read a sermon by someone who is a great guy and great preacher and who wants to reach the lost. Yet in this sermon he made, in my opinion, some critical mistakes that would keep him from connecting with the unchurched, and may well keep them from coming back to his church. I received his permission to share some examples. — So here’s the deal…

Read the following excerpt from his sermon and see if you can spot the “mistake.” Then I’ll share with you what I saw, and how I would correct it.

But there are others who deny the existence of a god and there are people who consider themselves spiritual who say we shouldn’t promote the idea of a one true God . Let me show you how this breaks down in two ways…

So what’s the problem? A majority of the “audience” will hopefully be people who “deny the existence of a God” or who “consider themselves spiritual” and “who say we shouldn’t promote the idea of a one true God.” Right? I mean, that is who we want to reach, isn’t it? If not, what’s the point?

So what’s the solution? Be very, very careful with this. If these words come off as the least bit negative the very people you want to reach will be put-off and won’t return. This is the beauty of Paul’s sermon in Acts 17, he found a way to compliment the people … for what they were wrong about. And yes, we need to confront the lies people believe (there is no God, or there isn’t one true God) but we need to do it a way that doesn’t come off like a put-down, but instead as an invitation to dialogue and search for truth together.