A great weakness is apparent in the modern pattern of the Christian churches. Local churches have become so institutionalized that many members think of their responsibility only as sustaining and promoting the institutional church. Running the machinery has become the foremost concern of both clergy and laity, and little time or energy is left for going out beyond the church walls to reach non-Christians personally. A typical church member will think he is doing his job adequately if he invites a non-Christian to his church, then waits patiently for the minister or the evangelist to do the converting.
The thinking that underlies this modern pattern might be called a “fortress mentality.” The local church is like a fortress. There Christians are secure and everything is orderly. Christians hold dress parades within the fortress, impressing themselves and visiting dignitaries with their successful interior build-up. Often they have lost the will and the courage to venture out to battle in the secular wilderness.
The average pastor has this fortress mentality. His first concern is membership, program, edifice, and finances. His second is his denomination. If he longs for fellowship with his peers, he finds it among his fellow ministers. If he is frustrated by the limited opportunity within his own church, he finds expression in the denominational program. Many ministers spend very little time evangelizing non-Christians and devote more and more time to board meetings, committees, denominational gatherings, and ministerial fellowships.
As the pastor goes, so goes the congregation. The laymen too become church-minded. When they rise to positions of responsibility within the local church after years of minor service, they usually have not developed the desire or the ability to evangelize. And they resent newcomers who have. Evangelistic zeal and ability on the part of new Christians calls into question the dedication of complacent church members. Therefore, if zealous members begin to go out to call on non-Christians, complacent members criticize their efforts. If the pastor decides to go out to call on non-members, the old guard are likely to complain of being neglected. Presumably their pastor is wasting his time on people who don’t support the church.
To avoid being misunderstood I must clarify my position at two points. First, I am not making a sweeping judgment of all pastors and all laymen. Many notable and glorious exceptions are free of the fortress mentality. Many local churches are world-directed. Second, I am not against the local church but against the local-church fixation. I am not against the fortress; I am against the fortress mentality. Local churches are ultimately established by the Lord and not by men, and Christ is pleased to dwell in them, bless them, and establish his witness through them in the world. But it is certainly presumptuous to think that Christ is satisfied with the state of the local churches today.
How can we overcome the fortress mentality? The answer can be found only through prayer, diligent study of the Scriptures, and faith that expresses itself in persistent experimentation.
I have a concrete suggestion—“paratroop evangelism.” The name comes from the military maneuver of dropping soldiers by parachute into the midst of the enemy as advance units to capture and hold strong points beyond the front line. The principle in paratroop evangelism is to send laymen out into the world outside the church walls to win those who would never step inside.
These men should give this task top priority in their lives and commit themselves to winning specific people. They should forego all activities within the local church except corporate worship, prayer, and Bible study. Four or five such men should meet once a month in an evangelistic workshop to pray and to share their experiences in personal evangelism. Attendance at these monthly meetings must be given top priority, above all other responsibilities. When one of these men has led someone to Christ, he is to guide him closely in prayer, Bible study, and training in personal evangelism, so that the new convert immediately becomes another “paratrooper” working in the secular world.
In due time paratroop evangelism will bring into the local church new Christians with fresh dedication to build the church and to continue the evangelistic outreach.
No doubt many pastors will hesitate to set aside their few key laymen for such a program. They will say that these laymen are indispensable for jobs within the church. But this is a sure road to stagnation. In this situation, very few new adult members come into the church. The same few people are asked to serve over and over again until they are spiritually and physically exhausted. Many resign. Those who do stay on for decades become the old guard, resistant to any change.
Although the temporary sacrifice of the presence of key men in the church may be great, the only alternative to an evangelistic outreach in a church is stagnancy.
