What are we waiting for?
Luis Palau, international evangelist from Argentina, was speaking at a series of mission meetings in north-west England in May. EN caught up with him, and heard some scorching comments on the lack of urgency in the British church.
EN: You have been visiting Britain since the 1970s and you are just starting another mission. What do you think of the state of the church?
LP: The church has improved since the 1970s. Some of the dreams of the post-war generation of evangelicals - to see theological colleges full of evangelicals, to see evangelical bishops in the Church of England - have become realities. It is also wonderful to see the media more open towards evangelicals and giving some respect. It is good to see Steve Chalke on secular morning TV. Local radio stations are taking us seriously. Now there is still a long way to go, but I can remember when there was nothing, or if evangelicals were mentioned it was only when there was some scandal.
EN: What about evangelism in Britain?
LP: The Alpha course has been a great move. I have worked with and support it. I read in The Daily Telegraph not long ago that they might remove the push on speaking in tongues in the course because some churches do not like it, and I think that would be a good move because that is not evangelism as such. But I believe that Alpha is a shining light in evangelism.
But there is a sad side. In the late 1970s, there was the National Initiative for Evangelism, basically with the 1980s in view. In the 1980s, the 'decade of evangelism' was announced for the 1990s. To me, we did not take advantage of these glorious possibilities.
Resistance to evangelism
EN: Why do you think that was?
LP: In my opinion, the UK churches almost refuse and resist speaking to the big cities as one body with authority. I have no idea why. Protestantism in the UK is led by evangelicals, and evangelicals who don't evangelise is a strange contradiction. There are evangelicals who want to keep it so low-key that nobody knows what they are trying to do.
I think some church people in Britain got overly enamoured with political connections, but, basically, politicians use you and then say 'goodbye'.
The goal in the 1970s was to re-evangelise Britain, to touch the great city centres, to stimulate young people, to saturate the UK with the good news of Christ and it hasn't happened. The resistance inside the church is to me a great paradox.
EN: You have preached recently in Egypt and Turkey. Do you have any thoughts on how the gospel will make progress in lands influenced by Islam?
LP: What I learned was that God is moving in a wonderful way. There are spiritually hungry people in the Arab world. I saw more hunger in Egypt than in Turkey, but the Turkish believers, though comparatively few, are very courageous, humble and faithful. They are progressing. They have a confidence, they are strong characters and strong in Christ.
In Egypt though, the response was immense. I was shocked! I was so pleased. Egypt has intellectual capital among the Christians, but it goes hand-in-hand with a faith in the power of God - that God is an almighty, miracle-working God. It is a great combination. They look for God's intervention and that is happening in the Arab world. There is story after story of God speaking to people directly. That confirms what I believe the New Testament teaches, that if there is no human agent for the gospel, Jesus Christ will take care of it anyway. He reveals himself in dreams and visions. So they are converted and later meet a believer. God is using many means. But some of them it is better not to talk about!
Temptations
EN: As an international travelling evangelist, what are the particular temptations of your job?
LP: As far as I am concerned, there are five major temptations which cause evangelists to fall. There is the danger of becoming proud and starting to act as if you are some kind of star. Money is a danger, if you do not have the right controls and a strong board of directors to whom you are accountable. Sex is a danger, especially if you think you are above the crowd, have rights that others don't have, or think you are smart enough to get away with it. But there are two more which are more important as far as I am concerned.
There is the temptation to give up. The vast majority of evangelists who disappear after ten years do so out of sheer discouragement. They get criticised continually, people do not support them and finally he and his wife look at each other and say: 'It's not worth it!' and throw in the towel. The other great temptation is to accommodate intellectually. Most evangelists are bright people. But people treat you like an idiot. It hurts, but you can't hit back because you're a Christian. So the temptation is to accommodate, to say things people want to hear, to ease up on the sharp edges of the gospel.
EN: What should the churches be doing to encourage evangelists?
LP: First, the churches need to recognise that the gift of evangelist is an honourable gift of God. It is there in the Bible. We are called of God. Then they need to train young evangelists to respect the local church and its leaders. I myself am part of the leadership of a local church in Portland, Oregon. The evangelists need to learn to speak well of the local church, even if the church does not treat them well. Evangelists need to be incorporated into and looked after by the local church. When they travel, the local leaders should ensure that the evangelist and his family at home are protected and cared for. They need to guarantee to the place which the evangelist is visiting that the evangelist and his family are honourable members of the local body. If we do not treat evangelists with respect and care, we are dishonouring Christ who gave the gift.
Strategies
EN: Some strategists are saying that sociologically the world is changing from the modern to the post-modern, from the post-war generation to Generation X, and that therefore evangelism needs to change.
LP: It is has to accommodate its terminology and its outward trappings. But the gospel doesn't change, and frankly, methods don't change much either.
It is almost a pride thing that each generation likes to think: 'Oh, we have the secret.' The secret is actually just to talk the gospel. Besides, this generation of people enjoy 'big rallies'. The idea that things have to change is usually aimed at mass evangelism. They've said it for decades. But the fact is that young people go to rock concerts. It is not two or three guys listening to the music, it is big crowds. Even the middle-aged go to hear Mick Jagger and fill a stadium. Politicians consider they are dead in the water if they can't draw a crowd. Why do we in the church have to reject it? Who comes up with these ideas? Not the evangelists who are really the soul-winners. It is often, I think, from people who are guilty that they don't share the gospel themselves. Some theologians need to beware. Instead of rejoicing that someone is doing something, they prefer to put people down.
Why are you letting this happen?
EN: If there is one warning and one encouragement you were asked to give the evangelical church in Britain, what would you say?
LP: I think the warning is that if the evangelical wing of the church in Britain does not come together on the Bible and its message and confront the great population centres with the claims of Christ, the nation will crumble. It is already crumbling. And other ideologies and religious ideologies are winning the cities in the UK. Britain is being de-Christianised at top speed. If the church in Britain blithely lets this go on, your children and your grandchildren will not be Christian. I cannot understand why you are allowing this to go on.
To me, there was a great opportunity with the millennium, but we have missed it. The world and paganism has been allowed to take over the millennium. The planning should have been two years ago - to make a lot of biblical noise in the land. But again, it is this lack of unity and this reticence to do great things that keeps undermining the dynamic and the dynamite of the gospel.
Now, the encouragement is that there has never been so much freedom in the UK as now. Never have there been opportunities like now. Never have the media been more open than now. What are we waiting for? There are many faithful local churches. But unless the body speaks with one voice to the great cities, the nation will not hear of Jesus Christ. I believe in the local church, but the whole church needs to come together at least once every ten years so that the nation is clearly challenged with the claims of Christ. If the leadership of the church in Britain does not do that, there is a great responsibility on them before the judgement seat of Christ on this issue.
