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Traveling Salvation
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| by Tom Gilbert - July, 2003 |
"Preach the gospel always;
when necessary, use words."
St. Francis of Assisi
“So pack up the babies and grab the old ladies and
everyone goes” from Brother Love’s Traveling
Salvation Show by Neil Diamond
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Back in the day preachers would travel
to towns, set up a big tent and hold a revival. Some of these
would last for days and people would come from miles around. Often the Spirit
moved. Unfortunately, hucksters and manipulators also used
this method and hoodwinked believers with sleight of hand and
false healings. The movies “Elmer Gantry” and “Leap
of Faith”, showed the dark side of these traveling ministry
shows.
Despite the false faith healers, it’s not unusual
for evangelists to travel to cities and preach in stadiums
for multiple days. These crusades can reach many thousands
in a week and the hope is that the Gospel message will open
their ears and their hearts to God’s love and the message
of redemption through Jesus.
Today’s high-tech presentations are not much different from elaborate concert
tours. Truckloads of sound and lighting equipment, music and multimedia presentations
are recipe for extravaganza.
This approach was pioneered by the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Crusades which continue to this day. Rev. Graham is the most
widely known evangelist in the world and has reportedly delivered
the Gospel message to live audiences reaching over 210 million
people. Ironically, he made his personal commitment to Christ
as a result of a traveling ministry revival led by Mordecai
Ham when Graham was just 16.
Many others have followed this well-worn path. Louis
Palau and Greg
Laurie are prominent
examples of large-scale traveling festivals. Millions flock
to huge outdoor masses whenever Pope John Paul II visits
a country.
A different approach has been taken by The
Call and One
Day events. These
gatherings have attracted thousands, mostly young people.
They come together for intense worship that focuses on the
collected crowd and the individuals who comprise them, instead
of a specific spokesman.
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How effective is preaching the Gospel through such methods?
I’m sure we can all recall a time when someone was
preaching and it completely turned us off. Maybe you were
tired and bored in church or you were channel surfing and
happened on an outrageous televangelist. More than once outside
a rock concert I’ve been accosted by a red-faced street
preacher telling me and everyone else in earshot that we
must repent or burn in the eternal fires of hell.
Not the best way to carry the message.
True effective outreach needs to be discussed,
debated and critiqued. We’d be remiss to ignore Jesus’ last
instructions to go to make disciples of all nations by spreading
the Good News and baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ().
How we go about that makes all the difference. We are to
be known by our fruits, the greatest of these being our love.
Beating people over the head with a Bible or force-feeding
the Message is not going to be effective.
If you catch fire and find it difficult to contain your enthusiasm you need to be led
in to conveying that passion in a relevant and attractive way. Alcoholics Anonymous has
practiced this for years, stating in one of their twelve
traditions the importance of attraction, rather than promotion.
God knows there are overwhelming numbers of suffering alcoholics
who need the AA program, but it’s useless to think
it will work if they don’t want it. Christianity is
no different.
Before you dismiss this article let me go on record as being in favor of the Message
being heard. If that means bringing it to the unwashed masses in the form of events, crusades,
concerts, tent revivals, altar calls and performance art I say “bring it on”.
As long as we consider who we are approaching, how we present the Gospel and what sort
of follow up mechanism is in place for those ready to make a decision for Christ. Not everyone
reacts the same way and we need to come to grips with that. Just as each of us has
a favorite way to learn (audio, written, visual, touch, smell, show-don’t-tell or quiet study),
it’s high time we acknowledge that everyone endowed with God’s gift
of free will has the right to come to Him at his or her own speed. Conversion with depth is
infinitely preferable to an emotional reaction.
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On the Road Again
Some people like to combine travel and ministry. They
use their special gifts of teaching, speaking or healing wherever
they go. They are good disciples, going about their daily
walk and spreading the message of love and redemption in
an unassuming and joyful way. Read .
How interesting to put that together with the command to
preach the Gospel to the world. Jesus sent his disciples
out two-by-two with
no food, money or hotel reservations. It was a test, a rite
of passage and initiation into faith.
I’ve had this fantasy for years of someday being able
to drive around the United States in an RV, taking the back
roads and sight seeing. My wife doesn’t share this
fantasy, but that’s another story. It’s just
that I’ve always kind of enjoyed driving and visiting
new places. Now, if I indulged this fantasy would I also
make it a trip of faith and for faith?
Vagabonding.com is a website detailing the adventures of a young man traveling the world.
He doesn't appear to be a missionary, but who knows? Maybe his message is subtle.
Aside from the high-profile of the big crusades, there are those
quietly laboring in the vineyard by traveling the highways
and byways and connecting on a more personal level.
Truckers on the road, musicians on tour and young people on
a quest: all of these travelers are witnessing to
the power of God’s redemptive message by living it
more than preaching it. They take to heart the gospel message
to freely pass on to others what they have been given, each
in his own way with the gifts God has blessed them with.
What do you think? Are you carrying a message? Is there
something about the way you live your faith that is attractive
to others? I ask these questions as much for myself as for you.
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Below are further resources. We
don’t specifically recommend or endorse any particular one. They are listed as
examples and to get you considering more about this method of ministry:
Truckers
for Christ
Truckers’ Christian
Chapel Ministries
Friends
General Conference Traveling Ministries
Ministry
of Helps International
The
Traveling Team
REACH Youth Ministry
Festival Con Dios
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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978,
1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout
the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks
of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for
the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, USA. All
rights reserved.
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MARK 6:7-13
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Then Jesus went around teaching
from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent
them out two by two
and gave them authority over evil spirits.
These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the
journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your
belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you
enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And
if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake
the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against
them."
They went out and preached that people should repent. They
drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with
oil and healed them.
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(NIV)
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