Evangelism - Persuasion or Manipulation?
Winning people to your cause has been the object of oratory for millennia. Political leaders from Caesar and Cicero to Hitler and Churchill have changed civilisations. It is notable that most effective political speeches give little balanced evidence but are heavy on passion.
Today some evangelists seen on television seem to use similar emotional techniques to gain both followers and money. It is therefore striking to see how the apostles of Jesus Christ went about their job of “making disciples of all nations”.
Paul himself found it hard to win people for Christ even though he regarded this as his life’s purpose. He discovered that people could not ‘think straight’.
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4
This is significant - Paul clearly wanted to persuade people that Jesus is truly God’s Messiah or Christ but ‘the god of this age’ had blinded people. This could either mean Satan or more likely the gods people prioritise in their lives, money, fame, sex and the like.
Today many evangelists, recognising this difficulty, have opted to bypass the rational mind and use emotional or even theatrical techniques to obtain a following. Paul would have none of this, even though persuading people was hard work.
“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:2-3
Paul saw his job to be ‘setting forth the truth plainly’. This truth is the message about Jesus and who he really is. Clearly there existed a well defined message about Jesus as the only person who perfectly represents the unseen God of creation. This was found in the Old Testament Scriptures as well as in the apostolically approved accounts about Jesus. Clearly Paul saw that his role was to persuade people about the Jesus of history because, by accepting His Lordship in their lives, people would be saved for eternity.
The important message we have to communicate today is still a factual one about the person of Jesus. Jesus himself wanted people to be intellectually convinced about who he is.
“Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” John 20:19-20
“After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”” Acts 1:3
Jesus clearly wanted people to be intellectually convinced because of the evidence. This convincing message about Jesus and what he taught is ‘the word’ that must be sown in peoples’ hearts.
“And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? and how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Romans 10:14
The apostles also recognised that people need to be persuaded about Jesus if they are to be saved. The following passages make this clear:
In Corinth: “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” Acts 18:4
Before Agrippa: “The Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ Acts 26:28
In Rome: “He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. Some were convinced by what he said . . .” Acts 28:23-24
To Corinth: “Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.” 2 Corinthians 5:11
How is God’s truth communicated?
Albert Mehrabian was the Professor of Psychology at UCLA. He recognised that interpersonal communication can be broken down into three components, words, tone of voice and body language. What he discovered was that our tone of voice and what people see us do by far outweighs any words we use. He put some percentages on this,
The words we say only accounts for 7 per cent of what people believe.
The manner in which we speak accounts for 38 per cent.
What people see in us accounts for 55 per cent.
This suggests that over ninety per cent of the impression people have of what we say has nothing to do with the words we use!
Yet it is the message about Jesus that we have to convince people about. Just as a good barrister can present his case well and a poor barrister not so well, so there are clearly differences in the effectiveness of different Christians. We may all have the same message, but some are better at communicating this than others. A caring, warm person who is gently passionate about what he is saying will communicate the message better than someone who uses similar words but has not a warm convincing manner.
This brings us to a real problem in many churches today. Christians are not talking much about Jesus to non-Christians so it is hardly surprising that there is so much ignorance in society about the gospel. We cannot put all the blame on secularism, schools, television or other religions. Too many of us are not fulfilling what we have been chosen to do.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5:20
Many Christians have ‘foot and mouth disease’. They don’t go with the gospel to their family and friends and even when they do they cannot talk about Jesus without embarassment. What is the explanation for this. In many churches personal workers, who try to persuade others about Jesus, are a rare breed. Don’t Christians believe any longer that people must be committed to Christ to be saved? Have they not been taught how to communicate the gospel on a one-to one basis? Are they too embarrassed to invite people to their home or to hear the Christian message? Have they stopped praying for opportunities to share the message about Jesus effectively?
Two Principals of major theological colleges were discussing this problem. They concluded that unless theological students had been trained in personal work before they went to Bible college, they would probably gain few skills in this area at most colleges. When asked whether the lecturers at the colleges were not sharing details of discussions they had had or describing how they had helped others find Christ, both Principals felt that this was most uncommon as few lecturers were active personal workers. Most considered that their job was to teach theology and get the students through their exams!
If young Christians have not had the benefit of going to certain children’s camps or being involved with active Christian unions at college, then there are relatively few ways for Christians to be trained in passing on the gospel, possibly because many of their ministers find this difficult also.
Because of this problem some churches have resorted into becoming centres that emphasise entertaining people with the hope that something of the gospel will wash off on them. Numbers may grow but the proportion of those who are devoted to living for the Lord Jesus will inevitably fall because they are not being convinced that the Bible is the Word of God and that eternal salvation is what the gospel is primarily about. Sermons will inevitably become ‘self-affirming’, preachers tending to tell their audience what they want to hear and what makes them feel comfortable. They will entertain but are less likely to challenge. Emotional manipulation can easily become the means of obtaining decisions, but such commitments will inevitably be shallow and when the pressures of live come, as they inevitably will, such converts are much more likely to drift.
People need to be convinced about Jesus. They may see the influence of Jesus in the way Christians live and care for others in a costly way but they still need to be challenged to make a decision about the Christ of Scripture and then to allow His Scriptures to direct their lives.
The great need today is for people to be persuaded about Jesus. Such conviction will inevitably have emotional consequences. However to by-pass this step and to make our appeal by manipulating peoples’ emotions is not the approach of Jesus or his apostles.
BVP
