Why I think I sorta agree with Matt Chandler*
So the past few weeks I was bombarded with facebook IM’s and phone calls asking me if I had heard the latest Matt Chandler sermon. The sermon which can be found here aired on the seventeenth of January and contained some pretty harsh words for us Way of the Master fanatics.
In the sermon he divided evangelism up in two camps. The relational evangelist and the Way of the Master Evangelist or as he called it “The Shotgun Approach”
I believe that Matt Chandler was very honest and what he said (for the most part) was correct.
Now please, breathe out all the air you just inhaled and lets continue.
The relational camp never gets around to sharing the Gospel using words and the Way of the Master camp does tend to generate a lot of pride-filled die hard “It’s Ray’s way or the high way followers.”
I want to be very clear from the front. Both statements are correct. However there is a very important reason that the title of this post contains an asterisk.
The Gospel can be presented to people you work with over time, in small chunks. It can be presented during times of crises, at Starbucks, in music, in poetry and many other ways contextually speaking. I think us Way of the Master folks can very easily become filled with pride and discouragement when 99% of the Church refuses to come out with you on your weekly outings but we have to remember that sharing the Gospel surrounded by drunks at 2am on a Saturday night is not everyone’s cup of tea. With that being said the relational evangelist cannot say that street evangelism is “not their thing” until they have tried it first and more times then not the relational camp uses their method of evangelism as an excuse to do nothing at all.
There are different places, times and ways people share the Gospel but the message of the Gospel cannot be contextualized.
And this is where I think the heart of the issue is.
In the sermon Matt Chandler mentions “The Law” when describing Way of the Master and then goes on to describe his shot gun approach to sharing the Gospel on an airplane by telling the person beside them that he teaches Hedonism and explains to them Joy in Christ.
I think this was unclear and has left people confused.
You see when sharing the Gospel it is vital that the one being witnessed to knows that they have personally violated God’s Law. They personally have rebelled against the creator because of their own personal sins. They personally stand before God without the blood of Jesus Christ at enmity, as His enemy deserving of Hell.
If this is something that Matt Chandler believes is “The Way of the Master” he is wrong. This is Biblical. This is a vital and irreplaceable part of the Gospel. Paul says in Galatians that “The law is the schoolmaster that brings us to Christ” and without it’s proper use, the one being witnessed to is not receiving the full council of God.
You see the Way of the Master “Have you ever told a lie” script is a great way to get people started sharing the Gospel. It is a biblical method as seen with the rich young ruler but “the script” is not the Gospel. It is merely a way to summarize the Gospel. There are many ways to expose someone to their wickedness before the creator and the grace shown through Jesus Christ without using a cue card.
In 1 Corinthians where Paul discusses the “divisions” and which Matt Chandler uses to address The Way of the Master idolatry; Apollos was not ‘only’ giving Grace and Paul was not ‘only’ giving Law. If this were the case they were both wrong, because none were sharing the entire Gospel which addresses both law and grace together.
So I would ask Matt Chandler to clarify his statement. What is a Gospel presentation? You surely wouldn’t say that a Gospel presentation is good if it fails to mention the death of Christ or his resurrection? So what must it contain? We can talk about contextualization of the Gospel all day long, but if we don’t know what the Gospel is then were completely wasting our time and the time of those we come in contact with.
PS
On a side note, stop endorsing movies that blaspheme the name of God from the pulpit. I think the Biblical overtones in my Bible are enough for me, I don’t need to see them in a movie. Especially one that only gets 44% on the Rotten Tomato meter.
Sola Scriptura
Tags: Evangelism, Matt Chandler, Way of the Master
February 1st, 2010 at 1:52 pm
For almost 15 years of my Christian life I shared my faith Chandler's way. As I began to share the gospel at abortuaries nearly 17 years ago (never having heard Hell's Best Kept Secret or seen Way of the Master) I used the 6th commandment to address the conscience of aborting moms & dads & those who worked at the murder mill. Why? Because Romans 3:10-19 says: "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the Law said, it said to them who are under the Law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." The Word of God, including His moral Law, has an anointed authority that simply is not present in us. God has given us His means. His Word gives Him the praise. It is living & active. It discerns & divides the soul & spirit. It brings conviction to the conscience. It gives the Lawgiver all the glory. God's Word points people to Christ, rather than to the person who is speaking. I've looked at life (lost & saved) & evangelism (relational & intentional, using the Law) from both sides now. Perhaps Chandler could exercise some faith & take God at His Word.
February 1st, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Never knew that Matt had something against the Way of the Master's evangelism. It's biblical and it's a fast way of evangelism. But there are many other methods, and none can say a method is better than another. Does Matt condemn the Way of the Master or just say that it's not his personal favorite (sorry, I haven't heard his sermon yet, but your blog post called my attention)?
Also, I would like to ask: do you know any good sites with free evangelism resources? Thx!
February 1st, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Awesome comments Patte. @wayfarerbrasil…good sites would be livingwaters.com and wayofthemaster.com…lots of resources. Thanks for the post Marcus.
February 1st, 2010 at 7:23 pm
I am glad you are addressing his message. It needs to be addressed and maybe iron will sharpen iron. The thing that almost disturbed me more, was that he said there might be non-Christians listening to him and he finished his talk without telling them why they need Christ. I think it is a shame when any pastor knows there are unbelievers in their church and they give a message like this and assume they have given them enough information for them to become believers, when in fact they didn't. This message didn't change my mind, I will remain like you, a fanatic for WOTM.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:24 pm
I've tried many different methods of evangelism. The best one I've tried to date, is a survey-style presentation. Basically, what it boils down to is that you simply ask people if they've ever heard Christ died to pay for their sins, and rose from the dead. With that one simple question, you have already presented the gospel. Yet because you ask it as a question, it gets in under their guard, and makes it easier for you to communicate the gospel to them. I've had the most favorable, and least unfavorable responses from this method.
February 1st, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Before you, those reading Marcus' blog, form your opinions about Matt Chandler you had better listen to what he said in its full context. You should also understand full well that Matt Chandler is one of the great Gospel preachers of our day. Without fail he always makes mention in his messages of the wickedness of man and the grace that is found in Christ alone. I am certain that Marcus would concede this.
Though I think you, Marcus, make some valid points I do think you've missed what he is saying. He says that while the method, WOTM, might be biblical it may not be the best approach in every situation. Obviously, you'd not go up to a woman who was grieving over a lost child and say,"You ever looked with lust?" No, you'd tell her about a compassionate God who sent His Son to put an end to death by nailing it to the cross. The theology of the Gospel is unbending however the way in which it is presented will always be different based on the context. The cross is always there as is the Law because there is no Gospel without them but we mustn't demand that it always be presented in WOTM fashion. As a matter of fact I believe that is precisely the pride and brow beating that Pastor Matt is talking about. So understand, Matt is questioning the use of the "approach" in all situations and not the use of the Law in evangelism. That said I understand how there might be some confusion by what he said and I think he might have said it better.
Sermon Audio from Matt's Message: Relevant audio may be found between 27:08 – 31:15
http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/aud...
BTW, I would question your application of Galatians 3:24.
February 2nd, 2010 at 1:09 am
Nice post Marcus. But I gotta say the fact that anyone would call them selves a "Way of The Master Fanatic" is not healthy. Ray Comfort is just a man, Way of the Master is just an organization, and WDJD is only a method (although I believe it fits into Biblical parameters). We should only be thinking of our selves as "Jesus Christ Fanatics" and "Fanatics for God's Word!"
John Legg
Former Director of Way of the Master Australia
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:02 am
John,
I was being sarcastic and sorta tongue in cheek. Sorry if they didn't come off that way. Maybe I should have placed it in quotes.
February 2nd, 2010 at 3:30 am
The Way of the Master is all about sharing the gospel the way Jesus would share the gospel, and Jesus is the Master not a method. But in speaking of a method there is not a script set in stone. For instance if I am going to talk to a grieving woman about Christ, I will enter a conversation with her and find out where her heart is.
It is often in times of grief that deeper emotions of anger and self righteousness are revealed. If she is proud and angry chances are she may not respond to the gospel. She may feel God owes her something. In which case even in her grief she must hear the law, but it may not be appropriate, but neither would I believe it is appropriate for me to share God's grace with her either. It is so individual.
Like I said, you can't script each individual situation. As far as being a fanatic for WOTM like I said above, I should clarify that I am a fanatic about sharing Christ with others and it was only through Ray Comfort and his organization that I learned how to do this. I have been Christian for 20 years and this is the only method I prefer because it is Biblically accurate to share the way Jesus did. Law to the proud and grace to the humble. If the grieving woman is truly humble, she will likely be ready to hear of God's love and Christ's sacrifice through the gospel. I am a fanatic for Jesus Christ only, but I am grateful to Living Waters for their outstanding classes to teach us a script that is not set in stone but allows me to have a starting point and a ending point of my conversations with anyone.
The WOTM is not referring to anyone but Jesus Christ as our Master and He is the only Way. SDG.
February 2nd, 2010 at 5:23 am
I agree that Way of the Master is not a method, it is a systematic theology on evangelism. However, if you lock yourself into a script it becomes methodolatry. At the point you trade your confidence in the Spirit of Christ for a script you have become a sinner. That is not the fault of Ray Comfort of course. The abuse of a biblical principle does not prove it false.
BTW, the knowledge of sin can come by means other than the 9 Commandments.
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:14 am
Marcus, Yeah I know you were being sorta sarcastic dude. It was more of a general statement left over from 4 years of running WOTM Australia. Josh is sorta right… I've run of 30 One Day Training seminars, 6 Boot Camps and preached in numerous churches here in Australia. The sad thing I saw over and over again was people would grab hold of the WOTM method and run with it. But 6 to 12 months down the track they'd dropped off and gone to the next "Christian Fad."
The key thing is that people need to know what needs to shared in a Gospel presentation; Sin, Law, Righteousness (of God), Judgment, Hell, Repentance, Mercy, Grace, Forgiveness, The Cross, Heaven to Come. Having listed all that out (boy it seems like a lot), i would definitely say that started someone with the WDJD script (for example) is a very easy way to get them actively evangelising. But then they need to put in the study to get a more complete understanding of why that method is Biblical…