Back in 1994, the Billy Graham Crusade was coming to Cleveland. I was pastoring a church in Warren, Ohio at the time. Sixty to seventy miles from Cleveland. But the Crusade would never come to our town. Cleveland was as close as it would ever be. In 1994, Billy Graham was winding down. The schedule had been cut back. No one knew how much longer he would be able to continue. So, our people were excited at the prospect of him being in Cleveland. Not only that, but the folks wanted to be involved.

          Every Crusade required scores of counselors. Each night of a three or four night Crusade needed people to be down front to greet folks as they responded to the invitation and to share the Gospel with them. This is what our folks wanted to do. Share the Gospel of Christ.

          We were a little farther out than the Crusade wanted, but I sent in the request. The event was in, as I recall, September. There was still snow on the ground when we went to the first meeting in the early Spring to learn how to share the Gospel the Crusade way. Our people went full of anticipation. They returned to Warren disillusioned.

          The Crusade had its own way of doing things. The ‘teacher’ was more like a cheerleader, firing us all up for the great opportunity that was before us. We were told that we wouldn’t be sitting together, but we would be scattered throughout the stadium. When the call for the invitation came, we were to get up from our seats and make our way forward. The idea was that when folks saw us start moving forward from all around the stadium, they would be motivated to come forward, too. Along with our Bibles, we would be equipped with a pamphlet that had a plan of salvation on it with the verses already printed out. We were not supposed to engage the person before us in conversation about anything else other than salvation. We were to get their names and addresses and then scan our list of ‘qualified’ churches for a church in their area. After sharing the Crusade Gospel and getting their contact information, we moved onto the next person. We all came away from that first training session feeling that it was all too formulated. To cut and dried. Geared toward the numbers. Impersonal. Uncaring. Our church dropped out.

          I have done some reading on the earlier Crusades. They weren’t always like that. But as time went by and Graham became more and more sought after, the preparation for an individual Crusade gradually slipped into the hands of promoters. Slick operators. People with a plan. By 1994 it had become a program

          And maybe that is what has happened to Christianity. Everything has become a program. Youth Group---we have a program. Sunday School---we have a program. Choir---we have a program. Funerals, weddings---we have a program. Bible Studies---we have a program. Evangelism---we have a program. Even preaching. If you are pressed for time or have a hard time coming up with ideas---we have a program. Programs are not necessarily bad, either, if used as a guide. But when they take over, then it becomes a problem. We move further and further away from God.

          Years ago, I was having coffee with another pastor one morning. He was telling me of his handball exploits, his golf game and his bowling night with his deacons. I asked him when he had time to prepare. He looked at me blankly. “Prepare what?” “Your sermon.” He laughed. “Oh, I run over it before I go to bed on Saturday.” I was confused. I understood running over it on Saturday evening, but when did he actually prepare? I asked him that. “You mean you don’t preach the Lectionary?” I had no clue what he was talking about. But I found out. The Lectionary is a program. It is on line now. For this Sunday the Lectionary would give me six Scriptural choices. Looking at the choices I pick John 6:24-35. From that I am given topics, two sermons and eighty nine illustrations. See. There is a program for everything.

          Some time back I was asked to teach an evangelism program on Sunday nights for ten weeks at a very large church in Ohio. We started with around a hundred people in the class. By week six we were down to maybe thirty. I was discouraged. Before the class started one of the ladies came up to me and told me she was dropping out. “Why? Why would you drop out?” “It’s all great, but it is to much to remember!” And it hit me. It wasn’t just the Crusades, it was every teaching on evangelism. Everything has a program. There is a way to do it and it MUST BE FOLLOWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

          And yet, what does the Bible say on the subject? On the day of Pentecost the disciples preached and multitudes accepted Christ! That would be the program to follow! What was the program? Before they went out, the Bible says they were gathered together in prayer, giving themselves over to the Lord. Oh. But the Holy Spirit came!!! Yes, but after prayer. Jonah and Nineveh. An entire walled city. Based on the description Nineveh was huge. To walk halfway across was nearly the distance from Urbana to Marion. The entire city turned to God! Tough program, though. Jonah swallowed up by the great fish and then spit up after three days. Yes, but before the creature spit him up, he prayed and gave himself to the Lord. In any evangelistic event in Scripture, it was preceded by prayer and the giving of one’s self. Think about that for a bit.

          I was having a test done a couple of weeks ago. The technician and I began a conversation about the Lord. Turned out we were both born again and that began an enjoyable couple of hours. She said something very interesting. “Every morning I pray and ask the Lord to give me someone to share my story with.” Wow! That was her program. 1.) She prayed, and 2.) She shared her story. Some days the Lord said no. No one to share with. Some days the Lord said yes and put a seeker in her path. And once in a while the Lord played a trick on her and sent her a preacher.

          Remember Jonah? All he said was repent or the Lord will destroy you. Remember Pentecost? The message that day was Jesus died for you. There is nothing hard about taking the message the Lord has given you and sharing that message.

          When I woke up from my by-pass surgery, I had no pain. Felt great! Talked to my family. I was ready to go home! Several hours later I came awake, racked by pain. It was dark outside. The lights in my ICU room were turned down. A young, pregnant nurse was doing something off to the side. I could hear her crying.

          “Hey, are you OK?” She jumped turned and apologized to me. I asked her again if she was OK. She replied that she was fine.

          “You’re fine but you’re crying. OK, then am I dying?”

          She laughed. (Apparently, she thought I was joking.) She quietly told me that she was worried about the baby.

          “Would you come here a minute?” She did and I took her hand. I prayed for her and for that baby forming inside her. She began to cry. Then she thanked me over and over. For the next five days I couldn’t get rid of her. We talked. She was a believer, but hadn’t been to church in a long while. She promised to go back. The only message I had in the dark was my concern and I shared that message.

          You know by now that I believe that if Christians did their job in sharing their precious stories, the political landscape would be much different. But we don’t do that. We say we are fearful of hurting someone’s feelings. We are fearful of driving them away. Folks, that is Satan. That is not reality. You state your political views and you don’t worry about feelings. You don’t worry about driving others away. You have a story that could change their lives, but you don’t tell it. Can you give me a reason?