Pastor Greg Laurie: Christians Are Called to Win Souls, Not Arguments
Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship church in Riverside, California, is cautioning Christians to be careful not to burn bridges when sharing their faith with others, emphasizing that their objective is not to win arguments, but to win souls.
Laurie said in a Facebook video about sharing one's faith that the objective before Christians is to "build a bridge, not burn one."
"The objective is to win the soul, not just win the argument. So look for ways to engage people," Laurie said in his message.
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As an example, he shared the story of one man who was bringing bottled water to the pastor's house.
"He went to our garage and he saw we have a couple rabbits and they had bunnies, and he said, 'Oh Jesus, look at that!' And then repeated 'Jesus' three more times," the pastor recalled.
"So instead of getting on his case about taking the Lord's name in vain, I said, 'Hey man, I noticed you talk a lot about Jesus. I want to invite you to an event that's all about Jesus, called the SoCal Harvest,' and I gave him an invitation," Laurie said, referring to the upcoming gathering of thousands of Christians to proclaim the Gospel this weekend, Aug. 26-28, at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California.
SoCal Harvest, which will feature performances by major Christian artists such as Chris Tomlin, tobyMac, Skillet, for King & Country, Hollyn, Phil Wickham, and KB, is dedicated to providing "opportunities for Christians to invite family members, coworkers, friends, and acquaintances to hear the life-changing message of the Gospel in an environment that is entertaining and nonthreatening."
Other Christian leaders, such as Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, have also talked at length about the difference between evangelism and proselytization, but suggested that Christians should not talk about their faith unless asked to do so.
During an interview with The Telegraph earlier this year, Welby said: "I draw the line in terms of respect for the other; in starting by listening before you speak; in terms of love that is unconditional and not conditional to one iota, to one single element on how the person responds to your own declaration of faith; and of not speaking about faith unless you are asked about faith.
"I draw a pretty sharp line, it is all based around loving the person you are dealing with which means you seek their wellbeing and you respect their identity and their integrity."
But not everyone agrees with Welby's position.
One conservative Anglican leader told The Christian Post in an interview that Welby is "half-right" in his comments on evangelism.
"Jesus said to go and proclaim the Gospel to all creation. Unless one speaks up, how will the other hear the best news one could ever hear?" The Most. Rev. Foley Beach, archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, told CP in an interview back in May.
"If you have the cure for cancer, how could you keep quiet about it? You would want everyone to know! We cannot keep quiet about Jesus Christ!"
