Busyness—not atheism or cultural hostility—may be the biggest threat to gospel proclamation today, since it’s always easier to do what feels urgent than what matters for eternity. Drawing on Ecclesiastes, Ephesians 5, and voices like Piper and Sproul, this episode makes the case for putting evangelism back at the top of our calendars.
What if the greatest challenge to Christian gospel preaching today wasn’t the threat of militant atheism, or the latest NY Times bestseller critiquing Christianity, or political strife, or church hurt, or anything outside us at all.
What if the greatest challenge to Christian gospel preaching today is busyness?
Here’s my reasoning: Every day, all around the world, millions of Christians have moments that God might use for gospel preaching and gospel proclamation. We think, “I should talk to our neighbor but…frankly, I’m in the middle of something and I’ll do it later.” Or we think, “I should build some relationships with my coworkers and ask about their families and life but…I have too many assignments and deadlines today.” We turn aside and think that we’ll wait until we’re less busy. Except…we never are less busy.
In the book Biblical Productivity, C.J. Mahaney points out that busyness does not mean we’re in the clear: “What I learned is that: 1) Busyness does not mean I am diligent, 2) Busyness does not mean I am faithful, 3) Busyness does not mean I am fruitful.”
Why not? Because it’s easy to do whatever is most obvious, or time-sensitive, or feels most urgent, but that’s not always what has the greatest eternal value. Gospel proclamation must surely be near the top of the list.
Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Some translations use the phrase “redeem the time.”
Dr. Sproul comments here: “Time is the great leveler. It is one resource that is allocated in absolute egalitarian terms. Every living person has the same number of hours to use in every day. Busy people are not given a special bonus added on to the hours of the day. The clock plays no favorites. We all have an equal measure of time in every day. Where we differ from one another is in how we redeem the time allotted.”
Turn back to gospel proclamation now. The work of building relationships with those who don’t know Christ takes time. The work of volunteering to help with an evangelism campaign or dinner takes time. The work of pausing to greet a neighbor, or help them with yard work, takes time. But everything does. The question is this: What is most important with our limited time on earth?
Here are five reasons why we should push other things around so that evangelism can take up some of our brief time on earth:
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Life is short, eternity is forever // When take to heart the message of Ecclesiastes and remember that everything in life quickly passes, that it’s all dust and air it makes us ask what will last forever? And the eternal souls around us need our attention.
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Hell is real // John Piper has remarked aptly that “we should care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering.”
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Heaven is real, too // I want those in my city to have good jobs, to enjoy a good meal, but I far more want them to spend eternity in joy and fellowship with God.
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Gospel Proclamation is Often Tied to Relationship, and Relationships Take Time // In Mark 5 the rescued man is told to go back to his “friends” and tell them what God has done for him. Gospel proclamation often travels along a relational path, and relationships take time.
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Corporate Gospel Proclamation Takes Time and Commitment // Our churches often are already doing gospel work like Bridge or ALPHA or other courses – but those only happen when the church members commit and serve over the long haul.
There are, to be sure, many other good priorities for the Christian life – marriage, parenting, worship, prayer, work, etc. But too often, evangelism drops below everything else into the category of “when I have more time.” But the truth is that we’ll probably never have a season of miraculously free time. And our time on earth, and the time of those around us, is quickly passing.
What if Christians moved evangelism up to its rightful place in our priority list, calendar, and life? What might the Lord do through ordinary faithfulness over time in a hundred thousand neighborhoods, jobs, and churches?
ABOUT
Ricky Alcantar serves as Pastor at Cross of Grace Church in El Paso, Texas and the Editorial Director for Digital with Sovereign Grace Churches.
Ben Kreps serves as pastor at Living Hope Church in Middletown, Pennsylvania and also hosts the Mark Prater podcast.
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