Gone in 60 seconds

A mist in the pulpit causes a fog in the pew.

This phrase came to mind today as I returned home from interviewing a young couple for a unique incarnational ministry which seeks to impact urban dwellers with the gospel of Christ. The couples who apply for this ministry, while predominately younger, are the future hope of our present day evangelical churches. They have a functioning relationship with Christ and they desire to reach out to those around them. While many profess a relationship with Christ, the willingness demonstrated by these valiant few to put shoe leather on their faith and serve, causes them to rise to the top as the creme of the crop within Christianity. There is only one problem: most struggle to be able to articulate the gospel.

Half way through my interview as I sat across from my perspective applicants, I paused and then said, "OK, I need you both to tell me the gospel. I am not asking you to role play with me as I am already saved. Take all the time you want, but please feel free to be brief, we only have a half hour left in the interview. You can share the Four Spiritual Laws, the Romans road, the Bridge Illustration, one verse evangelism, whatever you feel comfortable with, I just need both of you to articulate the gospel. Who would like to go first?"

The first applicant began; he talked about sin. "Good," I thought to myself. "This is a good place to start." But then I began to have trouble following him. A couple minutes later we were talking about Christ. "Good," I thought again, "Here maybe now we were going to get the gospel." He continued on for another minute. Finally, I broke in and asked, "so what do I need to do to be saved?" I had heard "sin," "Jesus." "your life will change," "repent," but I had not heard what it took to become a follower of Christ. I thanked the applicant and then turned to the second.

The second applicant paused and gathered herself, possibly nervous as she had seen her fellow applicant struggle in a prolonged attempt. My money was on her, she would fair better. I know from personal experience that women can take what a man is blundering about and articulate it concisely and clearly in one or two pithy sentences. For a minute or two it seemed though my premonition was to hold true, but as the gospel plane continued to ascend, I began to realize somewhere between "the God-man," "repent," and "no works for salvation," that the plane was going to have trouble landing. I stepped in, "What must I do to be saved," I asked? And then she nailed it! "Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart..." Well almost nailed it because at this point she trailed off. I smiled and thanked the applicant.

I was not upset as a matter of fact, I was proud of this young couple. They had tried admirably and come really close. I was not surprised that they had struggled, it may have been nerves but my guess is that no one has ever asked them to articulate the gospel in 60 seconds. They have heard it. They have thought about it. They have accepted it. But no one had ever challenged them to briefly articulate it!

I thanked them both again and then I said, "The essence of the gospel is that man has sinned and fallen short of God's standards thereby breaking his relationship with God; but God loved us and sent His perfect Son, Jesus to die and pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world. If we accept Christ's payment for our sins through his death and resurrection, by this alone can we have a saving and whole relationship with God." I looked up at them and sheepishly grinned. She said, "Wow, I didn't expect that to be so awkward, and I didn't know the gospel could be stated so briefly." He said, "That was hard."

They were a neat couple. Both have been involved in full-time ministry. Both are in seminary. One has a masters in theology. Both struggled to articulate the gospel.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident, instead it is a prevalent problem in these interviews and probably challenging for anyone who has not taken the time to sit down and attempt to articulate the gospel. As I drove home, I wondered, "Is there a mist in our churches which has left its members in a fog? Can the average Muslim or Hindu articulate their faith?" If Christians can't articulate their faith in 60 seconds you would think that a faith so little invested in would be gone in 60 seconds.

As I pondered, I took comfort in the fact that both of these followers of Christ had come to know their Savior through the impact of the Church. Someone is clearly communicating the gospel. I also realized that if it had not been for someone in my own life who challenged me to take 15 minutes to write out the gospel so that it could be articulated in under 60 seconds, I too would struggle to give the gospel clearly. Can you articulate the gospel in 60 seconds?

Resources: http://www.acts111.org/
Exercise: Write out the gospel in five sentences or less