In Baptist Press today are two articles, really excellent articles. The first article is entitled Making evangelism good news again and is written by John Avant who is vice president for evangelization at the North American Mission Board.

He starts the article in this way:

There is a lot of talk about young leaders among Southern Baptists these days.

Thank God for that, since we have no future without them. This young generation is starving for authentic passion and the life of adventure that following Christ is meant to be. And they need to see that lived out in their parents’ generation.

He then goes on to tell how he took his children on missions trips to Third World countries before they were teenagers. The reason he did this was “They were able to meet people who had nothing but Jesus and lived with overflowing joy –- the picture of the New Testament church so rarely seen in comfortable America. ”

Despite the flawed efforts Dr. Avant feels he has made - and who as a parent doesn’t - something wonderful is seen in his children. He says:

My 14-year-old son, Trey, loves God and actually believes that there is nothing more exciting than following Him. My 18-year-old daughter, Amy, left recently for five weeks of radical mission work in the Middle East. And my 21 year-old daughter, Christi, is an aspiring Broadway actress and ministers in a SBC church plant aimed at the arts community of New York City.
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Now Christi has this crazy idea that the most exciting, fulfilling, contagious thing in life is evangelism –- loving, serving and sharing the Good News with friends. Wherever she is. Every day. But to do this she has to go outside the church walls. She has to love people, not oppose them.

His daughter Christi has also written an article today for BP entitled I am gay-friendly. Christi is in New York working with a church plant there call The 411. Oddly enough, this is a church that the church I pastor provides financial support to! She speaks of reaching out to the homosexual community and of reaching others with the Gospel. I think it best to let her speak. It’s very good!

I write this on lunch break in my corner of an office of The 411, a New York City church (on 42nd street, sponsored heavily by Southern Baptist churches from the deep south) who are embracing a radical, risky and eternally rewarding way of life described in the same book that calls the homosexual lifestyle sin.

Romans 12:21 reads, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Overcome evil with condemnation? Overcome evil by shaking our heads, refusing to go see the Disney movie “Tarzan”?

No. Overcome evil with GOOD.

Today the staff of The 411 hauled hundreds of water bottles to a dancer’s call audition for the revival of the Broadway musical “A Chorus Line” (infamous for being the first successful musical to openly deal with and affirm homosexuality in the arts). We walked into a room full of hopeful dancers and nervous producers and said “Hey, this water is free for you guys. We’re from a new church called The 411 and we just want to say that God loves you.”

The man running the audition looked at me with a blank stare and then said, “Wow, that’s … well … that’s just … wow … that’s … amazing!” Then he announced to the entire room, “Hey these church people just brought you guys all free water!” I then heard him turn aside and mutter to himself, “Wow that is just amazing.”

Yes, it’s amazing. The goodness of God who sent His only Child to be brutally murdered on behalf of a human race who rebelled against Him is amazingly GOOD!

In no way should a person who claims to follow Jesus Christ advocate a lifestyle that so clearly is spoken against in the Word of God. However, we trust that by meeting the basic needs of lost people, doors will open to share with them the hope of a new life in Christ.

This 21 year old then goes on to give a warning:

I have caught a dangerous trend arising in my generation, which “loves Christ but not the church.”

Not all of this is our fault. We are crying out for our elders to step back and allow us to step up. We are crying out for them to fund relevant college ministries even though most of us cannot drop as much as they can in the offering plate.

However, we are crying out immaturely, like a 2-year-old throwing a tantrum in a grocery store.

Abandoning or “taking a break from” church is neither the right thing to do, nor is it any kind of solution to the problem.

The SBC needs a new generation of leaders from us 20-somethings to do what Christ commanded before he ascended into heaven. He said, “GO therefore …” not “Runaway therefore …” not “Condemn therefore….”

“Go therefore and make disciples….” [Matthew 28:19]

With everything in me, I believe that is the heart of what Southern Baptist evangelism was meant to be

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We should embody the Christ of the scripture and in doing so, run towards, not away. Get involved and not ignore. Meet needs - real needs, personal needs - not be worried about us getting their koodies.