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The Shocking Reality – Cold Contacts

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
(Matthew 4:19)Living and Discipling Among the Lost – Obedience to the Great Commission

Now, after making much to do about the insider, I must admit that most people we see coming to Christ in our ministries are not from long term insider relationships. They are people we have just met ‘off the street’ and invited to Bible study. They are first time visitors in chapel we invite to lunch. That is the reality of our evangelistic efforts. Keep in mind too, that we are not talking about one or two converts a year. We’re talking dozens in a year.

This statement of reality is not to pit one technique of evangelism against another. But, if you are is serious about leading men and women to Christ, this ought to jolt you into paying careful attention. Remember the goal of evangelism is not to hang out with lost people. It is to find those who will embrace Jesus as Lord and Savior (Mt 11.27, Jn 6.44). So, since I’m interested people coming to Christ and eventually laboring in the Kingdom, I zealously practice both.

There are several ways to approach a cold contact and I’ve found some more effective than others. I can walk up to someone and convince them that they are a sinner (I really think they already know that) or I could convince them that “God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their life.” I could ask, “Why should God let you into heaven?” or I can simply test the waters by inviting them to chapel. The bottom line question is: “Am I extending myself to lost people?” Some Christians are bold and can walk up and start an argument and out maneuver the ‘would be convert’ mentally. Others are timid and do well to hand out a business card with the church service time on it. Whether you use a line or a net, Just Do It!

Keep in mind the spiritual principle of sowing. You can expect the yield to be in proportion to your efforts (2 Cor 9.6-7, Gal 6.7-8).

A Love Hate Relationship with Evangelism
LOST – They are not on an Island!
Evangelism: Methods or Majesty
Reaching the Far Lost, How would Jesus do it?
The Near Lost – Low Hanging Fruit
A Strategy for the Near Lost
Inside Out Witnessing
The Shocking Reality – Cold Contacts
Do Not Feed the Lost?
Leaders: Do the Math
A Summary of the Living and Discipling Among the Lost

Inside Out Witnessing

Living and Discipling among the Lost

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). (John 1:40-41)

Things were different in the beginning. The first Bible study at Ft Benning consisted of only 4 attendees: Me, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What you hear me describing 6 year later is the result of God’s blessing and a lot of work. But, one of the great impacts on the small beginnings in ministry was that fact that I was an insider. As a chaplain, I had free access and developed a lot of key relationships with believers and non-believers alike. The role of the insider is crucial.
Although Jesus recruited some of the men to Himself, we see many people invited to join Him by others. These are people with natural networks of family, friends, and co-workers. They are exposed to Jesus through others and immediately begin to enlist more people in their networks to follow Him too.

John the Baptist introduced John and Andrew to Jesus (Jn 1.35-36). Andrew immediately finds his brother Peter and invites him to come and see as well (Jn 1.40-41). Philip is recruited directly by Jesus and in turn finds Nathaniel (Jn 1.43-45). Later, Jesus invites John and his brother James to follow Him (Mt 4.21-22). No doubt John had a major influence on James’ decision to be Jesus’ disciple. This demonstrates the insider’s natural network in the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

It is essential to help people discover their natural networks. Many come to Christ by influence of a family member or a friend. This happens because an insider has already established natural bonds in their circle of relationships. Those closest people witness the changes in lifestyle and seek an explanation. Another key factor is the vast amount of time the insider spends in these natural circles. They have the opportunity to provide clear explanation and, more importantly, model the effects of the Gospel in their lifestyle.

Testimony 18: Key Lessons from Cecil

Chapter 18

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
(1 Corinthians 2:2)

Although I learned many things from Cecil, I count two as most important. The first is a vision for personal ministry that is effective and enduring. His emphasis was to so deeply impact one person for Christ that it would reach the fourth generation. This vision is implemented one on one through a Christ-like love for others who are willing to love in the same manner. It is also accompanied by repetitive teaching of the basics of the Christian life, majoring on the Great Commission of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). There are many noble tasks in ministry. But, is the love of Christ being reproduced by passing it on to enduring generations? Cecil gave me the gift of this eternal purpose.

Secondly, 25 years after I met Cec, he would teach the most important lesson with just one simple question. As I was pontificating about some theological hobbyhorse, Cecil piped in asking, “Chuck, what does this have to do with Jesus?” At first I was ticked. I thought to myself, “Connect the dots man!” But as I continued to meditate on Cecil’s question, I asked myself, “Yah, what does this have to do with Jesus?” In fact, Jesus was conspicuously absent from most of my rhetoric from meeting with men to my preaching. Since that day I have dedicated my life to focus squarely on the person of Christ and to generously salt my speech with the name of my Savior, Jesus.

The Lord truly blessed me with Cecil, a mentor who had eternal perspective coupled with practical principles for day to day living for Christ. Do you have such a person in your life? And more importantly, are you being this kind of tutor in another person’s life? You can shape eternity!

What are the Key Lessons your mentors have taught you? Give your feedback by clicking on “comments” below.

Testimony 1: In the Beginning
Testimony 2: Jesus is Watching You
Testimony 3: Paratrooper Religion
Testimony 4: Afraid of being Left Behind
Testimony 5: The Geographical Solution
Testimony 6: The Geographical Solution Fails
Testimony 7: The Seed is Planted
Testimony 8: Spiritual Melee
Testimony 9: Seeing the Light
Testimony 10: Receiving God’s Plan for My Life
Testimony 11: A New Creature
Testimony 12: What about You?
Testimony 13: A Little Miracle
Testimony 14: An Apostle to the Soldier
Testimony 15: First Steps toward Growth
Testimony 16: Being Discipled
Testimony 17: Life Time Mentor
Testimony 18: Key Lessons from Cecil
Testimony 19: Out of the Nest

Evangelism: Methods or Majesty

Living and Discipling among the Lost – A word on technique

Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood. (Isaiah 10:15)

One of my fears in writing about the way we evangelize the lost is that the technique will be emphasized over the sovereignty of God. This is a great danger. Certainly, we must acknowledge that no one experiences true conversion unless the Holy Triune God has made it possible. The Father draws men and women to the Son (Jn 6.44). The Son reveals the Heavenly Father to those He determines (Mt 11.27). And the Holy Spirit convicts men of their sins (Jn 16.8) and regenerates them into newness of life (Titus 3.5).

We are merely tools in the evangelistic work. We can’t take any credit for the ultimate outcome of a person’s soul. Their spiritual transformation rests squarely in the hands of the Sovereign Lord. But unlike a dumb tool, we have a choice. We can choose to be useful or not. We can determine to be wielded in the hands of the Master or resolve to stay on the shelf. And, to some degree, I also think we can determine the effect of our usefulness by having a zeal to be used, accurately handling the Word of God, and displaying integrity in living out the message we proclaim. An ax is much more useful when it is sharp.

I remember the first man I introduced to Christ. I was actually talking to another man while he was eavesdropping. My presentation of the Gospel was so inadequate and in my own thinking it was unintelligible. The next morning, the unintended listener came to me and said he gave his life to Christ. I use this story to underscore the power of God. But we also need to follow the Scripture’s admonition to be trained and improve our abilities in communicated the Good News of Jesus Christ (Mt 4.19, 1 Pet 3.15, 2 Tim 2.15 2 Tim 3.16-17). Is it free will or sovereignty? Yes.

It’s been 16 years since I wrote this. I Still agree with most of it both Biblically and experientially. But stay tuned for some small tweaks!

Here’s an interesting up to day take on evangelism in the a Western Context in 2025

A Strategy for the Near Lost

Living and Discipling among the Lost – What did Jesus do?

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:6)

There is no greater evangelist than our Lord Jesus Himself and we would do well to study His strategies. It seems although Jesus did spend effort on the far lost (those who would not readily receive the Gospel of the Kingdom), He spent most of His energies on those who were spiritually hungry.

Even His beginnings in ministry point to a divine strategy. He went to those whom we would presume were ready to listen to His message. Ray VanderLaan, in his message “Follow the Rabbi,” makes the observation that Galilee was “a hotbed of revival” in Jesus’ day (Mt 4.12-17). Jesus Himself defines His primary target as “the lost sheep of Israel.” (Mt 15.24) When Jesus came to a new town to preach, He would go to the “religious” first by entering the synagogue (Lk 4.44). And, when He gives instructions to His disciples on their mission trips, He tells them to find a “friendly host” who would listen to them (Mt 10.11-13, Lk 10.5-8). His instructions to them about those who were hostile were quite different. He tells His evangelists to shake the dust of their sandals in protest and move to the next town (Mt 10.14, Lk 10.11).

The Apostle to the Gentiles practiced the same strategy. When Paul entered a new town, he went to the synagogue first (Ac 17.1,10,17). And if there was no synagogue, he went to a place where religious people would tend to hang out (Ac 16.13). If the crowd became hostile, he focused his efforts on those who embraced the Good News of Jesus (Ac 13.46).

I have a saying, “You can’t push a rope.” Why would we spend an inordinate amount of time trying to convince a person who doesn’t want to hear about Jesus when there are many around us that do? The key is finding these spiritually hungry people. One of the best places to look is in your church. Start inviting some of the parishioners to lunch and ask them to share their testimony. I guarantee you will have plenty of opportunities to lead people to Jesus. And, if all the people of your church are saved, start aggressively inviting the lost to attend and focus on the ones who actually show up.

It’s been 16 years since I wrote this. I Still agree with most of it both Biblically and experientially. But stay tuned for some small tweaks!

Here’s an interesting up to day take on evangelism in the a Western Context in 2025

The Near Lost – Low Hanging Fruit

Living and Discipling among the Lost – Finding the HungryAnd Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He *said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. (John 1:38-39)

A group of brand new Lieutenants had just finished physical training in their first days of infantry training. They were enthusiastically talking about their new found fellowship and commonality in Christ. Without thinking, one of them invited a straphanger to check out the Bible study. As the words left his mouth, he realized he was talking to one of the most profane officers in the platoon. Expecting a rejection full of explicatives, he received quite the opposite response. “Sure, I’ll be there. I need to get some religion.” A few weeks later the young office gave his life to Christ.

This kind of spiritual hunger is more prevalent than one may think. We call these who are ready to meet Jesus “low hanging fruit.” As a community, we have led many men and women to Christ in recent years. I think it has a lot to do with our evangelistic posture.

There really is no gimmick, we are simply leaning forward in the foxhole. That’s what I mean by an evangelistic posture. When a soldier talks about leaning forward in the foxhole, it means he’s alert and ready. We can adopt the same posture as fishers of men. We eagerly seek the lost and invite them to join us in a study about Jesus.

We run a very aggressive invitation campaign (we call it recruiting). With a core of about 30 laborers we will invite between 400 to 600 men and women to Bible study in a week. You say, “How absurd! Your numbers are surely exaggerated.” Part of our tactics is to stand outside 4 different mess halls and invite soldiers to the Bible study or Chapel. It’s very easy for us to talk to that many people in a week’s time. You may say, “Well, you probably get mostly Christians.” Correct, but there are a handful of non-Christians in each of our 5 Bible studies. There is a venue in these studies for these seekers to hear about Jesus and ask questions. And it is not a one shot deal. They are invited to various social functions (mostly in our homes) and we begin forming friendships with them and continue to answer their questions. We are just putting ourselves within arm’s length of those whom the Holy Spirit is already tugging on. That’s how we are leading so many to Christ. The power of an invitation to the hungry.

Reaching the Far Lost, How would Jesus do it?

Living and Discipling among the Lost -The Far Lost

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

First, I don’t think Jesus concentrated on those who were hostile to the gospel. On the other hand, He didn’t ignore them either. Jesus focused most of His efforts on those who were seeking. Whether it was spiritual truth or just being healed of disease, Jesus did not force Himself on anyone. He provided an environment of truth and grace and the people were free to come and go as they pleased (Jn 6.66).

Some may count the woman at the well (Jn 4.4-30), Zacheus (Lk 19.1-10), and the demoniac (Mk 5.1-20) as the far lost but they were all converted in a relatively short amount of time (leading one to believe that they weren’t as far away as one might think). Generally, we see the far lost as one who is hostile or apathetic toward spiritual truths. Much time and effort needs to be expended toward inching them toward the Kingdom. Based on this reality, these folks tend to be family members, lifelong friends, neighbors, and co-workers. I like to look at these relationships as “simmering” in an environment of truth and grace. Due to many factors these people may not embrace Jesus as their Messiah in a short period of time.

We all engage in these kinds of relationships and although they are tough, we certainly don’t give up. We do what Jesus did. We serve and love them. We continue to live out our witness to Jesus’ power in our own lives. And, yes, we speak truth and warnings into their lives as appropriate. When we study Jesus’ approach, He was very free with His compassion for the people. He demonstrated sacrificial love and spoke poignant truth with anyone who would listen (Jn 1.14,17). But even then there was not a guarantee that they would make Him their Savior and Lord (Jn 6.44). Although Jesus made considerable investments in serving and preaching to the multitudes, we see Jesus bearing most of His fruit with the spiritually hungry, who are ripe unto harvest (Jn 4.35-39). How you sow your seed has a direct correlation to the crop you will yield.

Chuck and Debbie Wood’s Newsletter – February 2009

Revival in Our Midst

“Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47)

We feel like we are smack dab in the middle of a revival. Men and women are coming to Christ, disciples are growing and laborers are working the harvest. The Lord is blessing us here at Fort Benning beyond our wildest expectations. The only thing we can humbly say is, ‘Thank you Lord for including us in Your work.’ We added a 5th Bible study in December and the leaders are not only serving as study facilitators, but investing their lives on a daily basis to help young soldiers become more like Jesus.

Becoming Fishers of Men

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

Part of our outreach strategy is to ensure new single soldiers are invited to lunch after chapel. Through small groups, we begin developing friendships by trading testimonies and teaching basic truths from the Scriptures. This has become one of the most exciting parts of our ministry as we watch young men and women become skilled ‘fishers of men’. Also, we have seen several folks come to Christ in a natural, genuine environment.

Building an Army for Christ

“Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.” (Joshua 1:3)

This last President’

s Day Weekend we had our 4th Annual All Army Navigator Conference in Albany, New York. Over 170 people from 19 Army Installations came to be encouraged and inspired to reach the next generation for Christ. The Army work has grown beyond present capacity to lead it and major shifts in leadership are necessary to facilitate the movement. Please pray with us that God will provide the laborers and full time staff required to keep up with the harvest.

Diagnoses: Multiple Sclerosis

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Last June, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. MS is a disease that attacks the nervous system. I have experienced significant fatigue, weakness and tremors as primary symptoms. In the midst of many blessings, we see this new challenge as another opportunity to be pruned in the Savior’s Vineyard and to bear even more fruit. Deb and I have had to slow down over the past two months and realize that significant changes need to be made in our personal ministries. We are taking some time off to prayerfully consider what our contributions will look like in the future. Although this is a little scary, we look forward to seeing how God uses us in the next season of life. Please pray with us.

We do want to thank each of you for your loving support in prayer and finances. It is very humbling to be loved so deeply. Our prayer is that God the Father will richly return these blessings to you 100 fold.

Chuck and Deb Wood

Chuck’s latest Sunday School Lesson on the book of Job:
http://www.benningnavs.com/Job%20-%20Lessons%20for%20Suffering.mp3

To support us financially go online to www.navigators.org/us/support or call the Navigators at (866) 568-7827 (toll-free). Our Account number is 6435473.

Please leave me your feedback by clicking on “comments” below.

LOST – They are not on an Island!

Living and Discipling among the Lost -Who are the lost?

“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. (Ezekiel 34:16)

Deb and I had fished this young man out of the congregation and were extracting his testimony as we drove to dinner. He told us about his wonderful church back home, the youth group and the camps. It was a glowing report of spiritual life. Then I asked him, “Gary, how does Jesus fit into what you have experienced?” There was silence in the back seat. It was more than a pregnant pause, it was an eternity. Finally, he broke the silence, “I really don’t know.” The only thing he had missed was the boat!
The lost can be closer to us than we think. I remember the bumper sticker, “Know Jesus, Know Peace. No Jesus, No Peace.” Essentially it boils down to following Jesus Christ (1 Jn 2.6). When I say ‘following’ I’m not talking about a grasp of the data. I’m talking about an intimate understanding of who Jesus is and a living faith that is evident in one’s life. Our churches are full of people who acknowledge Jesus as an historical figure, but do they embrace Him as their way of life (1 Jn 2.3)?
Then there are the lost that wouldn’t set foot in a church if you paid them. They are hostile to the Gospel of God. Jesus is simply another word of profanity. We see these people as the ‘far lost’ (Rom 1.28-32). So from the religious person who doesn’t know Christ to the one who is hostile to His Name and everyone in between, these are the lost. As I said earlier, unless you are a monk you probably associate with them all.
If two men were trying to jump a ravine and one missed by 10 feet and the other by 2 inches, both plummet to their death. It is the same result no matter how close they were to the other side. The objective was not to see how close you can get but to get safely on the other side!
The distinction between the near and far lost will definitely have an impact on our approach. But the fact that they are lost still remains. The point is that most of us are living among the lost already (Lk 10.2). Now the question is how will we labor among them?

Testimony 17: My First Mentor

Chapter 17

“You have a pride problem” announced our new acquaintance. I had only met our dinner guest a few days before this sobering rebuke. This was the beginning of another significant relationship that would have a deep impact on my life. Cecil Bean was the Navigator Representative for Ft. Campbell.

The Navigators are a Christian Organization dedicated to helping men and women know Christ and make Him known through one on one relationships. They train new believers in the basics of the Christian life and then help them pass them on to others.

Cec (as hundreds of men and women lovingly refer to him) was listening to me snivel about an Army Commendation Medal I had received that day. Turns out that the medal was borrowed from someone else and his name had actually been scratched out on the back. I was mad and mentioned how unprofessional the presentation was handled. Cec asked me what the medal was. I replied “an ARCOM.” He responded with his clarification, “No, what is it made of?” Looking at the medal I identified cloth and brass. He said, “you’re right and one day it will burn. You have a pride problem.”

I would spend years appreciating Cecil’s frank and unswerving commitment to biblical principles. Soon after our meeting my brother Mike and I moved into the basement of his home. For the next two and half years, my brother and I lived in Cecil’s home learning about the faith, family, life, and ministry. He would become my life-long mentor.

ARCOM – Army Commendation Medal