Jesus told his first followers that his program would make them fishers of men. This is what a disciple of Jesus does. But to a great degree, Christians don’t fish for men. We struggle to become Gospel sharers. I was thinking about this after preaching Mark 1:14-20 and thought about some of the factors that might explain why contemporary Christians are not man-fishers. This is not a complete list I’m sure…but I think it’s a good one. What reasons might you add?
Apathy. By this I don’t mean a thoughtful apathy that considers what’s at stake and then just abandons the unbeliever. I mean a sort of residual apathy that is borne out of exhaustion and full schedules. I think a lot of Christians are so hurried and harried that our work to the lost gets kind of pushed to the end of the list. In the press of the day, it just seems to have lower importance.
Relativism. Of course not a hard relativism that says, “nothing is universally true.” What I mean here is that the impact of relativistic thinking in our culture may have the effect of taking a lot of the urgency out of our view of the Gospel. We are so hammered with the idea that “everyone has a valid idea” that it has become counter-culture to think that something I believe is necessary to another person. Again, I know that a Biblical Christian would not consciously think such a thing—but I’m wondering if the constant, propagandistic effect of politically correct relativism has caused us to…well, back off just a little. To lose a little urgency in the work. Just a thought.
Materialism. Again, by definition a Christian cannot be a materialist in the sense that he believes that people are only matter (no soul, no spirit, etc.). Instead I’m talking about a kind of practical materialism that treats people physically only. Our good works include feeding the hungry, caring for the dying, assisting the sick, etc. All good works modeled by Jesus. But Jesus never identified such things as his purpose. He came to “seek and save the lost.” He came to “give his life as a ransom.” He came that “none should perish, but have eternal life.” I can’t help but wonder if there is a kind of preemptive effect of our understanding of good works that causes us to think our ministry is complete because we’ve cared for someone…physically. Almost as though there were no spiritual aspect to the person. If I am right, there is a tendency of Christians to think of people only, or primarily, in terms of their physical needs.
Preoccupation. An easier to identify issue would be preoccupation with other concerns. When Jesus called his disciples in Mark 1, they are all seen “leaving” something. There seems to be a pattern: forsake then follow. They left their nets behind, or their father behind, or the family business behind. If Jesus were here physically, and called me to follow him…I’d leave anything behind. He is not here physically, but the principle remains: what nets do I need to leave behind to become a fisher of men? I wonder what preoccupations keeps us from becoming what the Lord wants us to be? Notice that the things they left behind were all good. It’s not like they left behind a life of crime or drug addiction. Though one may need to do that—I don’t think that is the principle here. The point is that nothing should stand in the way of the disciple being who the Master intends for him to be. If my career is keeping me from being a disciple, I don’t necessarily need to leave the job…I need to approach it in such a way that I can still be a disciple. If that is impossible…one might need to think about a career change (I think this is pretty extraordinary).
Fear. Probably a bigger factor than any of the above is the fear-factor. Fear at so many levels: fear of the response of friends; fear of political fallout; fear of questions I can’t answer; fear of ridicule, etc. It is doubtful that our fear is worse than it was in the early church. They were facing more than peer pressure…they were facing things like physical abuse and even execution. Of course their response to all of this was that they were looking for a “better country” where this kind of thing would not exist (Heb. 11:16). People like Moses chose to be mistreated for a while instead of enjoying the pleasures of sin “for a season” (11:25). I think at the bottom of our fear to speak the truth is our tendency to think in terms of the “now”—as though there is no eternity, no “better country.”
For those who struggle with the fear of the question you might not be able to answer, this summer I will be teaching a survey course in Christian apologetics. “Apologetics” is the study of the defense of the faith. While we can’t survey every question and response to Christianity—we will try to summarize well and help prepare everyone to engage in Gospel dialogue with others.
I guess there are a lot of reasons why we don’t fish like we should. American culture may take some of the edge off. The busyness of life may zap us of the kind of zeal evangelism should generate. Personal apprehensions may keep us pressed against the back wall. What’s the answer? The ministry of the Word of God is the only thing that gives clarity. It is sharper than any sword and cuts deep. It will take care of any fuzziness brought about by culture and any apprehension of soul.
Become a fisher of men. Overcome the obstacles. Let Jesus lead. Get in the Word.
I have a little brown Bible. It's pretty old now, but it means a lot to me for a couple of reasons. 
The Brondos have arrived in Cachi. Wow that went fast! They were helped in the move by Carlos Cañete, who works with Campus Crusade in Argentina. He has a bus and helped them move their things last Thursday. The story of how they got the house is quite a story--suffice it to say that God was clearly in this. I'll post more when I hear from Marcelo...which I imagine won't be long. The man is really pumped about all God is doing! 