I recently was made aware of a lot of hubbub (“hubbub” is a Hebrew word from the root meaning “unruly mob in Texas”) surrounding Ed Young and his wife who are spending 24 hours on the roof of their church in bed.
I would like to point out that they are dressed in very modest jammies (“jammies” is a Greek word from the root meaning “you really shouldn’t go out in public wearing that”).
Everybody in Texas seems to has an opinion on this. This is a lot of opinions (and every Texan opinion counts for two “regular” opinions).
That being said, I thought it was important to add a Floridian opinion.
Some would say that a “stunt” like this to attract people to church is a poor strategy to reach people who are not yet followers of Jesus. I’ve heard it said that “what you bring them in with, you have to continue to keep them” (i.e. if you’re on the roof this week, you’ll need to be on the steeple next week).
This is a good sociological observation, but not a good theological one.
One extreme belief is that the only strategy for evangelism should be to live as Christ would in our community. We share our faith with people as they see our love for them and for others. In evangelical circles this thinking (or some version of it) is often called incarnational thinking.
Another extreme belief is that the only effective strategy for reaching people is to attract them to a church or meeting where they will hear the gospel proclaimed. This is often called attractional thinking.
What makes these strategies extreme is when either of them are presented as the ONLY way to reach people. You don’t have to go far in church history to see both incarnational and attractional evangelism.
Incarnational Evangelism:
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47
Attractional:
2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you… 41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day-about 3,000 in all.
- Acts 2:2,5,14,41
You will notice that what attracted these people was not the recognition of their own spiritual need. It was not that they had seen the love of God expressed in the lives of sincere followers of Jesus. There was a really loud noise. And a bunch of people said, “Dude! There’s a really loud noise over there. Let’s go check it out!’
When they got there, the heard the gospel.
It’s my prayer that a bunch of people in Texas who may not have yet recognized their own spiritual need will say, “Dude there’s some crazy guy who’s in bed with his wife on a roof streaming interviews about what God says about sex! Let’s go check it out.”
Maybe they’ll be baptizing 3000 people in grapevine next week.
Would I spend 24 hours in a bed on a roof with my wife? Honestly…? I’d have to ask my wife.
What do I have to say to Ed Young? To quote The Apostle Paul (I use the word “Apostle” because statistically, people are 23% more likely to believe your quote if you throw in the word “Apostle.).
“…Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,” – Philippians 1:18b.
I’m sure we would all benefit from some more opinions on this topic, so please feel free to use the comments section (just don’t forget to quote an Apostle).
