Fishing At The SBC

No I didn’t bring my rod and reel, but I did go to a great seminar by Dr. Roy Fish. He was my evangelism professor while I was at seminary and I love to listen to him. His seminar was on the need to be more intentionally evangelistic. It was a great seminar.

He told a story about a neighbor he had named Eddy. Dr. Fish has always been an evangelist but when he moved next door to Eddy he thought he would take it slow. Eddy had a great fear of preachers anyway. He would become physically nervous every time Dr. Fish would come around to visit with him.

Over time Dr. Fish began to make some progress in getting to know Eddy. He helped him in his yard on occasion and felt like he was going to win him to Christ eventually.
On weekend Dr. Fish was out of town and his wife called him. “Eddy died of a heart attack.” That news broke Dr. Fish’s heart. He resolved not to let his neighborhood die and go to hell if he could do anything about it.

So, he moved. (At this point in the seminar uproarious laughter occurred.) Dr. Fish prayed and asked God to give him a new start in his new neighborhood. He prayed that he could develop friendships with his neighbors for the clear purpose of sharing Christ with them.

Here are some other thoughts that captured my attention from this seminar:

1. Sowing is just as important as reaping.
I may never win souls like Dr. Fish has, but Jesus says in John 4 that some sow and others reap, but that both rejoice. (See John 4:34-38)
Sowing is incredibly important. Putting the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ into the hearts and minds of others is extremely valuable. The question is, am I even doing that much?


2. We’ve got to focus on young people.
At the current rate, statistics indicate that there is a generation of young people that will be lost. That means that when the current generation of Christian older people are no longer here, there will be few to replace them.
We have to make it a priority to share the gospel with children and teens. We need to intentionally sow the seed of Christ into their lives on a consistent and regular basis.


3. The greatest motivation for being evangelistic and sharing the gospel…
The reality of HELL!

There is a movement in society, and even Christian society, that denies the reality of hell. Jesus could not be more clear about the truth that there is a hell and people do go there. No soundly saved saint should want any to perish in their sin and spend an eternity in that awful place. Hell is real, and we have a part in taking the life saving message of Christ so that some will be spared from that horrible place.