Leadership Thought: Are You Better at Set Up or Closing?

Dear Friend,

In John Courson’s Application Commentary of the New Testament, he addresses Paul's question to the Corinthian Church in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8: He asks. "Why are you splintering?  Apollos and I are in this together. We both have a part to play. We simply plant and water. It’s God who works the miracles of germination.” 

Courson goes on to write, "Some people are sensitive and tender, and others are strong and expressive. And because the Lord uses all kinds of different people to accomplish his purposes, I can be who I am and appreciate the brothers or churches that may be a different flavor than I am as we both labor together with God” (p. 1025).

As I reflected on John’s comments, I thought about the process of evangelism. Some may be better at sowing than reaping and vice versa, but both are needed in the evangelism process.  If people don’t see a changed behavior in your life, why would they be interested in knowing how Jesus will change their life?”

In the evangelism process it is important that there be a congruence between the witness of our lives and our lips, our faith and our works, our belief and our behavior.

Life stye evangelism is very important as it cultivates the ground and prepares the soil for the seed when it is sown. But if there is no one to sow the seed, the cultivation process is useless.

Paul writes to Timothy and says, every believer should “Be prepared to give a reason for the hope is within us” (1 Peter 3:15) 

Yes, we are all called to share our faith, but some of us are much better at the pre-evangelism part, what might be called the cultivating of the soil, than we are at sowing the seed.

Both sower and reaper have significant parts to play in the evangelism process.

We evangelize with both our lips and our lives and there must always be a congruence between the two if people are to take us seriously.

In a wonderful book I have been reading by Randy Newman called Mere Evangelism, 10 Insights from CS Lewis to Help You Share Your Faith, Newman compares the two different roles in evangelism to the different roles of major league pitchers.

He writes, “Today, very few starting pitchers finish games they begin. But that was not always the case. Records for complete games will probably never be broken because of how the game has changed. Today, we hope a starting pitcher makes it to the 6^th or 7^th inning, when a setup man comes in for one or two innings and then the game is completed by a closer. They each play their role. They each pitch differently. They have different expertise. Together they win games” (p. 27).

When we think about our role in the evangelism process some of us might be better as starters, ‘preparing the soil.’   And some of us may be more adept at sowing the seed and closing the game.

Both roles are important in the success of a team; and both roles are important in the process of evangelism.

So whether you are the set up specialist, cultivating the soil for the planting of the seed, or you are the closer who sows the seed, you are a critical part of the evangelistic process.

Both cultivator and planter, set up specialist and closer can enjoy the results of your efforts: a person born into the kingdom of God.

So which person is more important? Only God knows, for He is the One who gives the increase. We simply cultivate, plant and water. It’s God who works the miracle of germination.

Yours in faith,

Tom