Click here to listen to the radio version.
Click here to search the AOG archives.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for May 4, 2010
“What’s Wrong With Preaching to the Choir?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“You guys in Christian media, you’re just preaching to the choir.”
They say it like it’s some kind of sin.
“Yes, you have your little Christian subculture, your Christian music and books and seminars. You have Christian radio and TV and websites. The world is dying and going to hell and all you’re doing is reaching other Christians. All you’re doing is preaching to the choir.”
Well first of all, I look at Christian radio like a modern day, open-air service. Anyone can come by anytime and receive spiritual light. And it’s going on 24 hours a day.
I’ve heard great testimonies of prisoners giving their lives to Christ while listening to Christian radio in jail.
I had a blue collar guy tell me that before he committed his life to Christ he would rush out to his truck after work and listen to Christian radio – while he waited for his buddies to come out so they could go to the bar.
A mother told me about her son listening to Christian radio while he partied with friends around a camp fire.
Tons of people outside the church have been mightily impacted by Christian radio, so I don’t buy the idea that we are only reaching Christians.
However, I’m sure our normal audience is mostly Christians, and probably the most dedicated Christians. So, does that mean we are guilty of preaching to the choir?
Well . . . what’s wrong with preaching to the choir?
First of all, have you ever met a choir that didn’t need a little preaching? No offense, choir members, but you know what? We all need a little preaching, and probably a lot of preaching.
Here’s my point. There is nothing wrong with preaching to the choir, by which I mean ministering to fellow Christians. In fact, we are supposed to minister to each other.
First Corinthians 14:12 says, “Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” The King James says “…seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.”
Not only are we to build up the church, we are to excel at it.
Listen to this phrase in verse five, “…that the church may be edified.” That is an important goal, the “edifying,” the “building up” of the church.
Look what Paul told the church in Second Corinthians 12:19, “…we do all things, beloved, for your edification.” Another word for edification is “strengthening.” We are to strengthen the church, to edify it, to build it up.
Some people have the idea that all the preachers and teachers need to get out of the church and hit the streets. We need to stop investing in Christian media and start using those dollars to reach the lost.
Well take a close look at Ephesians chapter four. It says that God has called some to be apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers – and what is their job? “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature…”
We are the body of Christ and verse 16 says the body “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”
Romans 14:19 says, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” As Christians we are very clearly told to edify one another. First Thessalonians 5:11 says exactly that, “edify one another.”
That’s what we are doing here at Wave 94. That’s why I have dedicated my life to Christian radio. We are a creating a place on the radio dial that constantly builds up Christians.
Listen to this trifecta from First Corinthians 14:3 – strengthening, encouragement and comfort. We play music all day that does just that, strengthens, encourages and comforts the church.
Who do I write Apples of Gold for? Primarily the church.
Am I preaching to the choir? I sure am.
Yes, I hear from a lot of non-Christians, from atheists, and activists and people just generally telling me to shut up. But that is not my primary target.
My primary target is my fellow believers, my fellow disciples, followers of Christ.
In the Great Commission, Jesus said to go and make disciples – and teach them everything Jesus commanded.
Yes, that means reaching the lost; but once someone is reached, the work has just begun. That’s followed by a lifetime of discipleship, of encouraging and exhorting and edifying.
We are to excel in building up the body of Christ. We are to spend a lot of time and resources to maximize each part of the body and make it as strong as possible.
The body builds itself up in love.
So if you think there’s something wrong with expending a lot of effort to minister to the church, think again. The Bible instructs us very clearly to do just that. We need it. We all need it.
So with that in mind, let me say it one more time.
There is nothing wrong with preaching to the choir.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment