Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
1 24 2025
Vance Havner rightly said, “Popularity has slain more prophets than persecution ever did.”
I don’t typically look at numbers, but I noticed as I wrote 8 different messages on Goal Setting this year, and then on Jan 13th we did our 1st New Year – New You Goal setting online podcast, but our readership declined 10%. I knew people didn’t like the discipline of thinking deeper to question their walk with God, but this was almost like talking about pornography or tithing. People don’t want to hear of that either.
But I try to write what I feel God is showing me at the time.
And I did ask a lot of hard, soul-searching questions.
But, I have always believed trying to please the masses is a sucker’s game.
Charles Finney shares some great insights in an article entitled, “How to Preach without Converting Anybody.” I have pulled 7 of his points:
- Preach on every doctrine that centers the attention on man rather than Jesus. Teach every doctrine that makes man the center of God’s attention rather than God the center of man’s devotion. Tell people only what God will do for them.
- Avoid preaching about the necessity of a radical change of heart, through the truth revealed to the heart by the agency of the Holy Spirit.
- Let your supreme motive be to be popular with all people, then, of course, your preaching will be suited for that purpose, and not to convert souls to Christ.
- Make appeals to the emotions, and not the conscience, of your hearers.
- Preach salvation by grace; but ignore the condemned and lost condition of the sinner so that he never should understand what you mean by grace, and know his need of it.
- Preach Christ as an infinitely friendly and good-natured being. Ignore those scathing rebukes of sinners and hypocrites which so often made his hearers tremble.
- Say so little of hell that your people will think that you do not believe in its existence yourself.
Try using that as a filter!
George Whitefield, a great evangelist, said, “The devil loves to represent God as all mercy, or all justice.”
In John 3:16, Jesus declares, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” But how often do we quote two verses later in John 3:18? “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Ouch…
So how can we seriously grow in God without reflection and periodically realigning our focus and purpose in life? How can you do that without asking the tough questions…without a plan and some goals that we should be accountable for?
Do we speak the whole truth and God’s full story? Even to ourselves? We get lulled into this feel-good state ourselves. “There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus”. And somehow, that means we are OK because God gives us His unmerited favor called Grace in a never-ending supply, but we fail to walk in the full story of who God is and what he requires of His children.
Honestly, I have to stop and realize at times that this gift that God gave me and the one of your own is not for everyone. What I mean is that it won’t resonate with everyone.
I think what I write, is for others like me who believe there has to be more.
More than my limited knowledge of God’s Holy word.
More to this Christian life than I walk in.
More to my relationship with Jesus Christ.
I do this to serve God and to serve people. How can one separate those two Goals? (Oh no, not that word again).
I won’t be able to establish connections with everyone, but connecting with people is critical. Even in my own isolationistic tendencies, when I do, when I share my gift with others and they with me, I see the holy purpose God has in tying us all together in community, family, understanding, and love.
Are you striving to build your relationships and connections with others? Intentionally? And yes, it begins at home. How is that going for you? Do you need growth there?
We can’t get caught up in the numbers. Or, for me, the subscribers, views, or clicks, but what is the impact you are having…How good is the seed and the fruit you are witnessing or hearing of?
If you, through all your efforts, are only able to influence or maybe, through the grace of God, lead 10 people to the lord in your lifetime, or 5 or even 1…what is the eternal value of that? What was that connection worth in eternity?
It’s never about the numbers; it’s about connecting with each other, sharing our gifts and our love for Christ. I would love to hear from you or open up a dialogue.
Blessings
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Andra Love Can Save it All
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