The general synopsis. I have noticed a serious issue that pervades churches. Police, fire, military, and other public service organizations fully understand the need to constantly train to adapt and change with the rest of the world. While churches have done a wonderful job training ministers to produce wonderful shows every Sunday morning with advanced media, powerful music, and thought provoking speeches, there is a segment of church responsibility that is being overlooked. That segment is a method of sharing the gospel. I do not believe the solution to be something like a "5 steps to salvation." No, the solution must be multi-faceted, complex, and adaptable. While I did not label this issue in Part One, I have decided to call this the Molly Problem, in honor the video that piqued my interest in this issue.
Now that we're all on the same page, I do not want this blog posting to be a church-bashing. My last post was related to the issues. This post should be about solutions.
My wife is a black belt. She may, in fact, be a second degree black belt sometime during the spring. It has taken a long time for her to reach this point. While the work in obtaining a black belt was difficult, it pales in comparison to the responsibility once someone obtains a black belt status. When my wife tested for her black belt, there were others that were obtaining that achievement at the same time. I noticed a significant difference between some black belts. Some believed the black belt to be the highest honor and achievement in martial arts. Others, however, believe the black belt to be the highest responsibility related to martial arts. What's the difference? The first group believes that their achievement is completed and the job is finished, while the second group believes that their journey as martial artists has only just begun. 
My wife will tell you that one of the greatest honors she has as a black belt student is that she now has a responsibility to share that honor with others. She now gets to teach students of all ages and rankings. Not only is she a great martial artist, but she is also a great teacher. That is the difference between a black belt status and a black belt martial artist. My wife is a black belt martial artist.I believe Christians have the same responsibility. Martial Arts is a journey. Along with that journey, there responsibilities bestowed upon the students. To me, becoming a Christian through baptism comes with a wonderful responsibility. The honor in being a Christian is not merely that we gain entry to the Kingdom. Furthermore, the honor is not just that we have everlasting life. Those are great honors in and of themselves, yet one of the greatest honors in becoming a Christian is undertaking the responsibility of sharing in the story of Christ and assisting others in that journey.
What do I mean by responsibility of sharing in the story? Don't we hire ministers and missionaries for that? You tell me...
Matthew 28
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
I don't know about what you read into that, but I have yet to find the verse that says church-goers have less responsibility to share the story of the Gospel than the paid ministers.
What does this have to do with the issue of pooling ignorance and assuring that we no longer have the Molly Problem creep up within our congregations? I believe that when we become Christians, the journey has not ended. Instead, it is now our responsibility to share the Gospel. In order to be able to share the gospel, we must know the gospel. The key is training. It takes mentors of all ages sharing together about their experiences in sharing the gospel. There are so many resources out there that involve sharing the story of our sovereign God and his slain Son. Why do our churches fail to train the membership?
In fire service (and other industries), there is a system called "train the trainer." The concept is that if those teaching fire ground operations are not properly train, it is just a great big pool of ignorance being taught through generations of firefighters. However, if the training officers of a fire organization have advanced knowledge of fire ground operations as well as advanced knowledge on how to teach/train on these operations, then the trainees will leave the classroom/training field better equipped to adapt and overcome in their own environments.While churches historically have lumped all evangelistic training into five simple steps, that is neither biblical nor appropriate in this culture. The answer is to train the trainers. We need to go back, as a people of God, and assist each other in living out the responsibility, the honor, bestowed upon all of us to share in this wonderful story of Jesus who is the Christ.
Just as fire service training captains and black belt martial artists are expected to continue learning and developing their craft, we should be developing our knowledge on the story of the creator God and his Son, the Messiah. Furthermore, just as fire service training captains and black belt martial artists are expected to pay that knowledge forward, we should be sharing what we have learned about Christ with those around us.
The way I see it, that is the solution to the Molly Problem.
Discussion:
1) Is my solution too simple? Have I missed the boat somehow? Tell me how! Let's learn together.
2) How does a church train the trainer? Or, in some cases, how does a church re-train the trainer?
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