Copyright © 2012 Leonard William Anderson All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological ...

155 Pages·2012·0.61 MB·English

Copyright © 2012 Leonard William Anderson
All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to
reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen
by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction.
TRAINING THE PEOPLE OF PARKWAY BAPTIST
CHURCH, FORT MYERS, FLORIDA,
TO PRAY EVANGELISTICALLY

__________________

A Project
Presented to
the Faculty of
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

__________________

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry

__________________

by
Leonard William Anderson
December 2012
APPROVAL SHEET
TRAINING THE PEOPLE OF PARKWAY BAPTIST
CHURCH, FORT MYERS, FLORIDA,
TO PRAY EVANGELISTICALLY

Leonard William Anderson

Read and Approved by:

__________________________________________
William D Henard III (Faculty Supervisor)

__________________________________________
Timothy K. Beougher

Date ______________________________
To Richard and Reva,
my parents, whose lifelong support and love
have always been a source of godly encouragement.
To Jerri,
my wife, whose spirit in this process has proven
the words of the apostle Paul: “Love is patient” (1 Cor 13:4).
And to Aaron, Matthew, and Derek,
our sons, whose lives have
blessed me beyond measure with a godly
heritage from the Lord (Ps 127:3)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Ministry Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Rationale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Definitions and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Research Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2. THE BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL PRECEDENT
FOR EVANGELISTIC PRAYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Evangelistic Praying Is Consistent with the Examples of Scripture . . . . . . . 18
Evangelistic Praying Is Consistent with the Warnings of Scripture . . . . . . . 33
Evangelistic Praying Is Consistent with the Theology of Scripture . . . . . . . 39
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3. THE HISTORICAL PRECEDENT FOR EVANGELISTIC PRAYING . . . . 47
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
The First Great Ingathering of Souls Can Be Traced to Prayer . . . . . . . . . . 47
Repeated Historic Ingatherings of Souls Can Be Traced to Prayer . . . . . . . 49
The Birth of Modern Missions Can Be Traced to Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
iv
Chapter Page
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
4. THE METHODOLOGY USED TO IMPLEMENT
EVANGELISTIC PRAYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Pre-Project Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Project Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
5. PROJECT EVALUATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Evaluation of Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Evaluation of Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Evaluation of Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Theological Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Personal Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Appendix
1. PRE-PROJECT SURVEY WITH RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
2. POST-PROJECT SURVEY WITH RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
3. CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH HEALTH SURVEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4. PERSONAL SPIRITUAL HEALTH INVENTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
5. PERSONAL PRAYER SKILLS SURVEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

v
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

A1. Congregational church health survey—bar graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
A2. Congregational church health survey—line graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
A3. Personal spiritual health inventory—bar graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
A4. Personal spiritual health inventory—line graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
A5. Personal prayer skills survey “yes” response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
A6. Personal prayer skills survey “no” response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

vi
PREFACE
With the writing of this preface, I come very close to the end of a course of
study that has been both challenging and fulfilling. The completion of each stage has
brought its own reward, giving a sense of achievement that gratifies and inspires. It
marks an accomplishment long before set as a goal, a destination that could not have been
reached alone. There have been professors, signposts along the way, whose passion for
ministry and deep devotion have pointed me onward, back to my first love experience of
Christ (Rev 2:4). Much appreciation goes to Dr. Bill Henard, my project supervisor, for
his tireless attention to detail and his clear desire to build into the lives of so many. His
spirit is that of the apostle Paul whose practice was to pass on to other men the
knowledge he himself had received, that they might be better qualified for ministry (2
Tim 2:2). The criticisms, suggestions, encouragement, and ideas, surfaced in discussions
with my student cohort group, have also challenged and inspired: “As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another” (Prov 27:17). I had long sought a supportive group of such
peer mentors. I was not disappointed.
The leaders and members of Parkway Baptist Church, from my first suggestion
of this course of study, enthusiastically offered their support and encouragement, even
contributing tangibly with their finances. Without such support, this journey would not
have taken its first step. Nor could it have come to completion without the willingness of
so many volunteers who gave demonstrable endorsement to the goals of this project
through their active participation. I asked God to begin building up from this small
congregation a Gideon’s army. That prayer is being answered.
My wife has demonstrated that patience is a virtue, graciously foregoing date
nights and even accepting a short delay of a long overdue vacation as my self-imposed
vii
deadlines approached. I always sensed her full support. My parents, too, have
encouraged me onward, rejoicing with me as only doting parents can. Though often
feeling unaccomplished and unworthy of any praise, I have constantly benefited from the
strength of theirs. My experience of them has never been otherwise. I am blessed!
My thanks would fall tragically short should I fail to acknowledge my God and
my Savior Jesus Christ. His grace is sufficient and his faithfulness continuous: “. . . to
the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our
Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (Jude 25).
Finally, the completion of this journey is only the beginning. This project
would result in loss and failure if allowed to become an end in itself. The principles
learned, the concepts taught, and the experience gained is a stewardship entrusted.
Building upon what is past, with a commitment to stay the course, must follow. “Look to
yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full
reward” (2 John 1:8 AV).

Leonard William Anderson
Fort Myers, Florida
December 2012
viii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Purpose
The purpose of this project was to encourage engagement in evangelism by
equipping the members of Parkway Baptist Church in Fort Myers to pray evangelistically.
The offer to pray for the needs of others would also be presented as a means of building
bridges of relationship with unbelievers. Those bridges could then be crossed over with
the gospel. In this way the members learned not only how to pray for the lost, but also
received direction in how to utilize the practice of prayer itself as a tool to evangelize.
Goals
The first goal of this project was that members would come to understand New
Testament principles foundational to evangelistic praying. One reason people do not pray
evangelistically is a misunderstanding of the sovereignty of God as it relates to prayer.
Some ask, “If God is sovereign, why should Christians pray?” This fact is especially true
in matters of salvation. If God has preordained from eternity past those who will inherit
eternal life, is not prayer for the lost, thereby, rendered superfluous? Others say that
nowhere in Scripture are believers specifically commanded to pray for the lost. While
there are no direct commands to do so, there are an impressive number of verses that
touch upon and address this very issue. Dare the church err in a matter of such eternal
consequence?
The second goal was to stimulate a burden for the lost that would compel
church members to engage actively in evangelistic praying, both privately and
corporately. It seems that much of western Christianity is guilty of wishful thinking.
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