Leadership
REACHING THE TARGET
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as armchair fishermen. We may enjoy watching fishing adventures and movies, but there is no substitution for catching fish. My wife is a good example. There never was any interest on her part of catching fish, until one day while out in the boat over a large school of yellow perch, she began to experience for the first time the joy of catching fish. The next day when I went out she told me that I couldn't go without her. That is what I mean. Fishing involves the joy of catching, and in like manner when it comes to fishing for men, we can never fully express the great joy that occurs when we lead our first soul to Christ.
Any time that I have been successful, great joy comes from my heart and a song that I love so much comes into my mind. It is a song that says
“Ring the bells of heaven there is joy today, for a soul returning from the wild. See, the Father meets him out upon the way, welcoming His weary, wandering child. Glory, glory how the angels sing; glory, glory how the loud harps ring. Tis a ransomed army, like a mighty sea, pealing forth the anthem of
But when we speak of the joys of catching fish, we must also recognize that to catch them, sometimes we must face difficulties. One of the problems in fly-fishing is getting that tiny fly to the spot where the large fish lay. Oftentimes those large fish live in holes which are overhung by branches of trees and there is just a small space in which to cast that small fly. When the fisherman first begins to fly fish, he must learn how to avoid these obstacles. It is strange that these large fish never lay in easy to reach spots but they require different types of casting and many times failure is necessary to learn how to do so.
When we first begin the venture of fishing for men we also face many obstacles that keep us from reaching them. But we must never stop learning and try to find what works best. People are all different with different personalities and backgrounds and sometimes it takes a while before we can penetrate these so-called barriers.
So, what are some of these barriers that stand in the way of being a successful winner of souls? The first barrier that I would like to suggest is a barrier of being afraid of what people may think of me. That problem is easily overcome when we are involved enough in their lives so we are not afraid of being who we are; men who care about their lost friends. Once people understand who we are and understand our love for them, those barriers are soon removed and doors opened.
Another barrier, which is one we all face at times, is the barrier of being afraid to fail. But being afraid to fail is once again is easily overcome by realizing the importance that failure plays in our life. We learn our greatest lessons through failures and if we recognize these as being steps towards success, we won't give up. A third barrier we face is in not knowing what to say. Believe me, that happens to people who have been through all the conferences and seminars on soul winning, and when it comes to actual confrontation of people that's the way we always feel inside. But be of good cheer, Moses used that same excuse and look what God did with his life. God promised to give us the words to speak and sometimes they are not flowery discourses of some plan that we memorized. Often God will just give us a word appropriate for a situation. When our hearts are right, and our motives are pure, God will act. Sometimes God's word is to not say anything or react to anyone because maybe silence is the proper answer now.
Being a friend and servant to others is so important. When they can't understand our language they surely can understand our love and that's where it all begins. As far as reaching the target, remember that the target for winning souls to Christ is usually the place of opportunity. If we stay isolated in the Christian hothouse, and never venture into the world of lost men, we are greatly hindering our opportunities to share the good news
Paul the Apostle reminds us of the necessity of not being hindered by obstacles when he declares to us our goal. “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. (Romans 10: 14,15)
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