Weddings and Funerals: Times to Evangelize?

The Roanoke Times recently ran an interesting story about ministers who view funerals and weddings as opportune times to spread the gospel. It included the viewpoints of preaching experts from both sides of the aisle, so to speak.

The Rev. Kenneth Wright of First Baptist Church in the Gainsboro area of Roanoke, Va., advised those attending a funeral: "I want you to turn on your cell phones. Right now. Dial up someone and tell them who you are. I want you to tell them that Jesus died for them, and the preacher said he rose."

Voicing a different opinion in the story was Thomas Long, professor of preaching at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta:

"The deepest danger is that such evangelistic efforts violate the tacit nature of such services," Long said. "To change that agreement, that implicit promise, by turning these occasions into revivals, can be a form of ecclesiastical bait-and-switch."