I received a good rejoinder to my breezy dismissal of JW’s trying to witness to me from Terry Wilcox. I realized she was right and accepted her admonition. She gave me permission to post what she wrote me:
My daughter sent me your blog posted earlier this month regarding Jehovah’s Witnesses. She thought I might enjoy it since I spent 35 years of my life within the confines of that cult. Praise the Lord that in His abundant Love the veil of lies was removed and I am now a Christian.
I truly appreciated your honesty in this blog, however, I’d like to address another perspective.
God has placed a heavy burden on my heart for those people. I pray regularly that God will completely tear down their organization; that it’s leaders will admit the string of lies they’ve sold to trusting people, including it’s corrupt version of God’s Holy Word.
As the founder of a missions organization and a man of influence, I have to honestly say that it was with some sadness that I read your response to the ones that found you. I have to tell you that your comment probably meant absolutely nothing to them, as they had no idea to what you were referring. In fact, as I look back, when someone gave a quick response and then closed the door, a frequent comment was “if they really believed they had the truth, why didn’t they share it with us.” It could appear arrogant and uncaring and further cement their conviction that they are right.
They ‘know’ they have “the truth” more convincingly than the vast majority of Christians and they can show you from the Bible why that’s true. Most are extremely committed, sincere, hardworking and studious individuals. And they have all that without an intimate relationship with God and without knowing the truth about Jesus Christ! What a boon to true Christianity over 6 million of these people worldwide could potentially be!
But how do we reach them? I most humbly suggest that a first place to start would be to ask how Christ would respond to them if he walked the earth today. Perhaps he would see them as he did the crowds mentioned at Matthew 9:36 – “he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
While Jehovah’s Witnesses are not the mission field God has called you to, might I just implore you that as a man who is looked to by others, greater consideration be given to creating a benchmark that says that as Christians we see them as lost sheep needing salvation as opposed to a nuisance worthy of little more than a cursory response or a slammed door.
I truly appreciated Chad Mast’s blog where he relates the considerable effort to reason with and share truth with the one man he met. His heart for the lost is apparent from each post and he didn’t stop for the lost sheep with the label ‘Jehovah’s Witness’. I thank God for people like him!
I thank God for people like you as well. There are billions of lost sheep in many walks of life that need to hear the gospel, that need to see the love of Christ demonstrated in their lives. I pray our Father’s continued blessing on your efforts to reach as many as possible. And I thank you for your time and consideration.
Terry Wilcox
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That was a phenomenally gracious and loving post, yet she spoke the correction firmly, w/o apologizing for possibly offending you. What I don’t like is the conviction on my heart. Can we have correction w/o conviction, please? Thank you, Seth, for receiving correction so graciously yourself. You and Mrs. Wilcox are both following Christ, and have an example worth following.
yeah, well, Jesus came looking for me that way (and still does when I wander). how can I not try to do the same for others, or at least aspire to?
Father, I pray that you would touch the lives of those that are lost and bring them to the truth.
JWs are some of the most committed people I have met and Terri is right, what they would do for the kingdom if Satan’s misdirection was taken out of their lives.
Praise God and for all the old JW’s lay everything down and believe in the true TRUTH!