From the USA Today piece Study: Youth See Christians As Judgemental, Anti-Gay we get a good look at the inward focused on the self new evangelicalism espoused by one of its “stars,” which also happens to be just as evident in the Emerging Church through men like Rob Bell:

Andy Stanley, senior pastor of North Point Ministries in Atlanta, suggested that churches should not focus solely on converting people, as has been the emphasis for generations.

“If we were able to rewrite the script for the reputation of Christianity, I think we would put the emphasis on developing relationships with non-believers, serving them, loving them, and making them feel accepted,” he wrote. “Only then would we earn the right to share the gospel.”

There’s every reason to think that Stanley’s broad-brush pop-art painting plays very well to our notoriously capricious culture but the fact is those of us who hold to proper Biblical theology don’t teach that churches should “focus solely on converting people.” At the same time, that the “converting [of] people…has been the emphasis for generations” really shouldn’t surprise a pastor because it is the secondary mission of local churches. The first being the building up of the Christian to maturity in Christ in order that the Lord may then use them in service as He wills.

Stanley also errs if indeed he thinks that it is the mission of the Body of Christ to “rewrite the script for the reputation of Christianity.” Obviously our glorious and majestic, great and mighty, Christ told us to love God and our fellow man—in that order. However, even as we share the genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ with unbelievers as gently, lovingly and patiently as we possibly can, we have zero control over how a person is going to receive it. And if we end up being so concerned with our presentation, and with not offending people, then as Dr. Walter Martin used to say: “We’ll never get around to preaching the Gospel.”

Now let’s put this old seeker sensitive new evangelical and emerging church chestnut, that somehow we must “earn the right to share the gospel,” to beddie-bye once and for all from Scripture: So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21). Now quite obviously the Master did not have the time to develop “relationships with non-believers, serving them, loving them, and making them feel accepted” in every single town where He preached His Gospel.

And no doubt many people in Jerusalem at that time for the Feast would also have heard Peter’s Pentecost sermon but wouldn’t have known him from Adam. It looks to me like God the Holy Spirit blessed this approach as well by converting 3,000 and then recording it in Scripture. As nice as he may be, I’m on very solid ground when I say that in his life Andy Stanley never saw 3,000 people completely converted like that to Christ.