The Phantom Mailer Strikes Again

About once every three months I get a call from a member of our community who has received anonymous correspondence from someone who has torn out pages from a tract that we don’t use or a resource that we don’t recommend and has then told that person to come to our church. I’ve come to affectionately refer to that person as Baptist Fellowship’s “Phantom Mailer.”

Here is my plea to the Phantom Mailer.”

Please Stop!

You aren’t helping!

This time the” Phantom Mailer” tore a page from a “bible in one year” reading plan and sent it anonymously to a woman in Hebron. Her comments to me was that it was “creepy” to receive that correspondence with no personal name, no contact information, no return address but with our Church’s name and incorrect service times listed.

 I agree, “creepy” indeed.

My hunch is that the “Phantom Mailer” doesn’t even attend  our church. How could they? They never have the service times correct.  But if that person ever happens to stumble across this blog then, please, hear this pastor’s plea, for the sake of the gospel, stop it.

You are driving people away from our church.

 Do you realize that not a single person has ever come to Baptist Fellowship because of your anonymous correspondence? On the other hand, the calls from the community that I have received have come from frustrated and angry people who will likely never come to Baptist Fellowship or any other bible believing church precisely because of your anonymous contact with them.

More importantly, you are driving people away from the gospel.

No one has ever thanked me for those anonymous letters you send, no one.

Everyone I have heard from is now suspicious of the message of the gospel because of the suspicious method that you are using, every single one.

Phantom Mailer, please learn what 1 Peter 3:15 means. Sharing Christ must be done respectfully, gently and most importantly, personally.

Jesus personally called the disciples to follow Him, He didn’t send an anonymous letter.

Peter personally preached the gospel in Acts chapter 2, he didn’t send an anonymous letter.

Paul personally wrote to the churches and his proteges.

This is because none of them were ashamed of the gospel they were sharing. 

As a pastor, I don’t read anonymous mail.

 I don’t read it because anyone who isn’t willing to put their name on what they send either doesn’t have the courage to say it with their name attached or they are too ashamed of what they said, or the way they said it, to be held accountable for their own words. 

So, please, Phantom Mailer, don’t discredit the scriptures or the gospel by sending invitations to our church like it is anonymous mail that I wouldn’t read.

If you, Phantom Mailer, would like to learn how to share the good news of Christ then here is how I would recommend you do so.  Incidentally, this is how we have taught people to share the gospel for years at Baptist Fellowship.

1.      Introduce yourself to the person with whom you wish to share the gospel.

2.      Get to know them, show genuine concern and caring for who they are as a person.  Be a good listener.

3.      Pray diligently for them.

4.      Buy them a cup of coffee and share your faith in a gentle and respectful manner.

5.      Invite them to come to the same church you attend.  Be a good example.

 Finally, a word of encouragement to the many people in our congregation who faithfully and personally share their faith regularly in such a fashion.

I am grateful for you. I am proud to serve as your pastor.

If you happen to know our “Phantom Mailer” would you please direct them to this blog?  I am sincerely hoping and praying that 2019 marks the year I stop having to do damage control from the “Phantom Mailer.”