--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An evangelist no more imposes his views…" description: "\"An evangelist no more imposes his views on others than a pilot imposes his views on his passengers when he lands a plane on a runway. I bet the passeng..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-dever-3175_evangelists_an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views_2256128.png" --- # An evangelist no more imposes his views on others than a… ![“An evangelist no more imposes his views on others than a pilot imposes his views on his passengers when he lands a plane on a runway. I bet the passengers are glad!” quote by Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-dever-3175_evangelists_an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views_2256128.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-dever-3175_evangelists_an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views_2256128.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-dever-3175_evangelists_an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views_2256128.png) > “An evangelist no more imposes his views on others than a pilot imposes his views on his passengers when he lands a plane on a runway. I bet the passengers are glad!” [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An evangelist imposing beliefs is likened to a pilot forcing control, implying that overbearing proselytizing is unnecessary and passengers (listeners) prefer freedom. **In simple terms:** Evangelists shouldn't force beliefs, like pilots shouldn't dominate passengers. Key Takeaway Respect others’ autonomy. Themes religion authority freedom Mood respectful conciliatory Type theological ethical When to use this quote - churches - public speaking - media Key Concepts theology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can one share beliefs without imposing? - What boundaries respect both parties? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex faith dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evangelist Imposes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelist-imposes-5172104/) [Evangelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelists/) [Glad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glad/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Passengers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passengers/) [Passengers Glad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passengers-glad-5172101/) [Passengers Lands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passengers-lands-5172105/) [Pilot Imposes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pilot-imposes-5172102/) [Pilots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pilots/) [Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plane/) [Planes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planes/) [Runway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runway/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Views Passengers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views-passengers-5172103/) ## Related quotes > [Evangelism is not simply looking at someone and saying, "Look, you have to become a Christian". Instead, an evangelist tells us the truth about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/evangelism-is-not-simply-looking-at-someone-and-saying-look-you-have/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Every believer should evangelize. I know some Christians think that evangelism is only for people with special gifts for it, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/every-believer-should-evangelize-i-know-some-christians-think-that/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [All evangelists want to do is share a message about the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. But our world is confused by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/all-evangelists-want-to-do-is-share-a-message-about-the-forgiveness/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [If you are not offending people, then you are not an evangelist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/if-you-are-not-offending-people-then-you-are-not-an-evangelist/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Evangelists have absolutely no desire to physically or emotionally coerce anyone. In a sense, we are like doctors: we have a duty to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/evangelists-have-absolutely-no-desire-to-physically-or-emotionally/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [In childhood our credulity serves us well. It helps us to pack, with extraordinary rapidity, our skulls full of the wisdom of our parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/in-childhood-our-credulity-serves-us-well-it-helps-us-to-pack-with/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [TV evangelists say they don't favor any particular denomination, but I think we've all seen their eyes light up at tens and twenties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/tv-evangelists-say-they-don-t-favor-any-particular-denomination-but-i/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [Of course, I don't mean to imply that all writers are working in the deep waters that border on the divine. Most writers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/of-course-i-don-t-mean-to-imply-that-all-writers-are-working-in-the/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [There is no better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/there-is-no-better-evangelist-in-the-world-than-the-holy-spirit/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [It was my duty to give them the best show possible. Say you've got a timid little preacher in North Carolina or somewhere. He'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjoe-gortner/it-was-my-duty-to-give-them-the-best-show-possible-say-you-ve-got-a/) [Marjoe Gortner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjoe-gortner/) > [It is the philosophers, theologians, and evangelists who are said to be filled with pride and bigotry due to the strong convictions that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-the-philosophers-theologians-and-evangelists-who-are-said-to-be/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Our Lord Jesus Christ, a little before his departure, commissioned his apostles to Go, and teach all nations; or, as another evangelist expresses it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/our-lord-jesus-christ-a-little-before-his-departure-commissioned-his/) [William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/) > [The gifts that Yeshua left in the earth realm to enforce His authority were apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists. The gift that gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-pierce/the-gifts-that-yeshua-left-in-the-earth-realm-to-enforce-his/) [Chuck Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-pierce/) > [“What that means, in a practical way, is that we strive to know and love a few people deeply. We don’t have to distribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judson-edwards/what-that-means-in-a-practical-way-is-that-we-strive-to-know-and-love/) [Judson Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judson-edwards/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Mark Dever > [“not the writings that come from prophets inspired by the one true God revealed in Jesus Christ, then why do we find those passages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/not-the-writings-that-come-from-prophets-inspired-by-the-one-true-god/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I think it's unhelpful to suggest that the task of evangelism is essentially the responsibility of ministers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/i-think-it-s-unhelpful-to-suggest-that-the-task-of-evangelism-is/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [What really concerns me is for Christians to understand the fundamentals of evangelism in a way that is helpful in the contemporary scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/what-really-concerns-me-is-for-christians-to-understand-the/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Prayer is the preview of God's action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/prayer-is-the-preview-of-god-s-action/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I assume that normally the Lord will be bringing people to himself through the instrumentality of the preached word. However, we have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/i-assume-that-normally-the-lord-will-be-bringing-people-to-himself/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [“The motive for discipling others begins in the love of God and nothing less. He has loved us in Christ, and so we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/the-motive-for-discipling-others-begins-in-the-love-of-god-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [If joy or urgency are missing from our presentation of the gospel, then our testimony to Christ will be missing that sort of fullness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/if-joy-or-urgency-are-missing-from-our-presentation-of-the-gospel/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [“Yet the Bible teaches that the local church is the natural environment for discipling. In fact, it teaches that the local church is itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/yet-the-bible-teaches-that-the-local-church-is-the-natural/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Sin claims to free but in fact it kills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/sin-claims-to-free-but-in-fact-it-kills/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Some believers are faithful in the way that they live, but at the end of the day, they will not share the gospel with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/some-believers-are-faithful-in-the-way-that-they-live-but-at-the-end/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [We do not fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not subsequently converted; we fail only if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/we-do-not-fail-in-our-evangelism-if-we-faithfully-tell-the-gospel-to/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Once we see more of our need and understand more of what Christ has done for us, he will become more precious to us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/once-we-see-more-of-our-need-and-understand-more-of-what-christ-has/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Unfortunately, many of our churches calibrate their life to these nominal Christians. The predictable result is that you get fake, hypocritical churches that confuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/unfortunately-many-of-our-churches-calibrate-their-life-to-these/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) [Explore all 137 Mark Dever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) ## More Evangelists quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“What that means, in a practical way, is that we strive to know and love a few people deeply. We don’t have to distribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judson-edwards/what-that-means-in-a-practical-way-is-that-we-strive-to-know-and-love/) [Judson Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judson-edwards/) > [The gifts that Yeshua left in the earth realm to enforce His authority were apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists. The gift that gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-pierce/the-gifts-that-yeshua-left-in-the-earth-realm-to-enforce-his/) [Chuck Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-pierce/) > [Our Lord Jesus Christ, a little before his departure, commissioned his apostles to Go, and teach all nations; or, as another evangelist expresses it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/our-lord-jesus-christ-a-little-before-his-departure-commissioned-his/) [William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/) > [It is the philosophers, theologians, and evangelists who are said to be filled with pride and bigotry due to the strong convictions that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-the-philosophers-theologians-and-evangelists-who-are-said-to-be/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [It was my duty to give them the best show possible. Say you've got a timid little preacher in North Carolina or somewhere. He'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjoe-gortner/it-was-my-duty-to-give-them-the-best-show-possible-say-you-ve-got-a/) [Marjoe Gortner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjoe-gortner/) > [There is no better evangelist in the world than the Holy Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/there-is-no-better-evangelist-in-the-world-than-the-holy-spirit/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [Of course, I don't mean to imply that all writers are working in the deep waters that border on the divine. Most writers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keck/of-course-i-don-t-mean-to-imply-that-all-writers-are-working-in-the/) [Kevin Keck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keck/) > [TV evangelists say they don't favor any particular denomination, but I think we've all seen their eyes light up at tens and twenties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/tv-evangelists-say-they-don-t-favor-any-particular-denomination-but-i/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [In childhood our credulity serves us well. It helps us to pack, with extraordinary rapidity, our skulls full of the wisdom of our parents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/in-childhood-our-credulity-serves-us-well-it-helps-us-to-pack-with/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Commemoration of Richard Meux Benson, Founder of the Society of St John the Evangelist, 1915 Our critical day is not the very day of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/commemoration-of-richard-meux-benson-founder-of-the-society-of-st/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Evangelists have absolutely no desire to physically or emotionally coerce anyone. In a sense, we are like doctors: we have a duty to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/evangelists-have-absolutely-no-desire-to-physically-or-emotionally/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [Now when the historic religions give trivial answers to these very tragic questions of our day, when an evangelist says, for instance, we mustn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/now-when-the-historic-religions-give-trivial-answers-to-these-very/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [I want to submit to you tonight that this country is not gospel-hardened; it is gospel-ignorant because most of its preachers are. And let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/i-want-to-submit-to-you-tonight-that-this-country-is-not-gospel/) [Paul Washer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-washer/) > [“The greatest evangelists do not have the loudest voices; they have the softest ears.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-r-torgerson/the-greatest-evangelists-do-not-have-the-loudest-voices-they-have-the/) [Chad R. Torgerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-r-torgerson/) [Browse all 95 Evangelists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evangelists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An evangelist no more imposes his views on others than a pilot imposes his views on his passengers when he lands a plane on a runway. I bet the passengers are glad!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Dever" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views-on-others-than-a-pilot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evangelists" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views-on-others-than-a-pilot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-dever-3175_evangelists_an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views_2256128.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-dever-3175_evangelists_an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views_2256128.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/mark-dever-3175_evangelists_an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views_2256128.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An evangelist no more imposes his views on others than a pilot imposes his views on his passengers when he…” — Mark Dever", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Dever", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An evangelist no more imposes his...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views-on-others-than-a-pilot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/an-evangelist-no-more-imposes-his-views-on-others-than-a-pilot/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```