Evangelism: A Manifesto

Evangelism

What a loaded word. For some it brings a feeling of intense fear/embarrassment, for others there is a sense of guilt surrounding it, and still for others a sense of pain or simply annoyance.

The whole thing is really just sharing our faith with those we know and love... Seems simple enough.

Shouldn't evangelism be something we are as opposed to something we do? Our entire lives should be emanating the light of Christ. Shouldn't we simply live lives that clearly illustrate the Gospel of Christ rather than memorizing cheesy slogans/diagrams and handing out condemning tracts on street corners whenever we schedule it into our week/month/year?

One of the women from the church I work at said:
"It's like we build it up to a whole huge thing and we get so scared of messing something up or not knowing something that it gets to the point where we're so terrified of the idea of discussing faith that we avoid it all together..."

I think there's a lot of validity in that statement... We don't need to deliver a certain number of truths or a specific doctrine in a clear organized manner to be sharing Christ's love with someone...

Doesn't a simple act of service speak louder? How about a genuine conversation that contains no trace of condemnation or judgment? How about allowing the passion you have for Christ's work in this world to find its place in your regular interactions throughout the day, rather than awkwardly trying to fit cheesy cliches and loaded questions into those interactions...

Now at the same time I don't want to encourage sitting around doing nothing... I've heard that message... "Preach the Gospel, use words when necessary!" And in some ways that's exactly what I'm musing about here, but I'm fearful (because it has been the case in my own experience) that clinging too tightly to this can become an excuse for laziness and timidity.

I can't always find that balance, and definitely can't find that for you...

Maybe you are that taxi driver who asks every person who enters their cab if they know Jesus Christ, not because you are filling a quota, but because you are so legitimately excited about Christ's work in your life that you can't help but let that enter the conversation...

Or maybe you are the mom who won't let your kids friends sleep over at the house on a Saturday night unless the kids join in going to church the next morning because "as for you and your house you will serve the Lord"

Or maybe you are that college student who visits the same pizza place week after week and as you get to know the guy who works the counter at the same time every week you begin to share more and more of each others lives...

Either way, the Glory of God is not something we can suppress, smother, or snuff out... We must allow our lives to speak of His wonders and make His name known in this world.

Wheeeeeee!!!

I haven't actually posted anything in quite a while... I've got some posts in progress that I never got around to putting up, but I felt inspired... I'm back...

So I'm on the tail end of a slide...

I have less than 3 months of my Trinity Christian College career left.. wow...

I feel as though I am on the tail end of a slide at the playground. You know how you start out and it's kinda scary, and you are hesitant at first, but once you go for it you pick up speed and pick up speed until the slide levels out and ends?

I'm about to level out.

Life is flying by faster than it ever has before, and I am just trying to get the most out of each day...

This means that my Academic life is suffering, and my wallet is continuously growing thinner and thinner, but at least I am enjoying the company of people and trying to make myself available rather than cloistered...

All in all I am excited about what is going on so far this semester... I have been taking more and more time to enjoy life and avoid responsibility (probably not a great thing) and I have been learning to keep my eyes open a bit more for God's hand in my presence...

So in conclusion (I'm a senior now, so I have finally learned that every paper has to have a clearly identified conclusive statement)... I'm doing my best to say WHEEEEEE!!! as the slide starts to level out and I prepare to go flying off into the mulch to get my butt dirty...