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.

Really Kuyper?

So I started talking about this with one of my professors a bit the other day...

Abraham Kuyper is a championed individual in the Reformed Tradition, and he did a lot of impressive stuff... He was a pastor, reformer, newspaper editor, Parliament member, and even Prime Minister... However, I am not in support of some of his ideologies. In fact, my interpretation of his ideals and influence frustrate me to an extreme...

Kuyper stood at the forefront of "pillarization" which was a movement that has had intense influence on Christianity. The idea is that Christians develop their own institutions and structures for the sake of being in Christian community and almost being the "light on a hill". This means the development of Christian schools, Christian businesses, Christian supermarkets, Christian fitness centers, Christian newspapers, Christian universities, Christian Sports Clubs, etc...

Hey here's a great idea... let's take all of the local Christians... and put them in secluded locations... then, all the "heathens" can see how much fun the Christians are having with their supermarkets, and how smart they get in their secluded schools, and how productive their businesses are, or how holy their sports leagues are, and then they can feel like they're missing out and want to join in on all the anointed fun!!!

That's what Jesus said about being salt and light right? Go create isolated institutions so that all those "pagans" can look at you and see what's up... But don't get your hands dirty actually getting involved in peoples lives and honestly sharing how messy you are/how God has worked in your life...

Way to go Kuyper... thanks for the seclusion!!!

What happened to being "in the world, but not of the world"? Or becoming "all things to all people for the sake of the Gospel"? How do you build relationships with those who do not know Christ by going through the Christian school system to then get a job at a Christian business so you can afford to go to the fitness center in your church and pay to be in the christian softball league?

All this stemmed from a discussion about Christian Bookstores...

I am not trying to say that all of these things are inherently evil or wrong, because everything can have its place, but how can we who are to be making disciples to the ends of the earth going to develop meaningful relationships with people unless we are actually in the world!?

Is there a proper balance between these christian structures and "secular" structures?
Should there even be a divide between Sacred/Secular? Or should we begin to look for God working in all things? We can't put God in a box by limiting God to revealing God's self through channels that we deem acceptable...

I think we need to be aware of how we are approaching the world, while also being aware of how the world is influencing us... I just think that seclusion is not the correct approach...


And that's all I have to say about that...

Let's get them sinners and turn em' into Saints! - ???

So I'm in an Evangelism class right now... and it's bogus.

My professor has all the makings of an exciting teacher. He is from Africa, he is a pastor, and has had some crazy experiences... But this remains in the top 3 worst classes I have taken my entire life.

Our big assignment for the course was to go out and manufacture a relationship with a "sinner" to get them to turn to Christ and to record the process in a journal.

I can not explain to you how hollow and sleazy that feels... Christ calls us to love people. There is a lot involved with loving people (most of which I don't yet understand) and I am sure that building up faulty friendships with the intent of "exploiting" them and then moving on if the effort seems futile is not what Christ had in mind. I understand how necessary it is to share the 'good news', and I recognize that there is a definite sense of urgency involved, as we don't know what tomorrow holds for us. But I cannot get beyond the cheapness of a hollow relationship.

St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

I don't want to reduce sharing faith to just living your life or to give permission to be lazy evangelists, as this quote has been abused by so many, but I do think that inherent in loving people is the desire to share the 'good news' with them and to offer a helping hand as a true friend.

How do we get past the mentality of exploiting friendships, while still pursuing people who do not know the Lord?
How do we balance being lazy/timid proclaimers of our faith and trying to primarily show Christ through our day to day lives?
What part does Post-Modern Relativism play in this whole thing? I have been doing a lot of reading regarding 'emerging' generations and churches and am still trying to get a grasp on the level of pluralism and relativism that is inherent in Post-Modernity, but what approaches do we as Christians take in response to the troublesome aspects that come along with some of the freedoms and exciting parts of Post-Modernism?

And that's all I have to say about that...