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.

True Confessions.. duh duh duhhhhhh...

Interesting experience... As swarms of trendy/artsy looking individuals and men that look like old washed up pastors looking for the next trend to latch on to scurry from session to session, I can't help but feel a bit out of place...

I'm not trendy... And I'd like to think I don't think I qualify as a person looking to hook up with the next trend (which will prove to be hollow as people attempt to replicate methods without genuine/authentic heart behind it, but that's a different post)...

So I'm stuck somewhere in the middle...

I find myself in this position quite a bit... I frequently don't feel like I actually belong or fit in... I know that almost everyone would say they feel like this so it's completely normal, blah, blah, blah, but I really am at a weird place...

I don't fit in at work/church... long story with lots of thoughts... I'll save it for later...
I don't fit in with my age group... I'm a college kid still... Often I feel like I'm surrounded by all these trendy individuals listening to music I've never heard of, wearing clothes I can't pull off, and using words I have to look up... I used to be cool... Now I'm old...
I don't fit in with friends. I feel awkward all the time (something I do to myself... and which I often take joy in...) and I often feel pretty lonely...
I sometimes don't even fit in with my family... How lame is that! I have an awesome family, but I've been at school for the last 3 years... sometimes I need to ask my brother where things are in the house because they've moved around... Sometimes my family has inside jokes that I'm not a part of (seriously lame!!!)...

It's a weird place and I don't like it... I've got a few things I'm trying to move past this, but I still feel a bit stuck...

I know I'm surrounded by people that love me... My family rocks, I have friends, and I have a little support at church/work (very little)... but I still feel like I can complain (a major failing in my life).

I don't know where I'm going with all this... It started as an acknowledgement of visible differences at this conference and ended in wollowing in self-pity...
But I guess there's always light at the end of the tunnel...
A savior that carries us through times that we feel alone...
Scripture littered with promises and prophecies...

And in the end, Jesus loves me, this I know...

Isaiah 58: True Fast/Worship?

So, I stumbled back across a passage that I had forgotten about, and it was pretty intense. Isaiah is calling out the people of Israel about their fasting practices, and it's unsettling. When I read this I swapped out the word "Fast" for "Worship"... And it's kind of intense... Isaiah 58:1-8

¹ "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.

² For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.

³ 'Why have we [worshiped],' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your [worship], you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

⁴ Your [worship] ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot [worship] as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.

⁵ Is this the kind of [worship] I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call [worship],
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

⁶ "Is not this the kind of [worship] I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Yikes!

How often do we focus on Sunday mornings and forget that our worship spans beyond that time together... Worship is so much more than a once a week ritual!

We are called to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God... That is our spiritual act of worship!!! We cannot settle for going with the flow... We are called to be counter-cultural, to meet people's needs, to love people, to rattle cages, to be excellent examples of who Christ is... that is a huge order!!!

How can we do this? What does it look like to live life totally for Christ? What about the tough situations? What about the comforts of the American lifestyle? What does a life lived for the Lord look like in the 21st century!?

Child-like Faith?

So recently I had a bit of a revelation...

I was on Spring Break and was frantically trying to catch up on my schoolwork. I was spending like 6-7 hours a day at Starbucks reading all this lofty theology crap... Like we're talking various atonement theories and stuff that is just beyond me... And I was getting so bogged down, like really struggling, not only in understanding all the stuff I was reading, but I realized that since I have been in college, I often view my faith/Christ as an academic practice, and fail to acknowledge the simplicity that is inherent in Christ's work.

Somewhere I read an account of modern theologian Karl Barth and his experience speaking at some prestigious and highbrow conference. He was speaking on some complicated issues that I can't even pronounce to people with degrees I've never even heard of... And the story goes that one of the doctorate students asked Barth, "What is the most profound truth that you have come across in your study of the Christian Faith?" Barth froze and thought for a few seconds, and then began to slowly say, "Jesus loves me, this I know, because the Bible tells me so... Little ones to him belong, they are weak and He is strong..." Apparently people began to chuckle, and then realizing the severity of this basic statement began to fall silent...

In the midst of my theological frenzy examining the work of Christ, I had begun to overlook the simple truth that a child could recount. Jesus Christ, who healed the blind, fed the hungry, and raised the dead... is risen!!! I had to stop right there in the Starbucks and spend about 20 minutes just reflecting on the simple truth of the Gospel.

So how do we live out "child-like" faith?
Is there such a thing as pursuing knowledge "too much"?
How do we balance acknowledging the simplicity of the Gospel and our own need for complex structures and understandings?

It's a tricky thing... And I certainly do not have it figured out... I am still getting bogged down by my theology classes and the "Bible Study" that I am a part of which is more of a theology debate than an honest look at scripture and each other...

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