whatever happened to evangelism?
over the last while, i've been thinking and praying alot about the gospel and our call to be "gospelizers". i've been chewing on the account of the early church, and the reality of our life in Christ in reference to all this...
i wish i could say this entry would be one brilliant flowing thought, but it won't be. i'm far from piecing this all together, and more just wanted to share with you some of my thoughts, longings and questions and invite you to think and explore and pray with me...
first of all, the whole language of sales. ah... like you (i'm sure), i'm pretty wary of conversations on evangelism that use sales language (selling Jesus, convinced about the product, marketing). it seems to miss the boat. it seems to miss out on the profoundly Spirit-ual work of evangelism, and the reality that we are introducing people to a God who is alive and personal (as opposed to selling God as a service or experience or product). ever since i read Justyn Rees' book, "Love Your Neighbors for God's sake", i've been drawn to thinking of evangelism as helping make an introduction (i.e. introducing people to Jesus, inviting people to join me in getting to know Jesus).
another approach to evangelism that grabs me is the idea of being a Christian "docent". let me explain... at many art museums you will find staff called "docents". the term is derived from the latin word for "to teach", but in this setting it refers to someone who understands the ins-and-outs of the artwork on the walls of a gallery, and roams around helping people make sense of what they are staring at.
ie. you might be staring quizzically at a rembrandt and a docent will come by and ask you, "do you know what you are looking at?" you'll sheepishly say, "not really". and they will fill in some of the story behind the artist and the scene, the context of its creation, the symbolism and artistic intent. they don't necessarily answer all your questions, but help you enough so that you can meaningfully engage with the art before you.
along with being one of the coolest jobs out there, i think the work of a docent is analogous to the work of the evangelist. we are called/invited to enter into the lives of others, to help them make sense of God's work in their lives, of God's heart towards them, of God's revelation to them... they are already interacting with God (and He with them), we just come in to help them make sense of it, to help them enter into a more meaningful dialogue, to help them respond to what God has initiated.
but all that said (and i gotta say, it sounds pretty cool), i'm often at a loss for how to go about this. most of the time, i have a hard time knowing whats going on, knowing where my neighbors are at, and how i can truly enter the dialogue that God is seeking to have with them.
hence, my growing desire to learn from others in this... others who have been gifted with (or have cultivated) the wisdom of how to discern where others are at, and how to enter in in ways that will help more than hinder... [hence, i've invited Les to come and teach us. Even though i know that some of his language about evangelism is sales/marketing language, i know from the testimony of his life that he is one who understands well how to meet people where they are and help them take a step closer to God... an ability that Christ had, and thus a dance that i'm hoping to catch the rhythm of...]
the more i read the book of Acts and the New Testament letters (i.e. everything after Pentecost), the more i'm gripped/pierced by the early Christians passion to introduce others (everyone) to Christ, to help others understand the truth of the gospel, to help others respond to Christ and become his followers... 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (which was the text that Les referred to this past sunday) is one of those passages. it almost needs to be read loudly and short of breath. v.22, "i have become all things to all people so that by all possible means i might save some..." that verse stirs me. Paul's heart beat for the lost--those who had not yet come to receive the embrace of God in Christ. Paul's model stirs me. i see Jesus, i see the heart of the Father in him. and its been drawing me to my knees before God--that i might be so gripped by the gospel that i too would be consumed with this passion...
and yet in the midst of knowing that evangelism is central to following Christ, its become as unfamiliar as fasting to many of us.
putting lives to our words... thats where a lot of this got messed up. thats why evangelism has often become a dirty word, something that many of us now cringe at. because its been divorced from the witness of gospelized lives...
but sadly, i think many of us have swung too far, in that now are grappling for how to put words to our lives. our lives don't speak for themselves. we need to once again to words to our lives. to discern how to articulate the grace and truth of Christ that pervades our lives so that others will be able to make sense of what they see.
again another link to the work of the docent... in a sense, we are God's art, whom the world is staring at, and we need to speak into the confusion and help bring clarity to what our lives are communicating...
lastly (at least for now), is evangelism a life or death issue..? yes. but not just in the sense that this is often expressed.
yes, it has profound implications for life after death (and death after death), but it has profound implications for life now, and death now (in this life). Jesus talked about eternity. we can't deny that. but just as much, i think even more, he talked about life here and now. and evangelism needs to be driven by that hunger--for others to know Christ, life, grace, forgiveness, healing, wholeness today, here and now, and beyond...
jesus wasn't silent. how is it that we have become so silent? if anything, these are days when we desperately need to put lives to our words, and words to our lives. for Christ's sake. and for the sake of our world...
i'll stop there. i hope that my thoughts help you as you continue to make sense of what Christ, by his Spirit, is doing in your life.
your companion in the journey, scott b. anderson
posted by parkside padre at 1:10 PM
4 Comments:
I think that sometimes, what I have a problem with is the ways people evangelize. The salesman pitching you a better life though a newest toaster-oven or thought a relationship with Jesus is nothing new. I peronaly don't relate well to that sort of approach.
I think the thing that is an even bigger issue for me is the 'thing'(or 'gospel') that they are selling. If I can see that the product or philosophy is GOOD, then I will likely buy into it - even if the salesman pisses me off!
When I hear someone directing me to a Gospel of Jesus that I don't agree with, they can expect that I will not be very accomidating to what they are trying to do (evangelize). It's not that I don't accept Jesus. It's just that I think Jesus is different than how the person is trying to present him.
I think that in the end it's 'matter' over 'means'.
Now matter plays a very important role in evangelism. Sometimes we make means the goal, though. When I was working in a volunteer position and a Radio Station I saw that some music that was of lesser quality get more air-time than music of greater quality. The reason this happened was that there was better marketing in place for the worse song. I know, a market analogy... but you see my point. The thing that touches a persons heart and grips their very being is a better song not better marketing.
I was going to carry on about matter but I've written too much anyways. See you sunday if I don't see you here first.
2:53 AM
rex and brendan et all...
"The thing that touches a persons heart and grips their very being is a better song not better marketing." man, i love that. thats something i've been grappling with over the last while. in many regards, although i do think we need some help in learning how to sing it (cause, lets be honest, you can butcher a good song), we need to ask some questions about the song--to make sure it is the gospel (i.e. good news that grips the heart of the humble and hungry).
more and more, the question that i've been seeking to gain renewed clarity on is "what is the gospel?" (a question we're gonna explore together at parkside). is the gospel (as we know it) the same gospel that Jesus declared and revealed, the same gospel that overflowed from the lives and lips of the apostles and early church, the same gospel that out lives the Roman empire and has transformed the lives of men and women throughout history?.. we need to rediscover THAT song.
brendan, as to your thoughts, part of me says "YES!!" and part of me says "well...".
the paradigm your emphasizing is Jesus' paradigm: he called a little huddle to himself and invest the next 3 years in them (day in and day out), and then send them out to disciple others. there is no better way to evangelize (not seperate from, but another word for "make disciples").
[by the way, with you, i would say that evangelism hasn't done its work if it doesn't result in helping others become true disciples of Jesus]...
back to what i was saying, there's no better way to evangelize/make disciples, but its not the ONLY way.
many of us (myself included) have never had another human disciple us in the way you've described, and yet here we are whole-heartedly seeking Christ and seeking to disciple and make disciples. i would honestly say that i've been faithfully discipled every day of my life--but its been through the coming together of many different people influencing my life: friends, older mentors, pastors and teachers, dead people who've written books--all sovereignly pieced together by the Holy Spirit who spends every waking and sleeping moment with me.
from this vantage point, i would say that i've been discipled by Jesus (through the agency of His Spirit speaking and teaching and leading me through His Word, and His people and His work in His world).
all that to say, i'm convinced Jesus is calling us (by the model of his life) to seriously invest ourselves in the lives of others (friends, neighbors, our kids), to re-think our lives so as to make room to walk alongside of others in significant ways (to cultivate divine-friendships where we can reveal Christ and the Christ-life as we share life together)...
but with this, i've also seen how God can use momentary encounters, short-lived friendships, weekly home-groups, authors, and sunday preachers to lead and teach and transform us.
scott
11:01 AM
A good discussion guys...scott, can you check out some of your greek and hebrew books, and give the definition of the word evangelism or the context? the dictionary seems to define it as "zealous preaching or spreading of the gospel"...now is that their perception of what christians have done or are doing or was that even the original intent? it seems that the word does not really come up in the bible except for describing that some are evangelists...and some are teachers, etc....i would be be curious to unpackage this word more...some other thoughts... as much as Jesus went to many people, it also seems that many people came to Jesus...i assume that he was invitational...willing to meet people's needs...a sense of partnering with people...i like the metaphor Mclaren uses...dancing with people...entering the conversation...I don't disagree with what has been said...but is the context today the same as 2000 years ago...the message is the same, but the means may be different...our time and place in history has changed...we usually base our evangelistic endeavours on the Great Commission...which is fine...but somewhere that needs to go hand in hand in with the Great Commandment...why do Matthew and Mark inlude the GC, but not Luke and John...Jesus tells us to do as the Good Samaritan...to be a good neighbour...why does the term evangelism create sentiments of my neighbours wanting to flee away from me as opposed to draw near to me or follow me...am I still a good neighbour? does action with silence speak louder than words? i am not expert in any of these, but I feel that staying up til 12:30am looking for my neighbours lost dog may communicate more than me zealously giving doctrine...maybe evangelism has not gone, but maybe just the face of it has changed...maybe how it worked 20 years ago, 50 years ago, 100 years ago, or 2000 years ago...was good for then...and maybe elements of those times are still good today...I think that Jesus knew people and knew his culture...I think the challenge for me is to know people and know my culture...and that's scarry too..
1:57 PM
the word "evangelism" comes from the greek word 'euangelion', which is literally where we get the word 'gospel' or 'good news/good message' from. [notice the prefix 'eu' as in eulogy (literally 'good word'). also notice the word 'angel' which really means messenger).
throughout the gospels, we're told that Jesus proclaimed and revealed the evangelion (the good news), and he called his followers to do the same. to proclaim/declare and to reveal it...
as to the question, "does action with silence speak louder than words?" you mean "words alone" i'm thinking. maybe. in some settings probably. but Christ's model is neither in isolation.
but you know what, i think we're on the same page, longing for the same thing... that our lives would ring out with the reality of Christ that others would hear our song and be drawn to join us in the Way of Christ...
10:27 AM
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