I like David a lot. We became friends a few months ago when I moved to the Los Angeles area. Whenever we hang out, we talk about injustice in our neighborhood, basketball, music we like, and his disinterest in God. I’ve grown to appreciate that he doesn’t treat me awkwardly because I follow Jesus.
To be honest though, most of the time I don’t like evangelizing to David. It seems inconvenient, intrusive, and an extremely fear-filled endeavor. I think this is a very sad problem I have that is due to misconceptions of what evangelism, the gospel, and ultimately Jesus are all about.
Photo by marabou2005 (flickr.com)
Lately, ruminating on the stories of scripture and my relationships with people like David, is forcing me to rethink the dreadful e-word. I wonder if it should be different than so many televangelists and Christian tracts have taught me. What if evangelism is about taking a deep interest in people as creative, interesting image-bearers of God, rather than just sinners desperately in need of good fire insurance? I imagine that evangelism is more about asking questions and listening than dogmatic dictation and relentless arguing. One of my new favorite things to do with David is to ask questions about the ultimate reality that frames how he thinks about injustice, understands relationships, and reflects on the beauty of the world.
This is all making me see evangelism as helping David and others take the next step towards Jesus—whatever that is for them, rather than trying to unload the New Testament in five minutes. Through this, evangelism is becoming more an adventurous journey of joining in the way that God is at work in those around me, rather than trying to “fix” David in one conversation.
So, I’m starting to rethink what it means to evangelize to my friends like David. I realize that we create a lens everyday with our work and words through which people understand the gospel that we proclaim with our lips. As I see my life as part of the process of evangelism and invite people towards real, authentic life in Jesus, I can walk on the road towards enjoying evangelism afresh. I look forward to seeing what this could mean for David.
Today’s post is a guest post from Pastor Trey Clark. Pastor Trey is the youth minister at South Bay Church of Godin Torrance, California.
From this morning’s email newsletter, an article by Dr. Jerry Root. Dr. Root teaches several courses in evangelism at Wheaton College. To learn more about Dr. Root, visit his faculty biography page. To sign up for our free newsletter, click here.
God Works Through Flawed Men and Women
There are many things those who share the Gospel do well to remember. Certainly it is good for us to recall that the message we share is the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness. But, as we carry the Gospel to others it is also good if we remember it is mediated through we who are so flawed and fallen. Have you ever noticed how everyone in the Bible could have introduced himself, or herself, in some kind of recovery group? Imagine it:
“Hi. My name is Abraham. I am a coward and a liar. I would tell a lie to put my wife’s life at risk in order to save my own skin.”
“Hi. We are Isaac and Rebecca and we’re dysfunctional parents.”
“Hi. My name is Jacob and I’m a cheater and a scoundrel.”
“Hi. My name is Aaron. I’m a religious leader; but I cave in to peer pressure.”
“Hi. My name is Miriam. I’m jealous of my little brother Moses and I’m a racist; I’m upset about his inter-racial marriage.”
“Hi. My name is Moses and I’m a hot-head and a murderer.”
“Hi. My name is Naomi and I am bitter.”
“Hi. My name is Samson and I struggle with lust.”
“Hi. My name is David. I am an adulterer and a murderer.”
“Hi. My name is Elijah and I struggle with depression.”
“Hi. My name is Thomas. I struggle with doubts.”
“Hi. My name is Mary Magdalene and I’m a prostitute.”
“Hi. My name is Peter and I let down my best friend when he needed me most.”
“Hi. My name is Timothy. I struggle with paralyzing fears and insecurities.”
“Hi. My name is Paul. I am a Christian killer and I am very difficult to work with.”
As I read about these “heroes of the faith” I see that each one was flawed and yet each did significant Kingdom work. I do not believe that they were rewarded for the flaws; nor do I believe their flaws were unrelated to the good that occurred in their lives. The flaws became grace places; places of humility, which I believe is a synonym for honesty. They came to acknowledge in progressively deeper ways their need of God’s love and mercy. For, to each, in his or her specific need, God came because He loved them; as He loves us. He loves us! He loves us with a love that is not conditioned by our performance…
…In Francis Thompson’s poem “The Hound of Heaven” the hound, who represents God, asks the man who has been running from Him (the man whose live is spent in dissipation), “Human love demands human meriting; how hast thou merited? Of all man’s dingiest clay thou art the dingiest clot. Alas, thou knowest not how unworthy of love thou art. Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee, save me? Save only me. Rise, clasp my hand and come….” The words are very powerful. God’s love is not conditioned by performance and, perhaps, all the men and women listed above, went on to accomplish their greatest work after their hour of crisis because each understood more deeply than they might have otherwise known that God’s love was deeper, richer, wider, and mightier than they ever could have imagined. Furthermore, His forgiveness can go deeper too.
I love C. S. Lewis’s work. But there is a point where I disagree with him. In “Mere Christianity” he wrote that he thought pride was the greatest sin. I disagree. It is certainly bad; and, perhaps we can legitimately say it is at the apex of all sin. But an apex, like that in a pyramid, is always supported by that which is much more substantive at its base. In other words, pride is at the end of a process. When I think about what precedes pride, I come up with insecurity or fear. In pride or pretense, the tendency is to make myself look better than I am because I fear if folks really and truly knew me as I am they would reject me. Fear precedes pride. And this fear is often insipid in most human subcultures; perhaps because it is so deeply embedded in our fallen sense of self. If we marginalize the strugglers in our midst with words like: “Out of fellowship”; “Carnal”; “Backslider”; though nobody would say it explicitly, implied in this is the expectation that everyone should be perfect in our subculture. Since nobody is perfect, this false expectation breeds pretense. Everybody goes about trying to make themselves look better than they are. This behavior is so contrary to real life that it seeks to be rationalized and validated and can only be done so pharisaically. The community moves into grace-denying constructs. Pride as I mentioned above is preceded by fear and insecurity.
The Bible says that the antidote to fear is the love of God. “Perfect love casts out fear” (I John 4:18). I think a corollary to that verse is that imperfect love breeds anxiety. You and me, we’ve never been loved perfectly by anybody. Remember: “Human love demands human meriting.” We are saddled with the burden of anxiety by well-meaning folks who loved us as well as they might but were incapable of loving us perfectly. Of course it gets worse before it gets better; nobody we’ve ever loved has been loved perfectly by us as well. We have also burdened others with the anxiety of our well-intended but deficient love. Only God, from whom we can hide nothing, God, who fully knows us, can love us thoroughly with the transformational love that casts out fear. So, if my analogy is correct, and pride is at the apex of the pyramid, than the greatest sin at the very base of the pyramid is the unwillingness to receive the love of God unto ourselves. He comes to us with Incarnate grace as He came to each of those heroes listed above in their darkest hours to restore them. The true Kingdom of God is made up of broken men and women mended by the love and mercy of God. I do not know much; but I do know this is true. And I know that it is these kinds of people He deploys into the world to spread the Gospel. They are the only kind He has to work with. Andrew’s offering of five loaves and two fish to feed the 5,000 wasn’t much for the work that had to be done. But Jesus took what was offered and did something great with it! So too, with the offering to tell others about Jesus – it is mediated through flawed men and women, eager to tell others of His love and forgiveness which is free for the taking.
Make them holy by Your truth; teach them Your word, which is truth.Just as You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world.And I give Myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by Your truth.
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message.I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one—as You are in Me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me.
John 17:17-21
There are still small wrinkles on the page in my Bible that holds these verses – John 17:17-21. It was my first time on an airplane. I was terrified. I had heard that turbulence could be a bit like a roller coaster. The last time I had ridden a roller coaster, I was seven years old. My sister was four, and she wasn’t allowed to ride the kiddie dragon roller coaster at the county fair without an older child riding with her. She was so excited to ride it, and my parents made me go with her. I screamed and cried the entire time. I vowed never to ride another roller coaster as long as I lived.
So there I was, at age 17. As I waited for the airplane to take off, all I could think of was how much I hate high speed and the feeling of my stomach dropping. Sweat oozed from my body as I clutched on to my Bible and tried to remember why I was there.
Just as You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world.
Those words comforted me. I am not a girl who enjoys taking risks or traveling far from my comfort zone. As the plane started to move, the sweat came faster, and a small vein in my hand pulsed visibly, displaying my anxiety. Still, the words of my Savior comforted me.
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message.
Just as You sent Me into the world, I am sending them into the world.
Knowing that Jesus prayed for me those hundreds of years ago gave me courage to face my fears. That first airplane ride was taking me on a short-term missions trip where I learned for the first time how to share my faith with unbelievers. I grew up in a church that was great at encouraging you to bring your unsaved friends to church to get them saved. It wasn’t as quick to teach you how to lead people to Christ yourself. Going on that missions trip gave me the resources and some amazing opportunities to tell people about Jesus and explain to them why I believe that He is Messiah.
Have you ever felt afraid to share your faith? If you’re shy, like me, even talking to someone new can create those same types of anxious feelings that I had on my first airplane ride. Take a few minutes today to dwell on Jesus’ prayer in John 17. Remember that His power is working in you to share His love with people around you.
Early on Sunday morning,as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen. Come, see where His body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and He is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there. Remember what I have told you.”
The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell My brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see Me there.”
As the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened. A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe. They told the soldiers, “You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole His body.’ If the governor hears about it, we’ll stand up for you so you won’t get in trouble.” So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today.
Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him—but some of them doubted!
Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28, NLT
