Greetings All,
This week's 'thought' comes from very close to home -- my assistant here at the church, Randy Gehlert. He sent it to the ministry leaders in our church a couple weeks
back, and I thought his insights were helpful and might resonate with many who struggle to do evangelism.
As Paul said to Timothy, "Endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist..."
The majority of Christians I know tend to view evangelism that way.
They don't feel like they have the "gift" (Eph. 4:11), so they don't
make a concerted effort to share the Gospel.
Yet Paul
seems to be saying that for timid people like Timothy (who probably did
not have the gift either), one must push themselves to do the "work,"
knowing that if they don't take the opportunity to share the Gospel,
many will never have the opportunity to truly "hear" it.
In this regard Randy's comments are honest and encouraging and I trust you will find them helpful.
Enjoy. (And for those who have already seen it once, enjoy again!)
"I write this foremost to myself, but I will share it with you as well. The
first comment I want to make is in regards to the word
“intentionality.” I believe that most
Christians that I have met do not wake up in the morning with any
expectation that, “Today, I’m going to share the gospel with someone.” I
imagine that most of us don’t really think much about evangelism at all
throughout our day. We like Saint Francis of Assisi’s quote: “Preach
the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words,” because we can
let ourselves believe we truly are doing evangelism in our actions
alone. (Are we really even doing that?). And so we believe we don’t have
to say anything unless someone asks us first. But if I had to guess I
would say that St. Francis’ point was not to keep our mouths shut but
that we should do every action with such a radical Christlikeness that
the Gospel can also be seen quite
plainly in what we do. His emphasis was probably on adding
unnatural, Gospel actions to words. Our emphasis seems to be on not
having to open up our mouths.
Now
I know where this tendency to keep quiet comes from. We live in a
culture where we are supposed to accept everyone else’s view as equally
true. It often seems the only view that is unacceptable in our culture
is one that says that other views are incorrect. If we add to that the
clumsy (and often embarrassing) way that many Christians have assaulted
people with a gospel ‘package’ and it is no wonder we would rather keep
our mouths
shut.
So,
what am I saying? Should we all grab our tracts and head for the
nearest mall? No, I am saying we need to start with a fundamental shift
about the purpose of a Christian life. If God is actively building
His kingdom and we are the agents He chooses to use to do that then
evangelism (which develops into discipleship) is my primary job.
Earning an income, going to my friends’ wedding, washing the car, taking
my kids to soccer practice is all secondary. Of course, doing
evangelism doesn’t have to exclude those other things, but generally we
do all of those things in such a way as to exclude evangelism. (We plan
our life
and our schedule around ‘regular living’ instead of starting with
evangelism and working from that starting point.) What
I am saying is that I need to wake up in the morning and ask my master
(my heavenly Father), “What is my assignment for today, Sir? What are
we going to do today? Please give me an opportunity to share Your love
and Your truth with someone. And please give me boldness to take hold
of that opportunity.”
In
Acts 4:23-31 the believers’ prayer was not for safety from persecution
but for boldness to speak God’s word in
the midst of persecution. They also prayed for God to move
supernaturally. I recently read a book in which a man was going to see a
non-Christian and he hoped to share the gospel with the man. Before he
went he prayed and God gave this Christian insight into the man’s life,
things he could not otherwise have known. When the Christian began to
share the gospel with this man this special knowledge gave power and
authenticity to the words he was sharing about the gospel. I fear that
too often we live as if there really isn’t any power and this message is
ok for me but you’ll be fine without it. What seems to be really
important to me is my daily routine and my common American
life.
The
truth is that seeking opportunities to evangelize and then taking hold
of those opportunities will greatly invigorate all the other links in
the chain of church health (prayer, worship, fellowship, discipleship,
social action and foreign missions). We will crave the discipleship
that teaches us or helps us know how to evangelize better. In our
worship we will rejoice in the fruit of the witness (whether that be
persecution or people coming to Christ). In our prayer we will listen
for our assignments and clear direction on whom God would have us love.
As our concern for people’s eternal state increases we will grow more
concerned with their
physical state and be more involved in social action. And all of
this will
flow over to people not only in our own neighborhood but across the
whole world (missions).
Without
evangelism - prayer, worship and discipleship tend to become inward
focused and social action and missions could become merely guilt
offerings. “Now,
Lord,…enable your servants to speak
your word with great boldness.
Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders
through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:29-30 NIV
In the past century well-known
evangelists did a great work in furthering the Gospel. Yet I fear that
their prominence and success left many with the idea that evangelism is
something done in large public rallies, and is the duty or domain of a
very small and specially gifted minority. In fact, could it be that the
noticable absence of any such individual in our day is God's way of
reminding the Church that all His people are called
to do such work? I believe it may be. And what we discover when we
move beyond our fears and begin sharing is that it's not only a source
great joy, and an activity that brings people into the kingdom, but one
that adds much life and spiritual vitality to any church.
