Shedding some light on evangelism
There are a few religious words that really rile people up, because everybody has a different definition for them, and because some use the words rather liberally and vaguely because the words have a negative connotation, not because the person has some specific use for the word.
Example: "I don't like that group because they're judgmental."
Anyway, the word that riles people up the most is the word "evangelism." It REALLY freaks out the masses, Christians and non-Christians alike, even though everyone who says it means something different by it. I've consciously been using the word without apology lately, because the evangelism I know is a really great thing.
Some have asked me what I am doing on project. Among other things, I list, "sharing my faith," "spreading the Gospel," or, if I'm bold, "evangelizing." Now, all three words mean the same thing, but only the last word makes people angry.
Here is a breif description of what we do on project when evangelizing to people we don't know (this is pretty standard stuff):
1. Initiate, listen, and discover.
2. Share a simple outline of Christian beliefs.
3. Offer an opportunity to respond.
That's really it. There is no deception, and everything I say is very genuine and honest. And I really listen to people. We even use surveys that ask about people's religious backgrounds and thoughts to give them ample opportunity to share their heart with us. Probably half the time the person I have initiated with spends more time telling me what they believe then I spend telling them what I believe. (This is absolutely fair, of course, since I'm the one asking questions.)
The next step after listening is to segway into the Gospel, offering the person I am interacting with a chance to hear exactly what I believe as a Christian. If they say "No," maybe I'll make sure by saying, "Are you sure?" but that's it. Jeez. A lot of people need to get over their pushy Christian fear. Anyway, if they let me, I'll walk through the Gospel with them (click here to see exactly what that is; note the stunning lack of pictures of people burning in a fiery furnace). This is my favorite part of evangelizing, and is a very heartfelt experience for me. I am honest, open about things I don't know, and heavy on the examples from my personal life.
The last step of sharing the gospel is something I am just getting a grasp of: offering an opportunity to respond. Simply asking someone if they ever have or would want to invite Christ to come into his heart (or some similar conversation turner) elicts a RESPONSE, positive or negative.
Anyway, many Christians have problems with this sort of of "initiative" evangelism. They don't want to hassle (?) people or something. Maybe we are just afraid of the response, or of offending someone, or of being rejected, despite the importance and the Biblical importance of this activity.
Meanwhile, many non-Christians hate the idea of evangelism because they don't like to get "someone's religion shoved down their throat." Now, there are people who do that. I've seen them in the city, once in a while, holding up big signs with pictures of people in burning agony because they didn't pick Jesus, yelling through a mic for people to "stop being a homosexual," and screaming at people walking into abortion clinics. But, although I know hundreds of Christians, I don't personally know anyone who does those things. I'd estimate that Christians who do that represent less than half of one percent of all Christians. Seriously.
Seriously.
So why is this stereotype so prevalent for non-Christians? The stereotype is so universally accepted that I will sometimes have a decent, friendly, totally non-threatening conversation with a non-Christian, and when I walk away, they think I just shoved my religion down there throats, when I didn't even really share anything about what I believe. Why do people think Christians are so pushy when 99.5% of the Christians I know are actually entirely timid about sharing their faith, even what straight-up ASKED about it?
Well, I think I just answered my own question. Remember that evangelism, besides being important to the salvation of eternal souls, is also the #1 way that Christians are spokespersons about their faith to the world. If normal, reasonable, loving Christians ignore the call to evangelism and remain silent about their faith, even when their friends want to hear about it, then to the world, normal, reasonable, loving Christians don't exist. As long as we stay silent, overbearing, pushy zealots are all the world will know.
Get out there and share your faith, and shut up the stereotypes.
Example: "I don't like that group because they're judgmental."
Anyway, the word that riles people up the most is the word "evangelism." It REALLY freaks out the masses, Christians and non-Christians alike, even though everyone who says it means something different by it. I've consciously been using the word without apology lately, because the evangelism I know is a really great thing.
Some have asked me what I am doing on project. Among other things, I list, "sharing my faith," "spreading the Gospel," or, if I'm bold, "evangelizing." Now, all three words mean the same thing, but only the last word makes people angry.
Here is a breif description of what we do on project when evangelizing to people we don't know (this is pretty standard stuff):
1. Initiate, listen, and discover.
2. Share a simple outline of Christian beliefs.
3. Offer an opportunity to respond.
That's really it. There is no deception, and everything I say is very genuine and honest. And I really listen to people. We even use surveys that ask about people's religious backgrounds and thoughts to give them ample opportunity to share their heart with us. Probably half the time the person I have initiated with spends more time telling me what they believe then I spend telling them what I believe. (This is absolutely fair, of course, since I'm the one asking questions.)
The next step after listening is to segway into the Gospel, offering the person I am interacting with a chance to hear exactly what I believe as a Christian. If they say "No," maybe I'll make sure by saying, "Are you sure?" but that's it. Jeez. A lot of people need to get over their pushy Christian fear. Anyway, if they let me, I'll walk through the Gospel with them (click here to see exactly what that is; note the stunning lack of pictures of people burning in a fiery furnace). This is my favorite part of evangelizing, and is a very heartfelt experience for me. I am honest, open about things I don't know, and heavy on the examples from my personal life.
The last step of sharing the gospel is something I am just getting a grasp of: offering an opportunity to respond. Simply asking someone if they ever have or would want to invite Christ to come into his heart (or some similar conversation turner) elicts a RESPONSE, positive or negative.
Anyway, many Christians have problems with this sort of of "initiative" evangelism. They don't want to hassle (?) people or something. Maybe we are just afraid of the response, or of offending someone, or of being rejected, despite the importance and the Biblical importance of this activity.
Meanwhile, many non-Christians hate the idea of evangelism because they don't like to get "someone's religion shoved down their throat." Now, there are people who do that. I've seen them in the city, once in a while, holding up big signs with pictures of people in burning agony because they didn't pick Jesus, yelling through a mic for people to "stop being a homosexual," and screaming at people walking into abortion clinics. But, although I know hundreds of Christians, I don't personally know anyone who does those things. I'd estimate that Christians who do that represent less than half of one percent of all Christians. Seriously.
Seriously.
So why is this stereotype so prevalent for non-Christians? The stereotype is so universally accepted that I will sometimes have a decent, friendly, totally non-threatening conversation with a non-Christian, and when I walk away, they think I just shoved my religion down there throats, when I didn't even really share anything about what I believe. Why do people think Christians are so pushy when 99.5% of the Christians I know are actually entirely timid about sharing their faith, even what straight-up ASKED about it?
Well, I think I just answered my own question. Remember that evangelism, besides being important to the salvation of eternal souls, is also the #1 way that Christians are spokespersons about their faith to the world. If normal, reasonable, loving Christians ignore the call to evangelism and remain silent about their faith, even when their friends want to hear about it, then to the world, normal, reasonable, loving Christians don't exist. As long as we stay silent, overbearing, pushy zealots are all the world will know.
Get out there and share your faith, and shut up the stereotypes.
posted by J. Arthur Ellis at 4:18 PM
3 Comments:
Joe thank you for sharing this... keep posting what God is showing you, it genuinely blesses others.
Alicia
That gives me a lot to think about. I think the prevalent base of my associations with Christianity is the Baptist Church I used to attend with a friend. They were a little pushy, I suppose, but still nice people. Then the Methodist Church I joined with my mother was a lot different, and I felt warmer towards them somehow. Then in high school I became active with the Church of Christ, which I guess was somewhere in the middle of the previous two, in terms of pushiness. I used to joke that I was a church-hopper and I had homes in many congregations but I was still looking for something. I'm not even sure what. I'm guessing you hear a lot of this nonsensical rambling in your work now.
Anway, the reason I looked up your blog this morning was to post a note saying that I will be waiting in O'Hare for three hours on both July 13 and 16! That's right. I'm flying to Knoxville to see Brandon, and the cheapest flight had me flying north (to Chicago) to fly south. I'll be there from 1 p.m.-4:12 p.m. (Chicago time) on the 13th and 6:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. the 16th. Fun!
Meryl
I've had some really good, tough conversations with people here about evangelism. I'll have to talk to you sometime about it. Take care! -Jessie
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