New Evangelism, part two

Last, week Graceland People sent out a prayer request about Thanksgiving and our upcoming weekend Life Group.  The Life Group discussion will be about evangelism.  One line has caused some to question my meaning.  I want to develop that thought further. For you who don’t follow the church, but read this blog here is the line – “We want to discover how we “listen and learn” without claiming that all beliefs and practices are of equal value and without claiming what we believe is absolutely true.”

To begin you can read my blog about a new type of evangelism.  Here I explain that the gospel at least in America has been made into a message that would only win Christians to Christ.  Nevertheless, how does one share the message of Jesus with someone who rejects the need for Jesus or accepts another god?  How does one offer Jesus without claiming absolute certainty? Is it possible we can count conversations rather than conversions?

When confronted with arrogance and superiority in the Kingdom of God among his disciples Jesus turned to the attitude of children.  He said accept this child you receive him, accept him and you receive the One who sent him.  “You become great by accepting, not asserting (Luke 9.48, MSG)”

John followed by asserting how they stopped a man not in the “group” from expelling demons in the name of Jesus.  Jesus responded by saying, “Don’t stop him.  If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally (9.49-50).

Too often we declare someone as “enemy” without ever listening and learning who they are and what they believe, if anything, about Jesus.  Perhaps, we fear by listening and learning we are conveying that any beliefs or practices are equal?  Maybe we fear more that our beliefs and practices are weak if we don’t claim they are absolute and without question?  Maybe we deem it sin? Jesus said in Mark 10:15 and Luke 18:17 that “whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it (NKJV).”

Interesting when you read Jesus’ view of elementary people approaching God, he said in Matthew 18:4-7, 10, “Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me. But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don’t have to make it worse-and it’s doomsday to you if you do.” “(verse 10) Watch that you don’t treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly.”

Christianity is built on faith, hope, and love- not absolution? If it was it wouldn’t require faith because it would be without question. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Heb 11.1).  And one can not please God without faith (Heb 11.6).

When pressed to identify the greatest commandment (Mark 12:28-31), Jesus listed two: love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.  We tend to pull these commandments apart; we make them distinct and often even sequential.  Work out your relationship with God, and then your relationships with people will fall into place.  But Jesus held these commandments together and said they were alike.  He understood something our churches have often forgotten: we grow in our relationship to God and to each other simultaneously.  And it is often through learning to love each other that we find ourselves opening to God in new and deeper ways.

We need to be motivated by a desire to be in relationship with people who are in many ways different from you and me.  We need relationships because they help us to understand better what Jesus is doing in the world and how we might follow him, even as he leads us out of the church and into the bar.

What if our churches not only cultivated Christian fellowship through worship and small groups but also held as a high priority the building of relationships with people who are not a part of our church, even people who are very different from us? How do we create this type of church? We become a place where people learn about what a truly soul-nourishing relationship looks like.  With teaching and practice we build equality and mutual respect, where people are willing to listen as well as speak, receive as well as give.  When we become such a place where respectful relationships are in place, the church becomes a place where people learn to share their faith with honesty and integrity in a way that does not manipulate the relationship into a recruitment possibility.

If we practice building relationships in the church and can share our faith respectfully and without embarrassment, chances are we’ll be able to share our faith outside the church as well.  But we will not share only what others tell us we should believe.  We will share our own commitments, even when they don’t fit the “party line.” We will share our doubts as well and the things we find funny or peculiar.  And we will share our curiosity about the beliefs and commitments, practices and experiences of others, even those who are very different from us.  As we do, not only will we bring Jesus to the world, it’s likely we’ll meet him coming to us from the edges, from the wilderness, where we should never be surprised to find him.