Maybe evangelism intimidates us
not because it is intimidating, but because we’ve made it intimidating.
My neighbor and I used to drive
together to a nearby coffee shop every other week. Some weeks we just talked —
about life, news, whatever was on our minds. Other weeks we’d look at the next
passage in the Gospel of Mark. So much of it was foreign to him. It was his
first time reading the Bible and, well, the Bible isn’t always easy to
understand.
I listened as he asked really
good questions — questions I don’t even think to ask (or remember asking). I’d
listen to my neighbor share about his job, his family, his upbringing, and his
longing for true meaning. We talked about being dads to our kids, we talked
about the pressure of being the main breadwinners in our family, and we talked
about tricky relationships at work. And while we sipped and talked, God was
working. This was a friend and neighbor, with lots of questions about God, the
Bible, and Christianity, who trusted me enough to ask those questions. This was
evangelism.
Sitting Ducks
Unfortunately, many Christians
tend to think of evangelism as gavage. Let me explain. Foie gras is a French
delicacy made of fatty duck or goose liver. The traditional process to make
foie gras is called “gavage.” A long metal tube is forcibly inserted into a
duck’s mouth to feed it an unnatural amount of grain up to three times a day.
This process causes the liver to expand to 600% of its natural size and takes
up a large part of the bird’s body cavity. This process creates large, fatty,
and buttery liver prized for its taste and texture.
“We often live as if the laborers
are plentiful, but the harvest is few.” Tweet Share on Facebook
Many Christians share the gospel
like grain through a long metal tube. We’re just pouring the gospel down the
throat of some unsuspecting stranger, hoping they don’t choke on it on the way
down. Author and pastor John S. Leonard writes, “As Christians, we know we
should share our faith with others. However, we don’t do it until we feel
horribly guilty — then we force ourselves upon some poor, unsuspecting soul”
(Get Real, 5). Do we only do it to alleviate our guilt with no consideration of
how our message was received?
Deliberate Evangelism
The other danger — on the other
end of the spectrum — is that we’re so fearful of coming across forceful that
we never get around to sharing anything about our faith. We hover along the
surface but never get to the heart of the matter. We labor to build friendships
but never share the hope that lies within us. We are content to be nice,
friendly people but never tell others that we are sinners saved by grace.
Evangelism is a spiritual
discipline. We need to be intentional and deliberate in building relationships
with, and testifying to, those who don’t know Jesus. We need to prioritize
evangelism and practice it. Just like Bible memorization, fasting, or prayer,
it won’t happen unless we’re convinced it is important for our spiritual growth
and intimacy with Jesus. Few important things happen naturally. The things that
are most important require our attention, intentionality, and practice.
Sometimes we forget that Jesus
said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray
earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”
(Luke 10:2). We often live as if the laborers are plentiful, but the harvest is
few. The harvest is ripe and ready. Certainly not without building
relationships, not without listening ears, not without faithful prayer, not
without hospitable homes, and not without speaking, but the harvest is
plentiful.
Buried Talents
Evangelism, like other spiritual
disciplines, is a means of God’s grace to us. God has given evangelists to the
church in order to equip believers for the work of ministry (Ephesians
4:11–12). But if we took a survey of a typical gathering of Christians, it’s
likely that less than one-tenth of one percent would say they have the gift of
evangelism. It is inconceivable that God has so ill-equipped his church with
evangelists for the spread of the gospel both locally and globally.
“Evangelism won’t happen unless
we’re convinced it is important for our spiritual growth and intimacy with
Jesus.” Tweet Share on Facebook
Far more of us can become capable
and effective evangelists than we realize. Own it up front: you’re not destined
to be the next Billy Graham — but you can be used by God to share the good news
with a handful of people.
Deliberate practice will develop
into a gift. Ask any talented musician how long it took before they became good
at whatever they do. They each put in thousands of hours of practice with their
instrument. Even young prodigies still practice hours each day to hone and
develop their skills. But we assume evangelism should come naturally and
immediately. After one bad experience, we give up altogether — burying the
talents God has given us in the ground.
Pursue Your Joy
My personal evangelism, though,
isn’t mainly a result of hardwiring it into my life as a begrudged discipline,
or even deliberate practice, but because few experiences are so exhilarating,
enjoyable, and wonderful. The God of the universe has called every disciple of
Jesus to make disciples (Matthew 28:18–20). We get to be the means by which God
renews the world, one soul at a time. Furthermore, not only has God called us
to this privilege; he himself equips us for it and promises to save some
through our efforts.
After a few months of studying
Mark, and then Genesis, with my neighbor, I could begin to see the fingerprints
of God on his life. He was processing what he was reading in the Bible. I could
see the Scriptures coming alive in his heart and mind. I had the privilege of
walking with him, answering his questions the best I could, listening to his
doubts, and praying for him.
And then the phone call came. He
said we had to meet. When I saw him, the first words out of his mouth were,
“I’m off the fence! I didn’t even know I was on the fence, but I’m off the
fence. I believe in Jesus!”
He went on to share with me the
joy that had filled his heart, how the Scriptures were making more and more
sense, how things had finally clicked for him. How he suddenly had unusual
peace. How he had surrendered himself to God, repented of his sinful patterns
of living, and was “all in” following Jesus. My heart soared with gladness. We
hugged — a couple grown men in a coffee shop. God saves! My neighbor had become
a friend, but now he was a brother — forever. All because of some conversations
over coffee.
What Might God Do Through You?
So yes, in Jesus’s name and with
his help, pursue evangelism and missional living with intentionality. Make it a
discipline. But God will increase your joy as you pursue the lost. The apostle
Paul says to those converted under his ministry, “What is our hope or joy or crown
of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?” (1
Thessalonians 2:19). Few things are more satisfying in life than being used by
God to bring someone new to saving faith.
So, get off the fence, ask your
neighbor to coffee, listen carefully as they share about themselves, and look
for opportunities to tell them about the hope you have in Jesus.
Steven Lee (@5tevenLee) is the lead pastor of the North Campus of
Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, where he lives with his wife Stephanie
and their five children. He is a graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary.
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