One of the subjects we did some reflecting on at the Emerging Church conversation in Maryland was the idea of Evangelism. Evangelism is a very tough subject to talk about As my fellow pastor Greg kept asking, "Can we actually try and define evangelism before we talk about it?" All the ideas of evangelism that I grew up with made me really despise and distrust the notion of sharing my faith. Sharing my faith, as I was instructed, usually composed itself with ideas like passing out tracts, knocking on people's doors, or learning conversation starters and apologetics to try and debate people into the kingdom. Frankly, none of these notions ever inspired me to try them or to want to be an evangelist, whatever that is.
For a long time, however, I have realized that many of the ideas I held about evangelism were rooted in a poor understanding of the Gospel. Evangelism,after all , is sharing the good news or the Gospel with the world. It is being a messenger of the gospel. If you have a poor understanding of the gospel, you will certainly have a poor understanding of the how to share it. You will also have poor understanding of how to live out the gospel. So what is the gospel and how did I misunderstand it?
The good news of Jesus, the message that he went around proclaiming, centered itself on the Kingdom of God (or as the Gospel of Matthew usually refers to it the Kingdom of Heaven). The good news is that the Kingdom of God is here, and it is open to all people. Those who are in the kingdom of God are called children of God and they are heirs to his blessings. That is good news! The good news is that the separation of humanity from its creator has been removed. No longer do we need toirreconciled to our creator. Jesus, through his life and death and resurrection and ultimately his return, has opened the gate to the kingdom for all people.
What many of us, seemingly especially in Evangelical and Fundamentalist circles, have misunderstood about this gospel is that this salvation, that comes from being made a child of God, is a salvation centered on eternity. For much of my life the only part of the gospel that seemed particularly important was going to heaven. All those who believe in Jesus will go to heaven. I got my heaven ticket punched and now I am all good. I viewed evangelism as simply trying to get people to pray a prayer and "accept Jesus as their savior" so they too could go to heaven. That was the most important part. To do anything else, such as concentrate on discipleship or social concerns, seemed secondary to just getting people into heaven.
You know what, that isn't the gospel. Jesus didn't become incarnate and serve as our atonement just so we could go to heaven. If you read the gospels Jesus seems much more interested in how we live now, here, on earth, as part of the kingdom of God, than he was about our eternal destiny. Certainly heaven and eternal life are a significant part of Jesus' message, but Jesus seemed to think that your eternal life began now and so you better start living it. The Gospel is not just about some prayer or heaven, it is about heaven here and now, lived and experienced by those in the Kingdom of God. That means that growing in our faith, serving God and others in this world, and living a life of worship are our salvation. They aren't something we do in addition to our salvation. They are salvation itself. We have been saved to live as a kingdom people in this world. We have been saved to be disciples of Jesus. We have been saved to make a difference in our world. We have been saved that we too may proclaim the good news of the kingdom. To live our lives this way is to work out our salvation and grow in the holiness and sanctification God calls us to.
But, when we misunderstand this purpose of our salvation, we misunderstand how to share the good news with others. A life lived working out our salvation as kingdom people is a life of evangelism. It is not just about making Christians. Jesus told his disciples, "Therefore go and make DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Our charge of bearing the good news to the world is a charge to make disciples, to instruct, lead, live along side of others and be examples of the life Christ lived among us. You can't do this through a tract. You can't do this with a bullhorn on a corner. You can't do this merely arguing with someone. You can't do this quickly. You can't do it halfhazardly . You can't pretend to do it. You can't leave it to someone else. All who have heard and believed the good news carry the inherent responsibility of living it out and in doing so sharing it with the rest of the world. The good news is here. The Kingdom of God is all around us. And we, the church, the body of Christ, have been called and equipped to bring it to the world.
April 26, 2006 at 3:43 pm
That was a great prologue…
April 26, 2006 at 5:46 pm
…to your next sermon series. We need more of this! It’s less intimidating and yet more challenging. Do you think the bullhorn image is what prevents us from throwing ourselves into a genuine life of discipleship?
April 26, 2006 at 6:25 pm
Okay. Lots of reading about the Kingdom lately. Interesting to note that the Kingdom is often spoken of as something that we need to build or to extend–as if God hasn’t already created this realm. More sound to think of receiving the gift of the invitation into the kingdom and actually entering it. So, the Kingdom is a gift one receives and a realm one enters. I guess to do that you need to know about repentance and faith. Looking at evangelism as inviting people into fellowship/community rather than “recruiting” works better, I think. So, the church is a witness to testify to the loving reign of God that is free and open for all. Come on in the coffee is hot…and watch out because you might be captured by God.
April 26, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Another thought…
Stepping lightly is significant. There is danger in prideful assertion of knowing ourselves to be “in” the Kingdom. People are good at I’m “in” you’re “out” and this doesn’t sound like a welcome. Many would say, “Good for you and I don’t want anything to do with it anyway.” Church is not a private club. This makes me wonder how we ended up with church membership rolls. That’s very in/out.
Matthew 21:43 says, “Therefore I tell you the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces fruits of the kingdom.” Does that mean you can get booted from the Kingdom?
April 26, 2006 at 7:16 pm
In response to Maggie let me add that I appreciate Rob Bell’s metaphor of being a tour guide as an evangelist. God is already working all around us. Each person has an area of their life that they can identify God’s hand if they are shown how to recognize it. We don’t have to bring God or the kingdom to others, we just need to help them see what is available and at work around them. I think Matthew talks about the kingdom of heaven because he is trying to help us understand the present reality of heaven. Too many of us still think of heaven as some other place in the clouds. Maybe our life in heaven has already started and the Kingdom of God is Heaven on earth in a literal sense.
April 26, 2006 at 8:12 pm
How about a cruise director? Like Julie McCoy. Go ahead, sing it…
April 27, 2006 at 2:16 am
Okay, I am becoming gospel girl. Here’s another thought on the Kingdom of God/Reign of God…
It’s the future breaking into the world today. Restoration begins now. The Spirit leads the people into God’s future that is present among them today, even if only imperfectly. The alternative order of the Reign of God has dawned, bringing the possibility of new direction and power to our lives. It’s a glimpse of what will be completed in the future when creation is fully restored.
Tours begin at 11:00.
April 27, 2006 at 3:26 am
I’d like to recommend Elisa Morgan’s knew book “Twinkle” on this subject. The book is mostly her stories of sharing her faith naturally in her relationships with those around her for the past several years. Not as someone with “gift” of evangelism. Just someone who wants to let her light shine. Excellent stuff. She’s teaching at TNL on May 30 on this subject.
May 2, 2006 at 5:49 pm
Since I don’t know what evangelism ism I’m glad you don’t know either. I’ve been getting ever more confused as it’s now termed “conservative evangelism.” Not sure I know what that means. I think it’s just what the media and politicans are terming Christian Republicans who vote, but that doesn’t seem to be right either.
Ironically, with this whole discipleship thing, there is a part of me like, “woah, did God just pull the ol’ bait and switch on me?” It wasn’t until Christ church that I learned it’s not about getting your ticket punched. Like Maggie was saying, that’s a comfortable place for many dualists to be…I’m in, your out. No hanging chads on my ticket, I’m in. But then through some spiritual growth, although I probably did my best to block it out…I’ve come to realize and accept God demands more of that from us. Yeah, I think demands is appropriate. Before I might have said wants or asks, but that makes it sound like there is an alternative. But I think this is tied in to the counterculture thing, it’s hard to sort this out and reconcile it with the comfortable way we are living.
For me, I think the first step is turning off, throwing out or giving away my tv. I’m giving my tv all my free time at home. For what? Reruns of Seinfeld and every possible iteration of Law and Order? Oh, but my couch is so comfy, and I don’t have to think or even blink to enjoy it. Of course, I’ll probably try to wean myself off my tv, hopefully by taking it day by day, I’ll be able to get through.
But seriously, isn’t understanding discipleship about opening up our lives to God in new ways? Hmmm…maybe you could just get a tv show, Greg and that’ll make it easier for me. Cause that’s still what it’s about, right? Still finding that easy way.