Posts
I tried. I
really did. When I was a young man I tried to use those “evangelism in a can”
methods of outreach. We were trained on how to use them to go out, find people
to study with, sit down with them and go through the information. At the end of the lesson there was always a
question (or several) that asked if, on the basis of the information they had
been given, they would like to be baptized. Some would but most would not (I
was eager but probably not too persuasive). We made arrangements to baptize the
“converted” and asked the others to continue in thought and prayer about their
decision. It was all well and good. The information was biblical with a strong
Church of Christ leaning application. The presentation was cordial and
conversation kept polite without arguing too passionately on the areas where we
might disagree. All in all I would say the interaction was…clinical and
academic. In retrospect it is not hard to see why people seldom responded as we
hoped they would.
Far too long
our ‘go to’ strategy for outreach/evangelism/discipleship has focused on
disseminating information to people we barely know or don’t know at all. While there is nothing wrong with knocking on
doors or inviting the community into our facilities for meals and events, that
kind of strategy has yielded unsatisfactory returns for decades. The reason is that this strategy routes us
around the very thing that allows people to genuinely see Jesus in us. That
thing is – relationship.
Jesus and his
disciples used the information blast method as well but it was not their ‘go
to’ strategy. They preferred relationships.
They wanted to serve those with needs, to heal the sick and wounded and
to do life with those who followed. They
got their hands dirty and not only told people of the Kingdom of God but led
them there and allowed them to experience it with them.
We will rarely
be successful in making disciples by merely teaching people what we know about
Jesus. They will want to see our faith
working through us. They will seldom respond
to the challenge to “dig a little deeper” or to “read their Bibles and do what
it says” if they don’t know that people of faith will be there whether they
respond with increased faith or not. We can’t expect people to leave the
support of the world and a lifestyle they know (regardless of how
dysfunctional) if they don’t know we will be there for them regardless. We need
to stop being afraid we’ll get messy. As disciples we are asked to meet people
where they are and lead them to the kingdom.
As you plan to
make disciples, rather than relying on the hope of meeting someone new why not
start with someone you know. Begin praying for people you now know who have
“messy lives” and ask God to reach them through you.
