wise words on evangelism from chuck

Colson is always on the money with any non-theological commentary he offers, and the following piece from a recent BreakPoint is no different. He was discussing Wicca but toward the end moved into unbelievers in general.

So how should we as Christians reach out to Wiccans? For one thing, we can take time to study and understand what they believe and the issues that are really important to them—issues like the environment. We don't have to worship the earth to understand why many Wiccans are so concerned about it. But even more importantly, we must live out our own worldview through our actions, treating all people with love and respect. He whom you would change, remember, you must first love, as Martin Luther King, Jr., taught us.

He brings out two great points: (1) we must know not only what we ourselves believe but also what others believe and how they think to meet them on their ground and reach out to them, and (2) we need to actually live like Christians and not some cut-off sect of society that is too concerned about its own well-being to see the rest of the world. Yet both seem lost to a great degree in today's church.

The first point implies, to me, that an understanding of other worldviews is vital for effective evangelism. This comes not only through study but also through really becoming involved in someone's life. It's not enough to just to tell someone what the Bible says about them and how great their life can be with Christ. If we want to get through to a person and help them truly understand the implications of living for or against Christ, we must understand how and why they're where they are in life. This seems like basic fact to me; if I can figure this out then I know the rest of the church can as well.

Yet it seems that modern evangelism focuses heavily on firehose witnessing and "decisions" as opposed to the kind of deep interpersonal relationships that not only produce Christians but also help them grow. I see so much on techniques for presenting the gospel, when and where to present it, who to present it to, and on and on. This may have some positive results, such as bringing people into the church and exposing them to the Word, but is this the best we can do to care for people and build strong believers? What about just faithfully living out a Christian lifestyle and letting God bring people into his kingdom through your influence in their life? In other words, don't go trying to create witnessing moments where they don't exist. Just focus on living a holy lifestyle and reaching out to others as opportunities present themselves. If God is working in someone's heart they'll eventually seek counsel from those they know to be godly. And when they do they'll be eager to hear and learn, as opposed to mildly interested in something that may or may not be of value to them at the time. This seems to me like a much better method of evangelizing. The numbers on paper might not be as high but I think the number of true believers and especially the spiritual growth and sustaining of those believers would be better.

In the end I just can't buy into today's popular evangelistic movements. God's church is built one person at a time and through strong bonds among believers, not one crowd or stranger at a time through nifty tactics and strategies. I know a lot of good people who support these modern methods so I can't condemn them outright. And I must admit there could be Biblical precedent for them, such as Christ speaking to crowds of inquirers and Peter's preaching at Pentecost. But I don't see how today's "reach out" methodology bears much resemblance to events in the Bible and I certainly don't see how it's benefitting the church a great deal.

The second point rolls in with the first in that we actually need to be in the world and in people's lives to be effective witnesses for Christ. It seems that everywhere we look we can find a Christian version of just about anything--music, novels, clothing, pens, you name it. While some of this is certainly good, is it wise to surround ourselves with Christianity to the extent that we're in a bubble and unable to relate to the world on its terms? I think you can guess my answer. That's one reason people turn from Christianity to false religions and worldviews. If all you see in Christians are people staying in their own groups and creating their own version of what's around them, why should you want to be a part of that? Why not go where people are at least willing to accept you as you are and relate to you on your terms? Speaking from personal experience, it wasn't until I went to college that I met Christians who seemed to be like me, dealing with the same issues in life and willing to accept me without my cutting myself off from my old life first. Until then what I saw was a separate group of people living by some strict set of rules that acted as a wall between my life and whatever they were doing. They seemed to have some sort of purity standard they were constantly trying to achieve and it didn't leave them any room for doing the kinds of normal things I liked to do.

Such is a terribly unwise approach I think. We do need to focus on our own spiritual growth and be careful to not let worldly influences gain a foothold in our life such that they block out holiness. But we don't need to go overboard and start avoiding many ideas or situations simply because they make us uncomfortable. I don't recall God saying to put up our own fortress so the world can't get to us; quite the opposite, actually. It's vital to be able to see and understand the world as it is and not as someone says it is or as one's rosy bubble surroundings portray it as. How can we reach out to a world we don't associate with? So while we may not like some things we must be exposed to them to learn what they are and how to deal with them, especially in regard to others' lives. Examples like secular movies and music are easy to point out; there are countless others.

Overall, we need to do less gimmicky stuff and more caring stuff. The Bible and history both testify strongly to this. Look at Christ's preferred method of evangelizing to people and how much time he invested in the lives of individuals. Then look at how much the spiritual health of the western church has benefitted from modern means over the last few decades. For all this push for new believers, the church has been severely watered down and weakened, and its numbers and influence are decreasing. Do we want that trend to continue? Trust in God's means and calling, not man's.

Last but not least, that MLK Jr. quote is worth repeating. He whom you would change, you must first love.