Wednesday, November 07, 2007
FROM Whom Evangelism
Joe Carter was wondering the other day about WHO should be doing evangelism.
You see, if all we are calling people to is to "accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior," you know, just trying to get them to pray the sinner's prayer and put some money in the plate, then pretty much anybody can do that.
But, if was calling them to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, to the radical change in who we are that Jesus really died to create, then yeah, there is a pretty high bar as to who can do the calling. It's pretty hard to lead people where you have not already gone, at least part of the way.
I grow increasingly unenamored with the term "evangelism" any way. It carries with it an implication that we are calling to salavation, but not necessarily sanctification. From the alter call at a Graham crusade to "cross-talk" night at Young Life camp, we define an end point to evangelism.
But in reality, it is not an end point to which we ask people, it is a process, a life-long process. Better, a journey.
What's more, it is not a journey anyone takes alone. It is a journey that people take together. Which brings to mind another interesting point. Can one person call you to a journey, and another take it with you?
I am convinced that is where so much disillusion with converts takes place. People agree to start the journey, only to find the person they thought they were going to travel with having moved on to the next soul, and they are abandoned to flail around looking for someone else to give them a hint as to where to turn next. Jesus Himself traveled with the 12 for a time.
You see, the call to evangelize is not a call to issue the call, it is a call to assist another on the journey. It is, of itself, a major commitment. A commitment that only someone who is already deeply rooted in faith can possibly hope to keep.
Maturity matters. After all, politically, don't we decry "babies making babies?" Think about it.
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At what point in the Christian life are we called to take up the task of evangelism?The question is an interesting one to me primarily because embedded in it are presumptions about what precisely it is we call people to. The question is much deeper than simply "who?"
Though many evangelicals may think the question to obvious to be worth asking, I've been wrestling with it for the better part of a week. I too once thought the answer was clear: all believers are called to evangelize.
Now I'm not so sure.
[...]
What is peculiar about this is that it adds three requirements: (1) The task of entrusting the message to the men is to be carried out in front of witnesses; (2) they must be "faithful men"; and (3) they must be able to be teachers. This sets a rather high barrier for evangelism, perhaps even higher than basic discipleship.
You see, if all we are calling people to is to "accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior," you know, just trying to get them to pray the sinner's prayer and put some money in the plate, then pretty much anybody can do that.
But, if was calling them to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, to the radical change in who we are that Jesus really died to create, then yeah, there is a pretty high bar as to who can do the calling. It's pretty hard to lead people where you have not already gone, at least part of the way.
I grow increasingly unenamored with the term "evangelism" any way. It carries with it an implication that we are calling to salavation, but not necessarily sanctification. From the alter call at a Graham crusade to "cross-talk" night at Young Life camp, we define an end point to evangelism.
But in reality, it is not an end point to which we ask people, it is a process, a life-long process. Better, a journey.
What's more, it is not a journey anyone takes alone. It is a journey that people take together. Which brings to mind another interesting point. Can one person call you to a journey, and another take it with you?
I am convinced that is where so much disillusion with converts takes place. People agree to start the journey, only to find the person they thought they were going to travel with having moved on to the next soul, and they are abandoned to flail around looking for someone else to give them a hint as to where to turn next. Jesus Himself traveled with the 12 for a time.
You see, the call to evangelize is not a call to issue the call, it is a call to assist another on the journey. It is, of itself, a major commitment. A commitment that only someone who is already deeply rooted in faith can possibly hope to keep.
Maturity matters. After all, politically, don't we decry "babies making babies?" Think about it.
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