I'm taking a couple weeks to discuss the topic of evangelism with Senior Bible students. We have been watching "Off the Map" interviews where we recorded word on the street videos and interviews w/ lost people in live events to encourage feedback and discussion. Let's just say that the news isn't good. The word on the street is that we suck at Evangelism. Our only category for inviting others into the Kingdom experience is through linear historical information, guilt and one-sided monologues. We need to change what we count. Focus more on relationships and conversations than our sales pitch. It seems to me that Jesus lived Kingdom, proclaimed Kingdom, shared Kingdom and invited others to follow Him in Kingdom living w/ out ever having to tell them how wrong they are.
Not to be only negative, because I think that being missional is the heartbeat of the Church. But here is my bottom line. Our ineptness w/ evangelism is not because of bad strategies, faulty approaches or lack of information. Our failures start in the heart. Frankly, we don't care. We're more concerned w/ our own agendas, lives and frivolous pursuits than to take the time to ache over those outside of Kingdom. The issue is not technique, its that we don't care. We don't like confrontation, we dont' like being vulnerable, we don't like risk, we resist discomfort.
In Matthew 9, Jesus saw the crowd and had compassion on them. Its starts w/ noticing that they exist, and then allowing that to enter your soul. Let compassion mull over in your heart, long for those outside of the Kingdom. Think incarnationally where you take on the risk and the vulnerability like Christ carrying a cross. Evangelism starts in the heart, but do we really care?
peace,
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