Do you think of T.V. preachers? Street-corner preachers? Do you think of tracts you've received in the past? The "Roman Road"? The "sinners' prayer"? Altar calls? Revival meetings? (For you non-evangelicals reading this blog post, I'm sorry about all the foreign terminology. For all you evangelicals... yeah, you know what I'm talking about.)
Now let me first say that none of the above-mentioned methodologies are inherently bad (although I have serious reservations concerning some of them), but let me ask you this question: What do all of these methodologies have in common? Namely, what (or "Whom") do each of these methodologies tend to so often neglect?
Here's how I'd answer the question: The Holy Spirit.
So often, in "evangelism" or attempts at "conversion," we put the emphasis on our methodologies: we need to direct people to pray this type of prayer, give them this type of tract, use these sets of Scriptures, walk them through this type of convincing argument that forces them to the conclusion that they need our product, "the gospel," (which is basically what vacuum salesmen do). And, again, none of this is inherently bad. Use Scripture. Lead people in prayers of repentance. Even pass out tracts. (Probably avoid the salesmen techniques.) But remember this...
...evangelism and conversion are not primarily our tasks. They are first and foremost the work of the Holy Spirit. When we use these "strategies," we are doing nothing more than partnering with the Holy Spirit in the work He is already doing in the life of the person we're speaking of. If you don't accept this fact, then why share the gospel in the first place? If I read the Book of Acts rightly, the evangelism of the disciples only began and only continued within the context of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I think we forget this far too often. Someone's conversion--their acceptance of the gospel--does not primarily depend upon our presentations of the gospel or our evangelistic strategies; it primarily depends upon the work of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus says "blows where It will." (John 3)
The Wesleyan doctrine of "prevenient grace" (or "grace that goes before [salvation]") helps me in thinking this through. According to the Wesleyan understanding of the work of God's grace, God not only saves us by his grace, but prior to this he attracts us, calls to us, woos us by his "grace that goes before." If God's grace--which is to say, the work of the Holy Spirit--is understood in this way, then all of our "evangelistic outreach" must be understood in light of what the Holy Spirit is already doing. I believe the Holy Spirit is calling all men to repentance, and that whenever we present the gospel--whether through word, or through deed--we are doing nothing more than partnering in the work that the Holy Spirit is already performing (and has been doing a heck of a lot better than us for a heck of a lot longer, I might add!).
In conclusion, then, let me offer a model of evangelism that might seem an alternative to those methods you're familiar with (that is, if you're a part of "Evangelical Christianity"). This methodology is analogous to the situation Paul describes in 1 Cor. 14:24-25 and to the description of the early church in Acts 2:42-47. Here goes: What if we thought of evangelism as inviting people into our community of faith and letting the manifestation of our unity in Christ be the "gospel presentation" that the Holy Spirit uses to convict them of sin? Stated in another way, what if people came into our churches and there found communities of faith that were so evidently filled with the Spirit of Christ that our communal life itself was the "gospel presentation"? What if we focused more on confronting people with a unified church than with six verses out of the Book of Romans? I tend to think that people will be much more receptive to the message of those six verses out of Romans once they have seen the demonstration of the communal life in Christ clearly apparent in a righteous and loving church.
Perhaps then, the non-believer in our midst "will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 'God is really among you!'" (1 Cor. 14:25)
No comments:
Post a Comment