Mothers! Housewives! Titanesses of Industry(?) Lend me your eyes!
Danielle asked me a while back if I would be willing to do a "guest" post on her blog about how to think through Evangelism. I quickly resigned to saying, "But honey, I already have a blog!" She reminded me that one book review on a blog does not a blogger make. Touche' lover, touche'. Clearly, I took her advice and here I sit pecking away at a post for a blog filled with polka dots and baby pictures (I love both by the way).
Why Evangelism? Good question. Is this not an old hat? Yes...and no. What can be said that hasn't already been said? Well, nothing really (Ecc 1:9).
Nevertheless, I hope to encourage you in your understanding of the outer-workings of Evangelizing those who do not know Christ, a sort of "putting on the skin" of the skeleton of Evangelism. If nothing else, I hope to at least point you toward some resources that have helped me in my thinking through this subject.
Let's assume for a moment the following scenario: You have known "Jane" for about 2 minutes. It is one of those encounters that is actually quite pleasant and you up in a conversation with this person. You, being the intentional believer you are, find a good and non-awkward way of bringing up that you're a Christian. "Jane" then goes on to say some form of "that's great, I really respect that you believe that, it's just not for me."
What do you do? What should you do?
A few quick pointers:
First--and I cannot stress this point enough--LISTEN to the person you're trying to reach. Do not forget that you are trying to win a person over to Christ, not a number or notch in your evangelism belt. They have real lives, real hopes, real feelings. They are not on your path as a sort of cardboard cut-out for you to train your evangelism pitches on so that you're ready for the "real thing."
Second: Listening gives you two opportunities: (1) To show you really do care about what that person is saying (because, remember, you REALLY do). (2) It gives you an opportunity to see Romans 1:18-22 in action as they will answer life's big questions (Where did I come from? What went wrong? How is it fixed? Where is it all going?) in such a cockamamied way that it allows for more conversation that can move into the Gospel.
Thirdly, Evangelism is much more than just a presentation, it is a lifestyle. Evangelism opportunities are everywhere. For example, I have a customer who comes in to Starbucks almost every day. He loves Chess--no, take that back--he is obsessed with Chess. I don't know how to play Chess. So, starting this Summer he is teaching me how to play Chess. Now, do I want to learn how to play Chess? Yes! I've always wanted to learn. But, more importantly, I know that this man will talk about anything while playing Chess and it gives me a wonderful opportunity to share my life with him and what Christ has done for Him.
Spurgeon once said that it is not as if the Elect are walking around with bulls eyes on their backs so we can know who to talk to about Christ. We don't know who will come to Christ and who won't, that is God's to know (Deut 29:29). Our JOY is to share this love with those who live their lives each and every day as if Christ never suffered death or rose from the dead in order to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).
I could keep going, but I'll stop there. I'll list a couple of resources for you that I've found helpful as I've thought through this:
For skeptics: I've found Tim Keller's Reason For God to be the best book for a skeptic. It's clear, concise and worthy of giving to someone.
Will Metzger's Tell the Truth is the best book on Evangelism that I've read so far. Excellent, excellent resource.
That's it! Thanks everyone!
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