Evangelism

I got myself in trouble with an experienced pastor the other day. Oops, I should probably learn to keep my mouth shut more often! Anyway, we got into a short discussion about my evangelism style, and I told him I don't really have one. After his initial shock, he asked me what I meant, so I told him a story.

When I was in my first year of seminary, I had heard much about the evangelism professor, who was something of a legend in that school and across the denomination... so I immediately enrolled in his Personal Evangelism class. But there was a problem. The more I went to class that semester, the more I became troubled by the whole "evangelism" thing. Great guy... I love the (now retired) professor as a person... but frankly, his methods literally made me ill. His full-court press style of gospel salesmanship was modeled after "Evangelism Explosion, " a massively popular formula for "training disciples" developed by D. James Kennedy in the early 60's. Essentially, this method of sharing the gospel centers around asking two important questions, roughly as follows:

#1 - If you were to die tonight, do you know for sure that you would go to be with God in heaven?

#2 - (if they say yes)... If God were to ask you, "Why should I allow you into My heaven," what would you say?

Then, after managing to get his or her attention (hopefully by scaring the "hell" out of them), you would lead them through a series of pre-selected Bible passages (accompanied by profound illustrations)... all purposefully designed to lead the person through a rational, yet emotionally appealing monologue about God's plan of salvation with humankind. Question, question, Scripture, illustration, Scripture, illustration... etc.

Anyone can do it, my professor insisted, as long as they commit themselves to memorizing the questions, the Bible passages, and the illustrations. That, and an evangelist must diligently maintain the attitude of prayer and "seeing" the lost with Jesus' eyes. If we don't see everyone in desperate need of Christ, then we'll quickly become desensitized, and stop being concerned about people going to hell. Now, tell me, how exactly does a person argue with that?

In those days, I didn't have the words to articulate my building sense of anxiety each time I went to class and had to report on how many times I had shared the gospel with unbelievers the previous week... but with each passing Tuesday night, I came to dread the two and a half hour class more and more. Over and over, the class schedule followed the same basic formula for success: Listen to the professor's highly-charged lecture, take copious notes (or pretend to), watch a home video or two in which he demonstrates every phase of the monologue with unbelievable ease, take a short quiz, turn in a written report, practice our pitch with a partner or small group... and of course, give the class our personal "hit list" of how many people we had gotten to the point of saying the infamous "sinner's prayer" and therefore getting them eternally "saved." We even tracked our overall class hit list per local church throughout the semester with hash marks on a blackboard representing each person won into the kingdom of God! What an impact we were making... and what a migraine I was getting!

Years later, I went to a Brian McLaren conference in Kansas City, and he helped me understand why I had difficulty relating to my legendary professor. For one thing, the two questions were not appropriate for this day and age... (Hmmm, what might a better question be for a postmodern age?)

Anyway, there is good news about the class - I finally got through the semester. The bad news, however? I later realized that the class was a two-semester course. In order to get any credit, I had to take "advanced" evangelism the following semester as well! Oh boy!... More money down the toilet!... More hash marks on the chalkboard!... More sinners saved!... More migraines!

Needless to say, I hated it. Perhaps next time I'll try to explain what my style of evangelism is (yes, I do have one, but it's not nearly as scientific or a "sure-fire" in its ability to bring sinners to their knees)... rather than what it is not. In the meantime, I'd love to learn your take on the whole subject. How you go about sharing your faith in Jesus Christ? What does evangelism mean to you?

The River

My good friend Eric laid into me the other day for not posting to my blog regularly... so I thought I'd better write something down or I'll hear from him again!

Well, it looks as though the River will be flowing very soon. I'm writing to you from a home in Spokane, where we're staying during our very short trip to Washington State to finalize the details for planting a church in my hometown of Ellensburg. We met in a downtown high rise office building this morning to discuss the financial details and philosophy for starting a brand new work in the 'Burg.' As it turns out, their proposal to us was very different than ours was to them... but in some ways it is more freeing, and certainly more balanced for all parties involved. The people who are sponsoring this new church are so wise and so positive... We were blown away by their sincere affirmation and encouraging feedback. We may be the only ones in our little town as we begin our ministry there, but we will certainly not be alone. There is a whole team of people who deeply care for us and really want to see this new church succeed.

Quite honestly, there is no specific ministry plan... at least not anything that is set in concrete. We have a lot of ideas, passion, and questions... but much of what we do depends on what and who we encounter when we arrive there. We talked it over quite extensively, and as a group, we came to this conclusion: The sooner we begin, the better! So tomorrow morning we'll fly back to Kansas City, give our notice at our respective places of employment, pack up our belongings, and prepare to leave town on June 17. I graduated from seminary on Mother's Day, so it seems very fitting to leave town on Father's Day!

I admit, I have been very negligent in posting to this site... but the past month has, without a doubt, been the longest month of my life. Waiting and praying to see if this is indeed where God is calling us to serve His kingdom. Not knowing for certain has been very frustrating to say the least. However, we left that meeting today with the full knowledge and affirmation that everything we've been sensing in our spirit over the past 12 months has been the call of God on our lives... calling us back to the very place we began our journey together 18 years ago... and of all things, to start a new church! This time around, instead of (trying to) chase girls and abusing alcohol, I'll be sharing the good news of God's grace. Instead of trying to escape my hometown, I'll be seeking to become part of the local culture... to inspire others to serve the poor... to draw near to the One who created them... to become a disciple of Jesus.

The Lord wants to redeem the years the locusts have eaten...

One other thing that became clear in the meeting this morning... we won't be able to take on this project all by ourselves. Obviously, we'll need to depend on God throughout this ministry adventure... but we'll also need a team of people around us... people with passion for Christ, and the gift of thinking through the details... especially in terms of financial stewardship.

No question... It's going to be hard, it's going to be lonely, often times we'll probably want to give up and run away... but it's also going to be wonderful! In a way I can't fully articulate, I know all the way down to the core of my being that God created me for such a time as this... that is, He created US for such a time as this! Though I could certainly do something easier than plant a church in my hometown... or something more financially rewarding... I could never do anything more right or satisfying. It is the right time... the right place... the right circumstances, and the right decision for my family... Somehow I think we'd better buckle-up and prepare for the ride of our lives, 'cause we're about to get on the biggest, fastest, most dangerous roller-coaster ever built... and it makes the adrenaline flow through my veins just thinking about it!

Yikes! Anybody want to move to Ellensburg and get on the roller-coaster with us?

In Response to a Concerned Friend in Christ

This was my response to a concerned friend who was trying to understand my foul mood this afternoon. I believe it's self explanatory, and probably offensive to some:

Don't' worry, I'm still a Christian... More so than ever! But if you're curious enough to investigate, you'll find that the postmodern movement is far more than fluff. I don't want to threaten your faith, but if you want to talk it over over coffee sometime or a few times, I'll always be open. Frankly, we may just have to agree to disagree. Some Christians (young and old) embrace postmodernism, and many simply reject it - they don't trust what they believe it has to say to modern Christians... and consequently they think it's leading the Church down a path straight to hell.

I love the Church, but have long thought that something about it is incomplete, lifeless... essentially, something is broken about church, and I believe it somehow needs to be "fixed." The postmodern movement (though far from perfect) has a lot to say to the 21st Century American church to knock it back on its heels a little... and frankly, that angers some people, so they rail against the evils of postmodernism, and/or the emergent church. That happened to me today, and I still don't know if I'm more offended, angry or sad! Most of these people have never actually read or studied the movement - other than reacting to the out-of-context soundbytes they've heard - and what they hear threatens their understanding of "Truth." So, mostly out of ignorance and fear they reject it (and try to incite other Christians to do so as well).

My take is this: Okay, so read a book or two that explains the viewpoint. You may read about it, listen to what they're saying, and THEN if you don't like it, go ahead and reject the message. But if you haven't done your homework - if you're just reacting to here say and listening to radio preachers tell you how evil it is - then you really don't have a legitimate right to gripe about it. Yes, I'm still the same old Jeff, but I've been shaped by a seminary level education.

Some people think that's the problem... After all, Christians ought to just read the Bible (The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it)! You've seen the bumper stickers... They have an anti-intellectual view. Others think a seminary education gives a person the right to be superior and speak down to the "little people" who live in ignorance... But those folks are out of touch and just plain arrogant.

Quite honestly, I don't' believe I'm evil because I've worked my tail off to learn how to think theologically, nor do I think I'm superior to anyone. I do think I've learned a lot that can serve to help people who are living in darkness, and desperately want their lives to mean something. I don't have time to argue with whiny Christians who think postmodernism is the work of the devil. I want to spend my life living in grace-filled community that exists to help unbelievers recognize the goodness and grace of God... I don't think I need to constantly threaten them with the horrors of hell... 'cause the reality is, they're so worried about next week and next month that most of them don't even care at ALL about the next life.

And besides, deep down they already know that something is deeply, seriously wrong anyway. They don't need to be brow-beaten, they need to be given hope. And YES, they need to be made aware that life apart from God has terrible consequences - now and forever - but for goodness sake... spare me the 1950's legalistic, manipulative garbage that makes people develop an image of God the Father as horrible and evil. And yet, if we quit cussing, and dancing with the opposite sex, we can know that Jesus is the good guy who'll punch our ticket to heaven! All we have to do is make the logical decision to believe in Him (and of course, repeat the sinner's prayer).

That may be the paradigm in some modern circles, but from my perspective it doesn't have much connection to the gospel. Did Jesus ever do an alter call? Did Paul ever lead anyone through Evangelism Explosion? Did Peter ever lead someone through the four spiritual laws? Moses could have learned so much from Aristotle!

I hate to break it to you, but it goes a whole "hell" of a lot deeper than that... Jesus didn't come to save America... or save individuals only... or even to thump those unbelievers (or postmoderns) who reject God... He came bring reconciliation between God and ALL of His creation... ALL of humanity. He came to offer hope to the helpless... He came to dine with sinners, and tell them of His Father's love. He came to sanctify humanity... not just our bad behavior, but our corporate brokenness and mortality and desperate-ness.

Okay... that's enough of a sermon for now... read the papers [perhaps I'll post these later] and then we'll talk if you still want to :-) Of course, the they're not nearly deep enough... you'd be amazed at the volumes of books on what was accomplished in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. In the midst of all this, I for one am impressed at what the postmodern movement has to offer to the ongoing conversation. So ya, read some books if you want to keep going down a road to new discovery... but don't worry, I won't be offended if you won't or can't stomach it my "emerging" beliefs about doing church.

Frankly, I'm not changing back to my old fundamentalist theology of yesteryear... and besides, I'll guarantee you that - like it or hate it - postmodernism (or whatever it comes to be known as) is the future of the world and the church... so we can stay in the "good old days" of the past (or present) where it's safe, or step forth into the fearful darkness by faith in the God who continues to write His story of grace through His Church. Either way, I'm sure we'll get our ticket to heaven punched (grin).

Jeff

Raised Up

How come everyone who knew Jesus was so surprised about His resurrection? I mean, it's not like Jesus never plainly told His disciples that he would suffer, be killed and raised to life again (Matthew 16, 17, 20, Luke 9). He even tore into Simon for arguing against that "crazy" line of thinking... going so far as to call him the devil for trying to circumvent God's plan of salvation (Matthew 16:23). But it's true... all of it... the Son of Man came to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies and rescue humanity from its helpless estate. He came to suffer and die, opening for us a way to die to our sin (rather than in our sin). And yet He was raised, opening for us the way to live in the power of His resurrection.

But still we doubt... and argue. Those who don't believe in Christ doubt the resurrection because it is simply not logical or reasonable. Those of us who have crossed that spiritual/intellectual barrier and do believe in the resurrection of Jesus can't quite agree on what was accomplished in terms of our life in Christ. Was the work of the atonement (including the resurrection) primarily a legal transaction... or was it more about the demonstration of holy love? Was it for the salvation of all humanity, or just the elect? Yada, yada, yada...

In my tradition of faith - which certainly has its detractors (many of whom may write me a long response to correct my improper view of sanctification) - we view the resurrection as an invitation to live the Christ life, and all that implies. Wesley said something to the effect that the supreme and overruling purpose of God's plan of salvation is to renew men and women's hearts in His image... not just someday but in this life. Not perfection of our humanity per se, but perfection of our ability to love others. The Holy Spirit reveals this holy mystery to us and empowers us to participate in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. In other words, Jesus not only delivered us from all sin (in objective terms), He also made it possible for believers to be filled with all the fullness of God (in subjective terms)... through faith that works by grace-filled, ever-growing love for God and neighbor.

Well, whether or not any of that made any sense... Easter is certainly a cause for Christian celebration... even in the midst of our perplexing, doubt-laden, relationship with, and oft-argued understanding of the resurrection. Perhaps it's not important that we fully understand and/or agree on all the implications of the resurrection, as it is to simply believe and extend grace toward one another.

In Luke 24, when He encountered the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus employed a great way to open the eyes of the disciples so they were filled to overflowing with surprising joy and Messianic hope; the Eucharist. After pointing out all that the Scriptures had to say about his earthly ministry, Jesus, "Sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him" (Luke 24, The Message). Wow, when we sit down at the table of fellowship and break bread together as followers of Jesus, we find that all we need to know about God's salvation is made clearly visible to us... He gives us full recognition and removes our doubts and anxieties so that we may experience the fullness of His divine presence. Hmmmmm... That seems worthy of celebration. Happy Easter!

Holy Week

It's 4:23 AM and I haven't slept very much all night. On top of that, I'm either suffering from a serious bout of hay fever, or I've gone and caught a fairly nasty cold. I think I know what's going on... with only a few (extremely pressure-packed) weeks to go in my seminary career, I'm remembering what I knew when I came here six years ago... I'm allergic to Kansas City! I need to head back to God's country, Washington State... quite literally to clear my head once again! :-)

Last night was interesting. On Wednesday nights at my church, the Sr. pastor and I trade off leading the devotional service. I love Wednesday nights, primarily because it's interactive... no sermon, no formal service... just a few songs of my choosing and an open-ended time of spiritual discussion, typically based on something found in the Bible (though that's not always the case). For the past several weeks, we've been making our way through the book of Judges.

Wow... I've read those stories several times before... but I've never really slowed down long enough to be shocked by them. Much of the book of Judges is appalling, if not downright offensive. I realize much of the text has to be filtered through the lens of significant cultural change, etc. Nevertheless, most of it is depressing and heartbreaking stuff. Wanton murdering, lying, raping, cheating, stealing, power-grabbing, idol worshipping... and those are the "good guys"! Basically, to me, Judges reveals humanity at its worst... base-level, unbounded sin. There is an interesting line scattered throughout the text that is rather intriguing: "In those days Israel had no king." No king... no leadership, no vision, no gelling agent, no boundaries, no relationship with Yahweh. But there's one thing they did have... religion - or should I say religiosity. An appearance of authenticity, but laced with self-centered, self-serving poison. Just one or two generations removed from Moses... geez, you'd think people would remember the miracles, remember the warnings, remember the grace that was shown their fathers and grandfathers... but no... they were content to turn from the One True God, and chase after false gods with a vengeance.

I guess the irony is that the Lord didn't want Israel to have a king... HE desired to be their king... and He even set up a system to raise up human "judges" (or stewards?) to give them someone they could relate to... But the people rejected His offer of grace. They wanted a human king, someone to wear the royal robe and diadem... someone who would powerfully lead the tribes of Israel into battle and give them victory over their enemies. So eventually, God gave the people what they demanded. But - if I understand the history properly - in this in-between time, God began to lift His hand of mercy from the stubborn, stiff-necked Israelites, and left the people to their own devices. Therefore, the book of Judges reflects a dark time in history when "Israel had no king." The last three chapters of the book are particularly gruesome and troubling. When you finish reading the story of the "Concubine in Twelve Parts"... you just feel kind of empty inside, realizing how disgusting people can really be toward one another.

Strange way to end the book huh? And... a strange book to finish up on Holy Week huh? Yes, and no. As we digested the grotesque treatment of the poor woman in the story, a few things were pointed out:

1. If we think the world we live in is bad (and it is), compared to the time of the Judges, our day and age seems rather tame.

2. If possible, the world very well have been even worse in the days of Noah... in other words, there may be no end to the depravity of our sinful hearts. That at least helps me understand better why God decided to destroy the world and start over again with Noah and his family.

3. Though I read those stories and conclude that God ought to nuke the whole bunch of them... even in the midst of their rejection of Him, and their violence toward one another... God saw them as valuable enough to forgive... lovely enough to redeem... special enough to rescue.

4. Very simply... thank God for Jesus. Thank God that He came. Thank God that in spite of everything, He never backed away from His merciful offer to be our King. Thank God that He sees the good in us, even when it's not readily apparent. Thank God for the self-emptying love of our Messiah.

Answers

I think I blew it the other night with my brother-in-law and his wife. I recently spent some time at their home and enjoyed several days of their warm and wonderful hospitality. One night, just before leaving, we were all talking with another friend of theirs (a pastor's wife), and the subject of witnessing came up. Now it wasn't exactly what I believe about witnessing - to me it sounded a whole lot more like selling cars than shining with the light of Christ in the darkness. Nevertheless, I behaved quite well, managing not to say anything too controversial. However, the point was then raised that the reason it's so difficult to witness to others is because if the (witnessee) brings up a hard question, everyday Christians often don't know the answers.

The pastor's wife, certain that the Bible holds the answers to any and all questions pertaining to life, suggested that if she were witnessing to another person and they asked her a question she couldn't answer, she'd simply tell them she'd look up the answer and get back with them... in fact, better yet they could join her and look it up with her, because surely the answers are there in that book somewhere.

Wow. Try as I might to refrain myself... finally I had to engage with her. Do you mean to tell me that you think the Bible has all the answers to life... kind of like a Teacher's Edition math book with all the answers at the back? Her answer... "Yes, absolutely...but of course they're not necessarily at the back of the book." Against my better judgment, I continued... So whatever problems I have going on at a given time, I can just turn to the Bible and it will tell me how to deal with it...? "Yes... of course it does... And that's why everyone should read and study it every day, to get the answers they need."

So, in my infinite wisdom, I forged ahead... I told them wow, that hasn't exactly been my experience with God's Word. In fact, that view of the Bible seems rather impersonal and individualistic... more American than biblical. I agree a lot of answers to our deepest questions are found there, but the Bible was never meant to be reduced to a mere science book or magic 8-ball. By this time, all eyes were on me... and everyone looked at me as if I had just stripped off all my clothes and began singing AC/DC's "Highway to Hell at the top of my lungs."

In fact, I continued, our individualistic demands of God can lead us astray more than you might think. When everyone studies the Bible exclusively on their own (usually with the aid of study notes and AM radio preachers)... the need for doing church... that is, gathering in the community of God's people... begins to fade. In fact, I'm convinced that church attendance in much of America has been reduced to meeting together as a collection of individuals... to sing songs, visit friends, and get our simplistic "Jesus answers."

That went over like a lead balloon.

But I couldn't help myself. God hard-wired us to live in community with one another, and as such we are called to live together, worship our Lord and King together, and yes, interpret God's Word together... in the context of community. I'm all for doing personal devotions, but when we live with a "Jesus and Me" mentality, and the Bible itself becomes as or more important than the God who created the Bible... we have entered into the dangerous waters of bibliolatry.

The Bible is not an answer book... nor is it some kind of pseudo-god to be worshipped... it is a witness of the One True God to be explored... It is a living, Yahweh-ordained instrument that has the power to miraculously breathe life into our deadness. It doesn't merely provide (personal) answers to life... it does far more than that! It informs us of our hopeless state as a fallen creation. it invites us (corporately and personally) to repent of our sin... to accept the redemptive work of Yahweh, to relate to His Son, the Savior... to fully enter the Christ-life... to submit ourselves to the One who created us and desires to re-form our character, allow the Person of the Holy Spirit to fill us with His grace, and transform us into people of self-emptying, Christlike love.

The Bible, primarily utilizing a collection of interweaving stories (but also propositions) about the good, the bad, and the ugly in regards to humanity - has the power to lead us into the presence of the Holy One. As we live in relationship with our Lord, the Bible serves to shape us and mold us, and renew our mind... and ultimately... do what it promises to do... form us into the image of God... the communal God. The Bible, like people... is relational-messy, utterly complex and often unpredictable... frankly, it transcends simple definition. To put scientific boundaries around that kind of power, and try to place it in a nice orderly box with lots of duct tape (and call it holy) is not only misguided, it is dangerous.

Oh man... now I have a lot of making up to do. The next time I visit my in-laws, somehow I'm going to have to convince them that I really do love the Bible... and I really am a follower of Jesus Christ... and seminary has in fact deepened my faith and trust in God, rather than turning me into a whacked-out, Bible-rejecting, Jesus-hating liberal! Perhaps next time I get into a discussion like this with folks I'll just keep my mouth shut and nod approvingly... NAH!

Verbal Venom 2

Over the course of time, we disciples are given insight as a result of reading the Word and spending time with the Lord in prayer. This work of the Spirit is not done in a vacuum, however, but rather in and through the community of other like-minded believers and followers of Jesus. That has certainly the case for me in terms of this subject.

I have had a rough week. My sister-in-law, the one I posted about last week, died three days ago. Being 2000 miles away from the epicenter of my family (not to mention being a starving student) made that stressful, not only in terms of the grieving within my family - but also in terms of preparing to fly out for the funeral, etc. Here's my point. I haven't had time to follow up the Verbal Venom posting... much less the desire. Somehow, the loss of someone I love - someone who died too young - distracted me, and prevented me from thinking very clearly.
But God, in His mercy, provided insight through the community of online blog-ism. He provided Bub... probably not his (or her?) real name (if it is, perhaps we should flog the parents). Nevertheless, Bub came through for me in his response to the questions I asked in my last post. Since it is more likely others will actually see his response if they are posted afresh, his insightful, Spirit-directed advice on living with jerks (even in the community of God) is copied below in all its unedited glory:

interesting situation. seems strangely familiar. in reflecting on this situation, i'd venture a guess that this is all too common in our churches. this could be troubling, or it could be seen as an opportunity (or it could be seen as a troubling opportunity!) . i really think that our struggle really isn't against those pain in the butt types that we encounter in life. rather, it's a struggle against those forces of the enemy that may be at work in those pain in the butt types we encounter. ( i think that's Paul's take on it.) and let's be fair. who of us has not been the pain in someone's butt? we've all fallen short of God's glory, right? we all screw up.

so what's the difference in the body of Christ. honestly, my temptation would be to right off this veritable vomiter of verbal venom. you know, just disconnect completely and detach. classic conflict-avoidance. i'm not sure Christ will let us get away with that. admittedly, i can be kinda dim and there is a lot about Christ that is mysterious, but I think i get this much. Christ is about redemption and reconciliation. what if your friend didn't excuse or take this kind of behavior from her acquaintance? but what if she also surrounded this situation in prayer and invited others to join her in this truly spiritual battle? what if truth was spoken in love and sin was confronted and restoration began? what if the attempts of the enemy to fracture Christ's Body were thwarted because the members of the Body resolved to hang together and together, administer healing to this wounded member?

my life's experience is that those who bark loudest and bite hardest are often also hurting most profoundly.

i think if it were me, i'd advise your friend to pray for patience and grace. i'd counsel them to find a way to confront the sinful behavior and seek active loving ways to manifest Christ's healing to this injured individual. pie in the sky? a naive and pollyanna approach? maybe. but if Christ really can make all things new and if He expects us to get involved in the process, i guess i have to believe that He can make it happen.

i think that a largely non-christian world watching us "Jesus people" would sit up and take notice if we really loved eachother when it wasn't easy and resolved our conflicts in our churches.

anybody can love folks that are nice and just like them. even sinners to that. (have i heard that somewhere before?) i am hearing a call to a radical kind of love - a love i know precious little about and have absolutely no resources in and of myself to create....but i've got to believe it exists. otherwise, i've got nothin' to hang my hat on with this jesus.

Amen, Bub. It sounds like you have wrestled with these issues before, and we get to be the benefactor in an iron-sharpens-iron sort of way. Thanks for a thought-provoking response to a difficult set of questions.