Inviting Evangelism: Reclaiming the Story

Throughout Lent my newsletters focused on cultivating justice; throughout Eastertide I want to focus on inviting evangelism. Together, justice and evangelism form the two-legs upon which the Gospel stands. Without God’s shalom, the announcement of salvation rings hollow; without salvation, the work of justice is merely the “Rotary Club at prayer,” (and I say this as a former Rotarian with due respect for the good they do in our communities!).

            So what does it take to invite evangelism in one’s congregation?

There is a crisis of confidence in the Church about our foundational message of salvation. The list of slings from secular critics is matched equally by the arrows of religious deconstructionists such that, many in our congregations could no more practice evangelism than I could perform surgery. As Jim Singleton, professor of Evangelism and Discipleship at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, recently reminded us at Grand Canyon’s Ignite the Spark! event, “People in our churches are experiencing the double whammy of wanting to look sophisticated and be well thought of by their friends and colleagues, and not wanting to risk looking foolish because they are really sure what it means or how to share Jesus.” Jim went on to say that “creating a culture of evangelism is a huge undertaking for churches.”

I believe the foundation for creating such a culture of evangelism begins with the Story we tell. We all know the story, after all we just finished Holy Week. But do we? How do you tell the Story? What are the ways your church tells the Story? For much of the Western Christian tradition, including many of our confessional documents within the Reformed tradition, the Story goes something like this: (a) you bad, (b) God good, (c) God wants you good so (d) God killed Jesus: (e) if you believe this intellectually without doubt or question God will let you go to heaven; otherwise…well, let’s just say you want to go to heaven! My re-telling of the Gospel in this paragraph is badly caricatured (sorry!) but I fear it is the sub-text our listeners hear, an accurate reflection of what they hear in what we have to tell. Is it really any wonder our congregants may not want to “risk looking foolish” by telling this Story?

But is the Story above really and truly the Gospel? Can we become more sophisticated in how we tell the Story without compromising the Gospel’s integrity? Yes, yes we can. Can we help our congregants focus on aspects of the Story that are both core and compelling? Yes, yes we can. Can we help our congregants learn how to put the Story into their own words to invite evangelism that is natural to oneself so that it flows with a personal rhythm? Yes, yes we can. Can our congregations do the hard work creating a culture of evangelism? Yes, yes we can.

Here is your homework: write a brief summary of the Story in your own words. Give it integrity; make sure it is true to the core of what Scripture tells us in Jesus. Make it compelling, yet allow it to be spoken in a way that it reflects your own personal rhythm. Share your Story with one other person – ask them to tell you honestly how you did.

What on earth are we doing for heaven’s sake,

Brad Munroe