by Darcy Reimer
I recently read this article by Roger Thoman, challenging how we traditionally approach “evangelism”. He said that “We don’t need evangelists, just Jesus-people who live and act in a way that brings about change, that lifts the hopeless, that cares for the tired, that releases the oppressed and that simply says—‘this is Jesus at work.’ “Follow Him!” Does that resonate with you? I have to say it does for me. I have taken my fair share of evangelism classes and seminars, all trying to give me the right tools to share my faith. I learned some good things in those classes, but the key to sharing one’s faith is not some proven technique sure to get you results, but a contagious vibrant love for Jesus. This can't be learned in a classroom seminar.
I think most followers of Jesus live with a lot of pressure to “evangelize”. So we go out and try in our flesh to strike up conversations and “make something happen”. I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to make something happen that wasn’t supposed to happen. Sure I said all the right things but it often fell on deaf ears. It was like driving a square peg in a round hole. In an attempt to do the “right thing” I was not listening to the Holy Spirit.
Anyways, you might challenge my statement, but give this article by Carl Medearis entitled “Why Evangelicals Should Stop Evangelizing”. He is the fella who wrote the book entitled “Speaking of Jesus: Art of Not Evangelizing”.
Here is an excerpt from his post entitled “Why Evangelicals Should Stop Evangelizing”
Jesus was the master of challenging religious prejudice and breaking down sectarian walls. Why do so many Christians want to rebuild those walls?
Even the Apostle Paul insisted that it’s faith in Jesus that matters, not converting to a new religion or a new socio-religious identity.
What if evangelicals today, instead of focusing on “evangelizing” and “converting” people, were to begin to think of Jesus not as starting a new religion, but as the central figure of a movement that transcends religious distinctions and identities?
Jesus the uniter of humanity, not Jesus the divider. How might that change the way we look at others?
This is more than just a semantic difference.
When I used to think of myself as a missionary, I was obsessed with converting Muslims (or anybody for that matter) to what I thought of as “Christianity.” I had a set of doctrinal litmus tests that the potential convert had to pass before I would consider them “in” or one of “us.”
Funny thing is, Jesus never said, “Go into the world and convert people to Christianity.” What he said was, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
Encouraging anyone and everyone to become an apprentice of Jesus, without manipulation, is a more open, dynamic and relational way of helping people who want to become more like Jesus — regardless of their religious identity.
Just because I believe that evangelicals should stop evangelizing doesn’t mean that they should to stop speaking of Jesus.
I speak of Jesus everywhere I go and with everyone I meet.
As founder and president of a company called International Initiatives, my work is aimed at building relationships among Christian leaders in the West and among Muslim leaders in the Middle East.
It may come as a surprise to many Christians that Muslims are generally open to studying the life of Jesus as a model for leadership because they revere him as a prophet.
But now that I’m no longer obsessed with converting people to Christianity, I’ve found that talking about Jesus is much easier and far more compelling.
I believe that doctrine is important, but it’s not more important than following Jesus.
Jesus met people where they were. Instead of trying to figure out who’s “in” and who’s “out,” why don’t we simply invite people to follow Jesus — and let Jesus run his kingdom?
Inviting people to love, trust, and follow Jesus is something the world can live with. And since evangelicals like to say that it’s not about religion, but rather a personal relationship with Jesus, perhaps we should practice what we preach.