Why does evangelism feel like trying to sell Amway?
You’ve had the experience. One of your friends invites you over for “dinner.” Then he wants to tell you about a “wonderful business opportunity.” You can tell that he is enthusiastic about it. But it sounds like a hassle. You’d have to change your whole life and build it around this “business opportunity.” The whole situation makes you uncomfortable. And you wonder how this is going to change your relationship.
All you have to do is exchange “wonderful plan for your life” for “wonderful business opportunity” and you have most people’s experience of being “evangelized."
Why do you think this is? What can we do to make it different?
(Here’s one guy’s idea. Here’s another twist on the “dinner” approach.)
Pastor Rod
“Helping you become the person God created you to be”
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2 comments:
Let’s focus on following the example of our Lord Jesus—loving people and helping people.
It has been my experience that as I draw nearer to God, my eyes are opened more and more to the needs of others and my heart is softened to want to reach out to them. Some opportunities to love are relatively easy, and some are not. This is no shallow love. This is a consistent love that acts in another person’s best interest even when it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, and when you don’t “feel” like it. This love is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit; the human heart, damaged by sin, is simply not capable of this type of consistent selfless love.
The way this love works itself out in practical terms is manifold. The point is simply to meet the practical needs you encounter in whatever capacity you can and with genuine concern. In the process you sow seeds of love and develop some relationships. Pray for God to open doors to discuss spiritual questions and needs.
There are also opportunities to love and share God’s Word with people we’ve just met and may never meet again. The keys are appropriateness, love, respect, and an openness to the leading of God’s Spirit. For example, sometimes I’ll leave a Bible verse or a tract with a tip for a waiter/waitress, cab driver, or hotel housekeeping staff.
Sometimes I do well, sometimes I fail miserably. In either case, by God's grace I press on. In the long run, God is changing me for the better and refining me through the power of His Spirit and His Word.
Excellent post, Jeff.
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