At the beginning of each New Year, I always take some time to make a list for myself of books I want to read over the coming year. Many are books that I’ve wanted to read, some will get added to the list as the year passes, and some are books that I want to revisit. As I make my list, I head over to my small bookshelf to browse my current collection. After glancing over some popular titles, I came across a book that’s sat on my shelf for probably 4-5 years, seemingly untouched. The title, More Ready Than You Realize, by Brian McLaren.
This small book is one I briefly remember interacting with in one of my very first ministry classes my freshman year of college. As my eyes passed by it, something inside me said, “You better read that one again.”
So, last night there I sat revisiting the thoughts of McLaren on “Evangelism As A Dance In A Postmodern Matrix.”
Now, I’m guessing by what I just said in that last sentence 90 % of you got turned off from the book or are sitting there scratching your head saying a collective, “What?!” I can’t say that I get real excited about words like “evangelism” either just because such a negative picture has been painted in my mind when I hear it. There’s so many first thoughts I have: TV Evangelists; hellfire and damnation; you’re wrong, I’m right; my way is the only way; you’re a sinner who needs what I have to offer; blah, blah, blah.
Like I said, these are just honest first impressions that I have of the word. We’ve kinda made it into a dirty word. Think about it…when you’re “non-Christian” friends hear that word, don’t they seem to moan and groan or become defensive or turn a squeamish shade of white at the mere mention of it?
There seems to me to be a lot of “uptightness” around the word evangelism. People get defensive and it many times results in an argument of “I’m right, you’re wrong. Convert of suffer the consequences (aka: Go to hell)!” Blunt? Yes. Harsh? Yes. But isn’t that the more popular view we’ve painted of what the word means?
McLaren makes the statement, “Evangelism should be about relationships.” He goes on later to call it “spiritual friendships.” Which, at the risk of sounding very Christianese, he’s basically pointing to the age-old saying of “earn the right to be heard.” Not through your vast knowledge of the Bible or through any words at all, but let your lives speak to those around you. Let them see you’re not superhuman, super-spiritual, and that you’re not even super! Listen and care for the people around you. Recognize your differences and love people for who they are. The way you love, serve, and care for people around you will speak far more than any words or theology you could throw at them.
“Unlike the typical evangelist-caricature of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Jesus was short on sermons, long on conversations; short on answers, long on questions; short on abstractions and propositions; long on stories and parables; short on telling you what to think, long on challenging you to think for yourself; short on condemning the irreligious, long on confronting the religious” (McLaren).
Jesus was all about stepping into peoples lives and meeting them where they were at, on their turf. It wasn’t a requirement that they convert to His way of thinking in order to have His love, compassion, and attention.
Hmm…
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