Sunday, January 8, 2006
Forced evangelism
We recently visited Monument Circle and were accosted by a sidewalk preacher with a bullhorn and his merry band of street evangelists pushing tracts into people's faces. While in college, there were several instances when the Christian campus groups would send students to various places on the campus with a sheet of questions to ask random strangers they found. Does this type of evangelism work? Are people really attracted to and impacted by this process? What is evangelism anyway? Does it mean that you share the "Romans road" or a "wordless book" with a stranger, or perhaps a colleague, so that you can get them to say some sort of prayer to "recognize Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior"? Shouldn't evangelism be more of a personal, ongoing process that you undergo with the people you encounter on a daily basis? Shouldn't it involve living out your life in light of the Truth that's been revealed to you so that others can see Christ "fleshed out" rather than just talked about? How can you make an effort by your own daily actions to help others understand that He is real and relevant to their lives?
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My mom used to sell Mary Kay make up. Lord knows, she was a gifted saleswoman. What made her a good salesperson was the same thing that kept her from being a good person to just hang out with: she became all about the sales pitch. When I saw her coming, I was tempted to run the other direction. I didn’t care if I was a winter. I wasn’t into any male beauty products. I didn’t have any friends that might be interested in having a Mary Kay party. Suddenly, she never met a stranger, only people who might need someone to help connect them with their make up needs. Watching her in action, every conversation eventually turned to that person’s make up needs. Evangelicals are constantly under pressure to “spread the good news,” made to feel like bad Christians if we aren’t telling everyone we bump into about how Jesus came and died for their sins. In effect, we’ve been turned into salesmen. That’s why when people find out that you’re a Christian, this deer in the headlights look comes over their face and they try to weasel out of whatever conversation you were having. I’m all about sharing the gospel message of Christ, I’m not about cramming it down everyone’s throat. I don’t buy into the “greatest act of love is to share Christ”/“confrontational evangelism” brand of guilting folks into a state of constant witnessing. We’ve become “decision counters,” being all about forcing that moment of sales-pressure decision for Christ. If nothing else, you know what? Not everyone is wired to be a salesman. We have unique personalities, unique gifts, and we should take that into account when figuring out how to go about sharing. There is no master pitch to learn; there is more than one way to evangelize. We’ve bought so much into the modern idea of how to network and salesmanship, that we’ve often overlook the power of “ordinary evangelism”.
Posted by Maurice on 01/08/2006 12:42:08 AM
Rich Vincent put it this way in one of his essays: we must believe that God is at work in the ordinary – in our small, simple acts of love. We must believe that God will work through a simple “thank you,” an encouraging word, even a simple smile. Though we cannot change the world, we can, through the simplest acts of kindness, change someone’s world. When our focus is narrowed like this, we are finally in a position to accomplish something ... Jim Henderson argues that one of the main problems with traditional evangelism is that we are pressured “to close the deal with people, and we haven’t been shown the value and importance of simply connecting with people in a normal, ordinary way.” In confrontational evangelism, connections are not counted; only deal-closers prove one’s witness was a success. Ultimately, however, the connections we establish with others have more spiritual impact than forcing a decision on someone and then moving onto another target. Ordinary evangelism demands that we reevaluate our standards for success. Our focus must not be on numbers, but on loving and serving people. Too often, confrontational evangelism evaluates its success on the numbers of decisions it generates. Instead, we must evaluate our success by how faithful we have been to demonstrate the life and love of Christ; in other words, by the connections we have made. The real test of Christian witness is not how many decisions we gather, but how well we love others. One way to evaluate this is to answer the question: Is our Christian faith making us a better or worse neighbor?
Posted by Maurice Broaddus on 01/08/2006 12:44:00 AM
We need to be in-the-moment relationship builders. Constantly making connections and being a part of people’s lives. Conversations need to be the end goal, listening and learning about people for their own sake. It becomes about building relationships and seeing where they go. Small talk has lost its value since the only talk worth anything is our “conversion speech.” Yes, this is a more holistic way of sharing our faith, but I think it spares us from falling into the pitfall of evangelism objectifying people, reducing them to objects to obtain for God. The difference between friendship evangelism and intentional friendship is the difference between manipulative vs. genuine relationships. Intentional friendships is about sharing life with people without an end strategy, not looking for an opening to make a pitch. It’s about loving people for who they are, where they are, and how they are. Be a genuine human being and care for other people genuinely.
Posted by Maurice Broaddus on 01/08/2006 12:44:20 AM
This quote from the Big Kahuna best sums it up: "It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch. And you're not a human being; you're a marketing rep. "
Posted by Maurice on 01/08/2006 12:44:55 AM
Gee, this must be a topic that Maurice is interested in. ;)
Posted by Sheryl H on 01/08/2006 02:16:26 AM
Hi, welcome to Burger King, what can we get for you today? UHHHH a #1 with Cheese, but No Pickles and a Coke to drink. Anything else for you today? No, Thank You. Okay, that will be $4.54 at the window please. (the hustle and bustle of preparing an order for a drive thru customer) Thank you very much, have a great day. Thunk, screeeeeeeech (the tract gets slammed on the window sill as the driver pulls away). Oh whats this? (as the waist of glossy paper is thrown into the large garbage receptical next to the Frozen Coke Machine) Hi, Welcome to Burger King, what can we get for you today?
Posted by Adam Wyckoff on 01/08/2006 02:05:45 PM
From James 2 (the Message translation): "14Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? 15For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved 16and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup--where does that get you? 17Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 18I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. 19Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? 20Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? 21Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? 22Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? 23The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." 24Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works? 25The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape--that seamless unity of believing and doing--what counted with God? 26The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse."Posted by dwellingplace on 01/08/2006 09:05:03 PM
Is Mon. Circle just the hot spot for those guys or what? And darn you Maurice! You stole my 'Big Kahuna' quote! :-) Well, I think he's summed it up. You can't sell Jesus. You have to live Him. (Well, you know what I mean. :-) )Posted by Lauren on 01/08/2006 11:22:24 PM
I agree with the above. I have met a lot of "christians" that have turned me away in my ignorance. My ex fiance's father used to lock him in the closet for days on end at the age of 8 because he watched an inappropriate TV show or something just as stupid, so that he could rid himself of the sin, or some such nonsense. Not every christian I meet is this bad, but honestly a lot are and they give christians a bad name to those who don't know better, for those who do know better the answer is simple: Those are not real christians, they aren't following the word of God. I think that if every christian just lived the example, and only when the opportunity actually presented itself where the other person wanted to be witnessed to and was going to be open minded should they be led to the lord, if they aren't willing don't make them drink, just show them how refreshing and tasty it is to you, and maybe they'll get thirstier.
Posted by DoesItEverGetBetter on 01/10/2006 01:31:42 AM
I can't help but think of the verse- "I am all things to all men." Passing out tracts does work-Jews for Jesus "Sorties" have proven that. I believe the Lord honors the sharing of His Word-for it "does not return void."
Posted by Kathy Valcore on 01/11/2006 03:04:16 PM
That is true. There are times that it works. But for the most part, when people are just handed a tract and get the gospel shoved down their throat without so much as a (sincere) "how are you?", they aren't going to be inclined to take what you have to say seriously. How many tracts end up on the ground or in the trash? I know that when I've had people do that to me, my first instinct is anger and offense, and I *am* a Christian. To the person being evangelized, it feels like the Christian is just trying to meet their quota or something. That's not exactly big motivation for them to give serious thought to what the Christian is saying. I don't think anyone is saying, "Don't do that." But if you're going to go about that method, try having a little tact and investing in the people that you talk to, even if it just for a few minutes. I think that that would go much further than simply shoving a tract in their hand and shoving the gospel down their throat.
Posted by Lauren on 01/12/2006 05:24:39 AM
I read a book called "The one thing you can't do in heaven" I can't remember who wrote it though, and he devoted his time to talking to and helping the people he evangalized. I thought that the way he went about it was great, because most people don't want to be forced into christianity, and if you criticize them or look down on them because they don't want to hear what you have to say or have serious questions about it then they're not going to even take it into consideration, and the next time someone really wants to try to lead them to the lord then it's going to be even harder for them to take the chance and listen. Planting seeds is a good way to go about it. If you plant just one seed, and leave your name and number then if that seed trys to sprout they will seek you out or someone else to help prune the away the rest of the garbage that they have preconcieved ideas about, and it will help nurture that seed into a full grown plant. Just my view, it may be wrong though.
Posted by DoesItEverGetBetter on 01/12/2006 08:08:09 PM
No, I think you're right on. Unfortunately, the people who try to "sell Jesus" are usually the loudest and therefore they are the ones who get seen. They then leave a bad taste for Christians in people's mouths. Not to say that God can't still work through what they are trying to do. I think that most of those people are sincerely trying to help the people they're evangelizing. However, they're so intent on getting themselves and everyone into Heaven that they forget that we have a responsibility while we are on earth too. The end all, be all of Christ's message wasn't "get your butt into Heaven". It was love God and love others. Until we have that down, I don't know that we have any business trying to tell anyone anything. But that's just me. :-D
Posted by Lauren on 01/12/2006 09:03:00 PM
Who after all this posting and reading, I don't know where to begin. My first post was a first hand experiance. None of these people ever asked if I knew who Jesus was and what he did for me. All they did was drop the paper off and go (this gives the impression of quota). Now since I was young and naive, I would place these on the office desk so someone else that I worked with would maybe read it. I stopped it after a while and that paper would end up in the trash receptical. Can it work? Sure. I don't think we would have so many different kinds if they didn't. Sometimes these can be used as ice breakers to get the conversation started for people who aren't like Mark (oops, can't think of his last name but I have the book, I will respond with the last name unless it is found before I can) who is the author of that book "The One Thing You Can't do in Heaven". When I was a Sophomore in High School (I am now one in College) Shane wanted to take the youth to Summit Ministry's Camp in Colorado. Unfortunately, we couldn't go that summer but he incurraged us to go anyway if we wanted to. I went with a friend, but this guy Mark was one of the speakers in the second week. He busted out the "Snap, Snap, Snap, Every five seconds, a man dies..." Speech. Rallying us into a frenzy after his motivational speaking to convert the person that sits next to us on the plane ride home. I did this, it was an interesting experience, but not the greatest. I don't remember her name, I don't have anyway to contact her or follow up on the situation. I don't think that woman would have given it to me anyway. I think there is a time and a place for that. God should be in our speech yes, but the woman at the well wasn't addressed in such manor. Only one case involving Jesus, but I think that Jesus used what was appropriate. I may not be the best co-worker, I can be a little bit disrespectful and prideful when it comes to the work that I do, but when I speek with a customer, everything changes. For those who don't know, I work at Starbucks #2544 Intech Commons at 71st ST and 465 (west side). Everyday I see people I don't know and some that I do. The thing is, I have a chance to connect with each and every one of these individuals because they stand waiting for my service of their drink or whatever. We are told constantly that there are verbal and non-verbal cues to how well we enjoy our jobs. By showing that Jesus lives in me and not just saying, I become what Jesus asks in the first place. Love your neighbor. The 2004-05 School year I was living in Detroit with a family I barely knew. The one thing that has stayed in my mind the most is the advice that was given to me by Mr. K. He said, "People love to hear their names..." for some reason it stuck but I use it every day that I work. I know some people by their name, drink or both name and drink. By saying their name, I can make their day better. If they keep comming back, I will start developing more of a relationship with them. For example, I just found out a couple of weeks ago, that a women that I had been serving coffee to for like 1.5 years has a daughter that I met at the College Park College classes this summer when we went over the Fruit of the Spirit. Now that women knows for a fact that I am a Christian and whether she knew it or not I was doing my best to display the life of Christ in me. Here we are bantering about stuff we can never really fully understand until we meet in the sky, but this is how we keep living, and have faith. What else would we have to do if we weren't so "Busy"? I don't know if I made any sence in the epologe to my new book "Thou Shalt Not Hand Out Tracts" but hopefully I can hook up with a good edtior and make millions. Ha? :-P Love Adam.
Posted by Adam on 01/13/2006 05:14:58 AM
I've been thinking about this one for a while; especially in light of the "us/them" trap we tend to fall into. I think we have to be careful not to fall into the "us/us" trap as well. I don't particularly enjoy this form of evangelism as a recipient when I was a nonbeliever or now that I am a believer. However, I have used tracts in situations when appropriate on a one-on-one basis. In fact at one time in my life I actually sent tracts through the mail using the Indy phone book to people I didn't even know. I know it sounds rather silly, but who knows if it worked or not? Only God. And remember these people handing out tracts in a fashion we may not find attractive we have to assume are our brothers and sisters in Christ! Maybe they don't agree with our forms of evangelism either. In fact, I might even go so far as to say, "At least they're out there!" I certainly can't say that about myself lately and I know many Christians who couldn't either. Would I still use this form of evangelism? Maybe not in a scatter fashion, but, yes, if it were appropriate. I actually know people who have become Christians as a result of this form of evangelism. No, I do not find some of the methodology particularly attractive, but I think someone named Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. - Matthew 12:25 or from the Message, "A family that's in a constant squabble disintegrates." My point is that we need to be careful about not only our "us/them" attitudes, but our "us/us" attitudes. God doesn't find either one attractive.
Posted by Laurie Miller on 01/25/2006 04:53:30 PM
And on the same note, we might look at Mark 9:38-41, the key verse with relationship to the above, "For he who is not against us is on our side." or in The Message, "Jesus wasn't pleased. "Don't stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut me down. If he's not an enemy, he's an ally." And who are we to say that noisy tract-pushers aren't doing something good and powerful?
Posted by Laurie Miller on 01/25/2006 05:29:45 PM
I think your comment is an interesting one, Laurie. I think we definitely have to look out for judgmental attitudes, no matter who the subject of the criticism is. However, I really do feel that many people who use this form of evangelism without building any form of relationship with the recipient and without any intention of following up with or walking alongside their target "convert" are doing severe damage to the world's view of Christians. (A good case of building on that same old stereotype of what a Christian is that keeps us at an arm's length from the very people we want to have an impact upon.) I'm sure their intention is to share Christ and that they're not meaning to do any harm. However, this type of "fire-insurance" evangelism can permanently turn people off to the gospel and can cause some to miss out on a true relationship with Christ because they prayed the right words to a tract and think that's all there is to it. I think it's good to not judge the people who are using this form of evangelism, but I also think it's good to take an honest, thoughtful look at the methodology and decide if this is really effective and something we want to use ourselves.
Posted by dwellingplace on 01/26/2006 05:04:13 AM
Taking a thoughtful and hard look at how we evangelize is certainly something we should all do. However, if one reads the history of many of the early evangelists in our own country, one will find that they and their methods were not very well-liked either, yet those methods often worked. I do prefer one-on-one evangelism and reaching out on a personal level. I also think that some of that springs from my own satisfaction in seeing the person grow, if they do. Sometimes they don't. I also have to look at my own experience of salvation. Perhaps it is because I am a self-starter, but no one came alongside me. I just started investigating on my own. I was saved in my livingroom reading "The Book" and after that I wanted to know more, so I started looking. No, I HAD to know more; I was COMPELLED to more - that was God-driven. Perhaps this form of evangelism has outlived it's purpose; I don't know. But I also think that many Christians use "lifestyle" evangelism as an excuse to not do anything. Some would say they're living their Christian lives and it's up to God to let others see it, and sometimes they do, but are these same people taking a personal interest in that person if it happens? Are they then willing to take the time to truly disciple them instead of just inviting them to church and hoping the church will do the rest? I've seen this happen too often, too. This is great! I haven't thought this hard in years - maybe this blog site is protecting me from Alzheimer's disease!
Posted by Laurie on 01/26/2006 03:55:21 PM
Laurie, you crack me up! I love that we're able to help prevent disease here. :-) I totally agree with you about using "lifestyle evangelism" as an excuse to be lazy. I'm not advocating that we don't share our faith and just hope that the people around us guess that we're Christians by our actions. I do think that you should develop a relationship with people and keep open dialogue with them, as opposed to shoving a tract in a stranger's face, though. I know that there are those who are "self-starters" as you put it (I like that, by the way!). Rich Vincent is also an example of this. I don't think that gives us an excuse not to get personally involved with those we're reaching out to,however. As for the methods of early evangelism in our country, would that be the "agree with us or be killed" method that was used on the Native Americans, 'cause I could see how that would be successful. Being on the "business-end" of a musket could probably be very persuasive. :-)
Posted by dwellingplace on 01/26/2006 04:12:20 PM
Cary, I meant like George Whitfield and the Wesleys who did open-air evangelism. I also meant later examples, say like Billy Graham; so don't get smart with me young lady :-)! Gee, I'm in the company of the sainted Rich Vincent? WOAH! Posted by Laurie on 01/26/2006 07:04:40 PM
Did I see someone put John Wesley's name in for this easy believism type of evnagelism? John Wesley had one of the most thought out discipleship plans I have ever seen. He almost made it hard for someone to become a convert - Hmmm, sounds like a little someone else I know with the initials J.C. Just because something has worked for some people is never an excuse to keep pursuing a method that has done way more harm than good. The thief on the cross praticed faith in Christ on his deathbed and yet none of us would say this is the best way. This old school style of evangelism seemed confused on what the gospel really is, for it seemed to convert thousands of people and yet how many of those understood they were signing up for a life time apprentice to a Master Teacher? If the gospel is believe some facts and escape Hell - then this old method is not that bad. If the gospel is primarily about the rule and reign of King Jesus then this method is quite faulty and lures people in with quick bait, but no bite! I think there is a way to still love and have unity with those who might use methods that are strange to our understanding, but the real issue comes when we look at the statistics of those who believed in the message that this old style was communicating! The statistics are mind numbing, where many feel like the have a safe haven awaiting them in the skies when they die and yet there is no internal passion to follow Jesus and His kingdom life here and now. What makes us think they will want the kingdom later when they do not want to live in it now?
Posted by Sponge Bob on 01/27/2006 05:16:18 AM
Very well thought out comment and better informed than me. I wasn't really speaking of John Wesley's followup on his converts. From what I've read, it was good. What I meant was that he scattered the seeds in a broad scatter fashion, not unlike our tract-wielding modern-day friends. I realize in many cases, maybe on most, the follow up is not very good, but I still don't think we should throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak.
Posted by Laurie on 01/27/2006 04:10:14 PM
We are kind of getting into discipleship a little bit here. I can't say that my life is the worst ever, but, I chose this path at a young age. I grew up without a spiritual leader. My Dad couldn't stand the challenge because he was out of work a lot and spent most of his time on the computer or other things. My mother tried to take that role but was to busy being the bread winner that her principles weren't ground into my thick head. My youth pastor left a bad taste in my mouth. I wasn't a cool kid back then so it seamed that all the games that the pastor did would have the selection of the more popular students. It wasn't until we moved to Indiana and ate of the yoke of Shane Fuller that I began to truly seek the Lord (My mom wonders why we differ so much on spiritual topics). I should probably know this by now, but it is a huge trial. I should know that if I want to truly seek the Lord my own discipline matters most. The thing I struggle with the most is Self-Control. I have had a lot of shaping this past 6 months but I still suffer in that area. Because of this, I can be disrespectful at times, I eat to much, I don't do some tasks that are required of me. These things are on display all the time because of my work and becasuse I am a student. It makes it hard for any kind of ministry when you have all the "Prerequisit Human Imperfections." Any ministry now a days can be either percieved as cliche or hypocracy so it becomes easy to be lazy and not minister at all. OHHHHHHHHHHHHH the life we live.
Posted by Adam on 01/28/2006 05:39:14 AM
If this helps, Adam, you are probably displaying some very good qualities as well, but are not as aware of them as the ones that you perceive to be bad. I think most Christians struggle with this. I know I do; and, in fact, I believe we have to if we are to grow as Christians. However, if we beat ourselves up too much (at least in my case) I tend to draw back and not try to reach out at all for fear of hindering someone else's search for Christ. For your own sake and for His, try not to fall for that trap.
Posted by Laurie on 01/28/2006 04:09:31 PM
Doug Webster wrote an article relevant to this discussion that you can check out at: http://thespheric1.cjb.cc/per/writings/evangelism.html
Posted by dwellingplace on 03/14/2006 04:33:28 PM
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