Evangelism

Came across this great piece on evangelism. Written by Rachelle Chapman, pastor of PhTm. She's responding to a letter. You can check out the whole deal at Off-the-Map.org.

What if you had been "allowed" to sit at the health clinic, hand people a cup of joe, and just listen to their stories? What if your heart sort of welled up a bit at a given part in the tale, and you had been able to say, "Tell me more about that." Or, "Wow. That's really amazing. I'm going to be thinking/praying/hoping for you that things keep moving in that direction for you." Or, "I'm sorry that hurts so much. I feel really honored that you told me that bit of your story." I know from experience that this brings a much longer lasting conversational relationship then the statement, "If you were to die tonight would you know for sure you are going to heaven...."

The church I pastor only evangelizes this way. In fact, we don't even call it evangelism any more. We just call it.....um....living, I guess. I like to think of it as listening to stories, and looking for God-active spots to breathe on. As I enter into conversations with my friends, I inwardly tune my spirit into their wavelength. Why? Because listening is an act of love, and God is first and foremost about love.

When my heart responds to what they are saying, I think of that bit of their story as a little heap of embers. God is glowing there. How can I blow on those embers? I can almost guarantee that straight-up hardcore evangelism would be like a bucket of water on that God-active spot. How can I breathe enough love on that spot to let it grow? How can I extend, not "the gospel message," but the living breathing gospel itself?

How can I offer, not answers, but love, companionship, fidelity, camaraderie to this person and their story. I want to do whatever it takes to walk longer with them. Even if it means they don't hear the gospel basics. If they experience the gospel basics, through my friendship, that's enough for me.

There's NO formula for this kind of living. It's just faith, instinct, and prayer, I guess. And basically, just treating people like human beings rather than?targets.? Humans who are made and loved by God, and therefore would fare much better if they were conscious of his love and care but humans nevertheless. Not projects. Not numbers. Not targets. People.