I really appreciated Greg Stier's article "Does Street Evangelism Work?" Greg is the CEO of an organization called Dare2Share. Our ministry has been blessed by this organization! Greg states that the question he starts with in this article is the wrong question. He also claims that effective evangelism is both relational and relentless. I love his choice of words. Too often we make the proposition of evangelism an either/or thing. It's really a both/ and thing. I have not erred on the side of the relentless. My error has been sitting too much on the side of the relational. This is where I have been out of balance. How 'bout you? Perhaps that's why this section of the article really spoke to me.
"I think the real question is whether or not the kind of evangelism that we employ-whether it be on the beach, at the mall, on a plane, in our neighborhoods or at our jobs-is relational AND relentless.
Too often, lifestyle evangelists wave their get-out-of-jail free cards by claiming that they are earning the right to be heard. What this often leads to is never-ending relational bridge building. And once the bridge is built, it sometimes seems too awkward to cross with the precious cargo of Christ's gospel, for fear that they will catch us in our bait-and-switch trickery. Instead of being upfront and honest, we have built a relationship with secret intent. You see, the relational/relentless knife cuts both ways. And if we are honest, relational evangelism that sneaks in the back door can be just as damaging, if not more deceiving, than relentless evangelism that kicks in the front door.
The great evangelist George Whitefield used to pray, "Lord, give me the mixture of the lion and the lamb." And that's what we need, the relentless lion and the relational lamb battling it out for a holy balance in our souls as we seek to reach and rescue those around us who don't know Jesus."
If you would like to read the rest of the article, you can do that here.
2 comments:
Yes!
People figure out pretty quickly if you are approaching them as a "project" instead of as a person.
This article makes the great point that we need to be transparent, so much so, that people will see Christ in us. And Christ never approached people as "projects" to complete, but as people to love and save from their sins.
Here's one from facebook:
"The most awesome thing about this, is most people want the truth. I remember sharing with an employee and I kind of lost it when he mentioned a T.V.show he had been watching. That maybe good people could go to heaven. While we shouldn't preach, I began too. A big risk I had been taking trying to build a relationship. Apologizing after my rant, he ... Read Morelaughed, said I was a spiritual gangster and at least I had the courage to share the truth. Having served time in an institution nobody ever was completely honest. I gained his respect through this. We can be by far too soft. It's called being real."
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