Archive for: evangelism
Most people don’t think they can share the gospel with someone who will actually believe it and trust Christ for their salvation. Many have a misplaced expectation that comes from being results-oriented. We don’t think our job is done unless someone believes. Not so.
Here are five things we can do:
- We can share the gospel simply and clearly with someone who knows us; it’s not hard to learn. Go to www.act111.org and take the lesson.
- We can tell them what we believe. What our life was like before we understood that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead. How we learned we were forgiven, that we could have an actual relationship with God in our life right now and go to Heaven when we die.
- We can tell how our life has been changed. We show them the Bible verses. We can ask if they would like to trust Christ too. We can all do that. If we let go of the responsibility for their belief.
- We can be faithful to do what He told us to do. We love Him. We tell His story. We smile at the mercy and grace He gives us every day.
- We are an ambassador carrying the message of the King. We deliver it. The one who receives the message must make the decision with Him.
The grace of God operates. Maybe the person does believe. We cannot make that happen — only God can do it.
One of the most prominent assumptions in evangelism is when we assume that things will go badly when we share the gospel. We think:
“They are going to laugh at me”
“This is going to be terrible”
“They are going to ask me something I don’t know.”
“This will end our relationship.”
“I’m going to do more harm than good.”
“I might as well go ahead and write out my will!”
These assumptions can paralyze us in fear and keep us from following the Lord Jesus in obedience to the Great Commission.
How do we overcome these assumptions and fears? It all starts in the mind:
- First of all, remember the character and love of our Savior. Jesus did not give us the Great Commission to make us miserable. It is His invitation to us to join Him in His work of expanding the Kingdom of God and reaching lost people. When we refuse to obey him because we are frozen in fear, we miss out on the joy of following Him.
- Secondly, we need to come face to face with our pride. Several of the assumptions listed above are based upon our fear of looking foolish in the eyes of the world. Pride disguised as fear can keep us from being used by God to impact someone for eternity. I have found from personal experience that when I confess my pride to the Lord and ask for boldness in evangelism, He abundantly provides.
- Finally, it comes down to faith and trust. Do I trust the Lord enough to obey him when I know he has laid it on my heart to share the gospel with someone, regardless of how they may respond? I have learned over the years that the more I step out in faith to share the gospel when He provides the opportunity, the more deeply I come to know Him. And the more deeply I come to know Him, the more desire I have to tell others about Him. The times that the Lord has called me out of my comfort zone have been the times when I have grown the most in my walk with Him.
May the Lord empower us to keep our eyes on Him alone and not get sidetracked by the response of others. May the Lord give us the confidence to trust what He has determined we are capable of doing.
Our family is naturally artistic. Both sets of parents (mine and my in-laws) have creative talents that they have used all their lives—some professionally. My wife is a singer and pianist (in addition to leading worship for our church, she actually teaches piano) I play and teach guitar, our daughter is an exceptionally talented dancer and illustrator, our son plays drums and writes very creatively…OK, sorry, sounds like I’m boasting but you get the point. Well, what is the point?
We have many friends who, by their own admission, don’t have a natural “artistic” gift. They love to say things like, “I can play the radio—that’s the extent of my musical ability”. So I could see them considering art and faith and thinking that this discussion doesn’t concern them.
However, art is all around us. You can play the radio—more specifically, music can be used as an evangelistic tool. Not just Christian music either. Songs evoke emotion and inspire ideas that spark conversation. Those conversations often turn to spiritual things; especially with the type of lyrics that today’s popular artists write. Whether you connect with them or are offended by them; in order to be effective in evangelism, we have to understand what speaks to unbelievers—and clearly music is one of those things.
Read that paragraph again—and substitute the word movies in place of music. Movies elicit deeply moving responses in everyone. Non-Christians aren’t devoid of emotions—sometimes I think Christians are. The themes and performances in today’s film can really open the door for opportunities to share the gospel.
Time and again the themes of redemption, sacrifice, moral choices, etc. appear in movies that have absolutely nothing to do with Christ, yet totally provide ample opportunity to use them as great illustrations or conversation-starters
[Iron Man, Transformers, Avatar, The Hurt Locker, The Book of Eli, Robin Hood, even Shrek!—faith and cinema is a widely discussed topic that will make for great future posts here...stay tuned]
The same principle can apply to a trip to the museum; painting, sculpture, dance, etc. Art is something to embrace as a powerful source of inspiration for the gospel. Whole books have been written on this topic.
God is a creative God. If you do have artistic talents, or even if you don’t, by all means art in many forms can be used to further the gospel message. However, I think there are two things every artist should try to avoid:
- Thinking the content of your work always has to reflect a Christian or Biblical theme (you honor God by your talent and what motivates you), and
- Sacrificing quality for content (in other words; if you’re a sculptor, try to avoid making glow-in-the dark crosses and plastic statues of Jesus).
Paintings, music, dance, movies…like it or not, artwork elicits emotional responses. Of course the content is significant for attracting the attention of the recipient, but the presentation of the piece itself is equally powerful.
A beautiful subject can be expressed through work that, by lack of quality presentation, comes across as anything but beautiful. On the other hand—a beautiful work of art can have as its’ subject matter something horrible and ugly. This is one of the concepts discussed by the art theologian Hans Rookmaaker in his book Modern Art and the Death of a Culture.
Take, for example, Schindler’s List. There is no denying that the subject matter is deeply disturbing and the movie was made with such realism that you can’t see it without feeling the pain it evokes. However, despite the ugliness of the content—it is an amazing film. Every angle, every scene, is really artfully directed—which is why Stephen Spielberg’s career can be defined by this one film. (Yes—I love Jaws, too).
Although Spielberg was already a highly respected director; his credibility as someone with something to say was raised to a whole new level with that one film. The significance of the entertainment value of Indiana Jones, ET, and other creative ventures he has directed and produced pale in terms of the impact Schindler’s List can have spiritually as well as intellectually.
So why should this matter to Christians?
Because excellence precedes credibility.
Prior to the 19th century, great works of art were a common product of lives lived for Christ. Somewhere along the way, believers surrendered the initiative of creative expression. Christianity used to influence popular culture and the arts, now we just struggle to catch up and catch on.
As I mentioned in the previous post-the fear of giving in to temporal and aesthetic pleasure can be a powerful deterrent to creativity. By sterilizing our imaginations to present plastic subject matter, we lost the right to be influential in the larger scheme where art influences culture and therefore society.
It matters because just as in the sciences and humanities, Christian thought has somehow become less-than in regard to the perception unbelievers have of thought-leadership. Our message-the Gospel- is the most important truth anyone will ever hear.
One way in which individuals earn the right to be heard is through recognition as someone who has impact. Art is one way we can do that.
But not everyone is talented in the arts—so how does that apply to each and every believer?
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Of all the casualties that American “Cultural Christianity” can claim, perhaps one of the most significant concerns the arts.
Among glow-in-the-dark crosses and plastic statues of Jesus, Christian Bookstores hang paintings intended to inspire deep spiritual thoughts. Some actually do look nice and inspirational, but most are quite tacky.
It’s not wrong for us to indulge ourselves with illustrations and statues, or even music, that appeal to our faith, regardless of the quality, but should we be striving for something more?
Contemporary Christian culture was shaped with a belief that “something with aesthetic beauty and temporal pleasure must be wrong”. Is it possible that this thought continues to taint our potential as creative believers in Jesus?
The Sistine Chapel perhaps?
The very construct of the divide between the humanities; sciences and fine art, as well as between the sacred and secular are artificial. Is this separation causing, at least partially, a complacency or hesitancy among us concerning excellence in art?
Christian art doesn’t have to live up to the works of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel—but we need to think about how effective art can be as an inspiration for spiritual discussions and sharing the gospel.
Naturally, in order to better understand what I’m talking about two questions have to be answered:
Why does this matter?
and
How does it apply to you?
The summer months provide excellent opportunities to cultivate relationships with unbelievers and tell them about our Savior. However, finding time to do so can be a challenge. After all, our summers are often filled with vacations, outdoor events, children’s activities, etc.
How do we take advantage of the summer months to impact the lost for Christ even in the midst of a busy schedule? Here are some principles to remember and put into practice:
- Be balanced – How balanced is your life between non-Christians and Christians? There is nothing Biblical about spending all your time with believers. Jesus Christ spent time with sinners. He was even known as their friend (Matt. 11:19). We cannot have personal evangelism without personal contact.
- Be proactive— View relationships with the intent to see the unbelievers come to have the greatest relationship there is – an eternal relationship with Christ. Go to them. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Consider the broad base of non-Christian contacts you already have including:
- Immediate friends and family
- Neighbors, co-workers, employees, landlords
- Newspaper carrier, mailman, barber or hairstylist, grocery store checker, waiter or waitress
- Car dealer, insurance agent, accountant, attorney, banker
- Doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist
- Plumber, electrician, mechanic
- Teacher, professor, coach, classmate
- Be intentional—Take the initiative. Look at everything you are doing this summer. Then ask, “Could this be done with a non-Christian included?”
- Be sensitive—People that take time to listen are rare in our fast paced culture. Take the time to give someone your undivided attention. Letting them know you care may provide an opportunity to tell them about Christ.
- Be prayerful – We are totally dependent on the Holy Spirit in evangelism. Pray that the Lord will provide opportunities, give you the sensitivity to recognize them, and give you boldness to share the gospel.
- Be prepared—Move into the gospel presentation as God gives you the opportunity. If you don’t know what to say, EvanTell offers free on-line evangelism training at www.act111.org. Get trained so that when God gives you the opportunity, you’ll be ready.
- Be creative – For practical tips on how to develop relationships with non-Christians during the summer check out this blog series (Summer Evangelism Ideas, More Summer Evangelism Ideas, And More Summer Evangelism Ideas).
Do you have any strategies to add to this list?
