I think this is the second post I’ve written in response to/ after reading one from a thoughtful brother and co-worker, Patrick. His tagline is “extroverts need to blog sometimes” and that simple phrase reminds me that in my search for health and wholeness, I need to blog sometimes. I don’t need to get carried away with who my audience is and how my story sounds, I just need to tell some stories.
This morning Kenny Bryant talked to us about how evangelism is about knowing and teaching the gospel message, having a goal in mind (or in other words, you have to care that someone would be persuaded, and pray for the Spirit’s persuasion), and telling your story. His self-proclaimed “un-clever phrase” was A Message to Teach, a Goal to Reach, a Story to Preach.
The idea that stirred me up most today was that when Jesus said “You will be My witnesses..” he was really telling us that evangelism is about telling your story. A witness tells what they saw and heard and experienced. We have a story to preach- and it’s not “the gospel story,” it’s actually my story and your story. As witnesses, we tell what we have seen, heard and experienced about God.
Of course we tell the “gospel story,” and my challenge from that point was that I need to “get into the Word” (read: Christianese for reading the Bible/ time in prayer, usually in the morning), so that “the Word can get into me” (read: Jesus becomes the motivating force, the definer and impetus for my thoughts, words and actions). We have to know the message we’re supposed to teach. Know it well.
Alright, now it looks like I’m just outlining the sermon, so I might as well finish with the other point- a Goal to Reach. I liked this point, because if you don’t actually care what someone does with an idea, thought, challenge or personal statement that you make… you don’t actually care about them. To unselfishly care about someone else would be to desire that they be persuaded by the Holy Spirit to change. If we don’t have that goal in mind, with patience, then our evangelism is half-hearted, nay, pointless. I’m sure I will have many more thoughts about that after a week with IV staff at Rockbridge talking about conversion.
