Back in the 70’s and 80’s, religious tracts were printed by the truckload for eager evangelists–many of them Baptists–itching to bring the masses to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Back then, we followed a sort of scare-them-out-of-hell methodology that led to high numbers of front porch conversions, if not long-term transformation.
In time, many practitioners realized that this eternal damnation avoidance strategy wasn’t exactly life-giving. This understanding led to an opposite mentality: best not to mention Jesus at all than to scare people into false faith. (All or nothing thinking. It’s caused its share of problems.)
Here the good news: there is a middle ground. Think about it: we
aren’t scared of sharing good news in general. For example, I think everyone
should try the restaurant Nine Mile. I don’t try to find out if they like
Caribbean food before I recommend it either. It’s a fantastic restaurant in my
opinion, and I want everyone to enjoy it as much as I have. I feel that way
about the Biltmore Estate too. And also Disney World. And the movie Finding
Nemo. I realize that some of these things are quite pricey and will
require some sacrifice for people to enjoy them, but that doesn’t keep me from
encouraging people to try experiences that have given me joy.
Even so, I don’t go through the neighborhood, ringing doorbells, and
asking people if they’ve ever been to Nine Mile. I don’t stop people in Aldi
and suggest they make a plan now to get to Biltmore Estate during this
lifetime. And I don’t foist free copies of Finding
Nemo on perfect strangers, promising them that this movie
will make their lives better (it would of course, but still . . . ). However,
if I’m in a relationship with you, I’m eventually going to mention my favorite
restaurants, vacation spots, and movies. And if we are really close, I’ll do my
best to see that you get to enjoy those things at some point, preferably with
me.
To me, evangelism is like that. Because I love church, I want everyone to
experience it. Because I love Bible study, I want others to study with me. And
because I have found meaning, truth, hope, and joy through my faith in the
triune God–Creator, Son, Holy Spirit–I want people I know and love to join me
on this faith journey: not because they are scared they will burn in hell, but
because they are drawn into the sacred Love of God.
