Clergy/Leaders' Mail-list No. 1-198 (Evangelism)

RETHINKING EVANGELISM

with Ross Langmead

I've taken Christian newspapers into pubs to evangelise the drinkers. I've served in Christian coffee shops searching for the conversational opening which would allow me to tell wind-burnt surfers that Jesus loved them.

I feel like Paul trumpeting how Jewish he had been when I say I've given personal evangelism more than a good try. But the ways I tried in my younger days (and which are still encouraged by many) didn't fit very easily. I always felt a failure.

Now there are some who are gifted in this 'cold canvassing' and direct sharing of faith to strangers. I, too, remain open to conversations in public which suddenly go deep.

But for most of us, this form of evangelism is like putting on an ill-fitting coat. Like many Aussies, we don't like strangers invading our personal space and hawking religious views.

For the sake of contrast, let me describe the traditional way of evangelising and an alternative road we can take if we rethink it.

The Traditional Way

The goal of traditional evangelism is to persuade others to believe what we believe. Just today outside the GPO I listened for a while to an evangelist with a microphone giving uninterested passers-by such a doctrinal lesson.

The context of traditional evangelism is often contrived. Christians are encouraged to artificially create opportunities to share our faith. We go out with questionnaires on the street but we want to talk, not to listen. We encourage friendship with non- Christians, but for a purpose. And the method of traditional evangelism is to know what is to be shared and try to get it across, often in standard form. I well remember learning the list of basic doctrines everyone needed to hear.

Another Way

I've discovered a better-fitting coat, an evangelism which springs from a theology of the kingdom of God. As Ben Campbell Johnson says in his book Rethinking Evangelism, the Spirit of God seeks embodiment in the church and world in 'kingdom ways', and our evangelistic task is to point to the good news of God's work in Jesus and among us.

In other words, our job is to open ourselves to good news in our own lives, live towards justice and love, and give an account for God's work amongst us as a natural part of living differently.

The goal is not primarily to persuade others to believe what we believe, but to invite others to experience what we experience. This presupposes, of course, that our experience of forgiveness and liberation is real for us.

The context is one of embodied difference. Instead of wondering how to meet people with our message, we are busy exploring church as the new community and Christian involvement in society as an expression of God's inclusive love and justice. Our contact with others is natural. Questions of meaning and spirituality are always close to the surface for others if they are for us.

Our methods will vary as much as our situations do. We may invite someone to a small group which is committed at the core but open at the edges. We may write to the newspaper engaging in social issues from a Christian stance. We may as a church run a local festival to let people know Christians celebrate life. We may have confidence to invite others to worship God alongside us. We may sit beside a friend or neighbour in grief, our silent presence eloquent beyond words.

Articulation Still Central

Still central to evangelism is putting our faith into words in appropriate ways. Those of us who have rejected the old model of evangelism sometimes neglect the discipline of clarifying what we believe and how to communicate it. Incarnational mission is more than deeds alone. This is particularly important in cross-cultural contexts such as we have in Australia today, whether we are thinking of multiculturalism, postmodernity or the cultural gap between Christians and others.

I'm interested in exploring the ways we can better equip ourselves to explain our faith in a re-thought evangelism. If you have ideas I'd welcome some conversation.

- Ross Langmead

Reproduced with permission from the April 2001 edition of Mission Horizons, the newsletter of the School of World Mission at Whitley College, Melbourne. Ross Langmead may be contacted at <>.