Evangelism

It just occurred to me that my topic of 'evangelism' is sort of amusing (not to mention appropriate) given my moniker of Evangeline...

Anyway, these thoughts have been sparked by a couple of people's recent blogs. Firstly, Gordon writes about the 'blanket bombing' evangelist in He's Back.... This got my attention because I used to feel pressured to become that sort of evangelist. I've never liked being 'evangelised' in that way, and I've never felt comfortable with the idea of evangelising in such a way. While boldness is a good thing, I guess the point is that if we're going to upset the status quo, we need to make sure it's God who's guiding us that way, not a prideful desire to make a scene or feel important. I found some good thoughts in a Contagious Christianity series we went through in our bible study group.

Second, via a link from the exact blog entry I mentioned above, I came across this comment on Luke 5:1-11:
a miraculously large catch of fish instantly changes the fundamental question in Peter's life from "will there be enough to feed my family?" to "can I gather enough people to take in God's bounty?"
Dylan's Lectionary Blog

God is attractive. That's something I've learnt over the years. It's Christians who often aren't particularly attractive. I've noticed that when I'm surrendered to God and showing his love to others indiscriminately, then simple and gentle evangelism opportunities are everywhere. It doesn't seem necessary to reach out and try to grab people, they come to me.

Here's an example... I was reading part of the latest Journal of Aggressive Christianity at the bus stop this morning. A woman I've gotten into the habit of chatting to (in the 5-10 minutes before the bus arrives some mornings) sat down and asked what I was reading. I told her, she said the article (Married Officer Leadership – For Such A Time As This) looked interesting. She happily accepted my offer of the pieces of paper it was printed upon. We got on the bus, she read the article and commented that it made some good points, and I got off the bus. Is she a christian? No idea. I'm fairly sure she isn't a Salvo. Yet something about that article intrigued her. If she isn't a Christian, then at the least there are a couple of Christian stereotypes it might have done away with.

Sometimes I still wonder, though... I've managed to resolve the 'boldness' concept of evangelism with my own life. But how about the 'urgency' factor? The idea that people will end up in hell (both in this life and afterwards), without my intervention? Should 'urgency' simply take the form of getting real about spiritual growth and giving it all up for God? Is it enough to simply stop procrastinating?

I suppose what it all comes down to is a simple, complete, continual surrender to God. Surely that's the biggest, most effective step I can take. Anything else puts me in danger of going down prideful, arrogant, 'blanket-bombing' pathways.

I just had a thought...

What if all our 'reach-out' programs and prepared speeches are just our way of avoiding our real responsibility:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.
Romans 12:1

Whatcha think?