Keys to sharing Christ
Neil Cole challenges me again and again. In his book Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens
he asserts that contemporary evangelism has focused on "the conversation" over the gospel or correct answers to defend our beliefs. In Jesus' pattern though, the keys to sharing the gospel are:
- Time and availability. Relationships that are significant take time. One of the reasons our evangelism is often minimally effective is because we are more interested in rationally conveying a message than we are at truly getting to know people and letting them know us.
- A transformed life. The new life we have in Christ is contagious. This is what the world is dying to have and rarely gets to see.
- Hospitality. Our changed life and kingdom values will best be seen in our everyday life. Practicing hospitality is a powerful way to bridge into deeper relationships where others can see our life in Christ.
- Spiritual intuition. This requires listening carefully, to others and to the Holy Spirit. Rather than relying on a canned presentation of the Gospel that is used every time, listen to others and to the promptings of God's Spirit and you will see more fruit in evangelism. Everybody is unique, and the Spirit knows what the core longings of each person's soul are.
- Generosity. There are few character traits that stand out in this world more than a generous heart. People are drawn to someone who gives freely and cheerfully.
2 comments:
Thank you for this, Dean, it was really powerful to me. Last week at the park I heard someone begin a conversation with a stranger with "What church do you go to? Did you grow up in that church?" And I just felt my soul bristle. I know this person really desires to see people come to Christ and so they were asking out of the best motives possible. But, I asked Cody later if he felt tense, too, and he said yes. We both just felt like it was a moment where the stranger would be terribly uncomfortable and feel like they were being interrogated instead of cared about. This blog post confirms what I felt, I think.
Cole's application of both NT Truth and culture have helped me imagine a new generation of Christians doing things in a very different way.
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