Storytellers, Not Salespeople
Somewhere along the way, evangelism became all about convincing, persuading, and the appeal to reason. We have developed an expectation that we should be able to change people’s minds about the way they view the world around them.
Very intelligent people have heard and understood the Gospel and rejected it. People are free to do that. Some may say that only with God’s help can anyone truly understand the Gospel. So perhaps the people who have rejected God’s message have not been “quickened” and no one who truly understands it rejects it. Either way, the evangelist is not responsible for changing people’s hearts. We are commissioned to tell the story, not convince people of its validity. We perform the story of the Gospel with our lives; we don’t persuade people with our logic. We communicate God convicts.
Recently it seems that the most popular “method” of convincing people of the Gospel’s truth is to appeal to whatever makes “self-help” so popular. Christianity is to such thinking simply the way to a better life: success through good living. There is so much wrong with this thinking it is hard to know where to begin.
Sometimes (often) the life of a Christian is a hard life. Living God’s way in a hostile, sinful world that is already a difficult place to live, fallen as it is, is never easy. Anyway, if all we have to offer is a better life through good living, forget it. Humanist Atheists have that.
Jesus has called you to be His witness. Tell your story. Share the Truth you have experienced. Don’t try to be an intellectual giant, especially if you aren’t one. God wants to use you to tell His story. He will do the convincing, the convicting, and the changing.
Very intelligent people have heard and understood the Gospel and rejected it. People are free to do that. Some may say that only with God’s help can anyone truly understand the Gospel. So perhaps the people who have rejected God’s message have not been “quickened” and no one who truly understands it rejects it. Either way, the evangelist is not responsible for changing people’s hearts. We are commissioned to tell the story, not convince people of its validity. We perform the story of the Gospel with our lives; we don’t persuade people with our logic. We communicate God convicts.
Recently it seems that the most popular “method” of convincing people of the Gospel’s truth is to appeal to whatever makes “self-help” so popular. Christianity is to such thinking simply the way to a better life: success through good living. There is so much wrong with this thinking it is hard to know where to begin.
Sometimes (often) the life of a Christian is a hard life. Living God’s way in a hostile, sinful world that is already a difficult place to live, fallen as it is, is never easy. Anyway, if all we have to offer is a better life through good living, forget it. Humanist Atheists have that.
Jesus has called you to be His witness. Tell your story. Share the Truth you have experienced. Don’t try to be an intellectual giant, especially if you aren’t one. God wants to use you to tell His story. He will do the convincing, the convicting, and the changing.
Thanks for writing this.
ReplyDeleteSometime I'd like to hear what your ministry is in Germany. From things that you have blogged, it seems that you are learning a lot about your ministry and how to reach out.
Great post. So true.
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