Evangelism
e·van·gel·ism
n.
1. Zealous preaching and dissemination of the gospel, as through missionary work.
2. Militant zeal for a cause.
Evangelism is hard to define. It's one of those words like "holy" and "praise" and "amen" that would never fit outside of religion. As has been established, I dislike religion. I'm tend to take a Zwingli sort of position on matters concerning Christianity: for the most part, I believe human attachments surrounding faith are simply opportunity for distraction from the Thing they decorate. I also find it pretentious and forced to ritually abide by certain religious customs in order to pursue one's faith. There are lots of things people do in every single denomination, in every single church and group of believers I have encountered, that I find obnoxious and ritualistic. I'm not going to condemn anyone for abiding by these customs, it's just that I think they're silly. To put it mildly. I'm normally not afraid to say so. Which has gotten me into quittte a bit of trouble at times. Especially since I don't tend to think before I do so.
One of these instances was when a group of friends and I were hanging out before debate (held after school) on Wednesday last week. A friend and I are likely going to be missing the biggest, most important debate tournament of the year to go on a retreat required for a mission trip we'll be going on this summer (the generic youth group type. Great experience, for the most part... but that's for another post) and the topic of evangelism came up. I utterly misrepresented myself. I tend to do that a fair deal. So listen up, y'all, this is my attempt to redeem what I believe.
As I said in the first paragraph here, I don't condemn anyone doing things differently, but I think it is wrong and twisted to go about "evangelism" by purposefully doing certain actions to "win them over," so to speak. I believe that there is a great difference between spreading the word and scoring goals. I also believe that there is a difference between scoring goals and forcing Christianity on people. People tend to tie the latter two up in one group. Please note that they are separate, and I am only talking about the first.
Yesua of Nazareth was a funny guy. I've admired him more and more over the years as I've gotten to know more about him. I'd gladly say I have entirely devoted my life to his cause (called redemption by most). The apostle Matthew recorded him as saying to his friends, right before he left, "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit." He did not say "go be nice to people in order to provide sufficient bait to lure the people of all nations over to our side." I thought I'd address this passage just because it seems like the sort of thing that immediately comes to mind: just because he said to spread the world doesn't mean we're going on a happy conversion spree. Jesus' intention, demonstrated by the entire way in which he lived, was to live love, to live obsessing about his cause and joyfully welcome all who wanted to join up. Jesus spent his adult life as a poor, homeless bum walking around loving random people and talking about the Truth, criticizing the religious leaders and hanging out with walking sex scandals and criminals. (Does that sound anything at all like the modern Christian to you?) That is 'evangelism.' That is what we should all be doing. Evangelism does NOT mean going out to make altar calls and create swooning plebeian seas of unlettered converts blinded by week-long emotional highs. Evangelism does NOT mean going somewhere to be a walking billboard reading "free baptisms and bibles." Evangelism does NOT mean living as a basketball hoop, throwing as many people as possible through the hoop and counting up the score. All evangelism is a lifestyle of love. It means spreading awareness to those who have never heard of the guy named "Jesus," and loving endlessly on those who have.
That's what it truly means to be a Christian. That's what "religion" he's "mandated." Freedom. (Can one mandate freedom? What a delightful paradox.) If you all want to call that evangelism, I suppose that's what I want to do with my life.
n.
1. Zealous preaching and dissemination of the gospel, as through missionary work.
2. Militant zeal for a cause.
Evangelism is hard to define. It's one of those words like "holy" and "praise" and "amen" that would never fit outside of religion. As has been established, I dislike religion. I'm tend to take a Zwingli sort of position on matters concerning Christianity: for the most part, I believe human attachments surrounding faith are simply opportunity for distraction from the Thing they decorate. I also find it pretentious and forced to ritually abide by certain religious customs in order to pursue one's faith. There are lots of things people do in every single denomination, in every single church and group of believers I have encountered, that I find obnoxious and ritualistic. I'm not going to condemn anyone for abiding by these customs, it's just that I think they're silly. To put it mildly. I'm normally not afraid to say so. Which has gotten me into quittte a bit of trouble at times. Especially since I don't tend to think before I do so.
One of these instances was when a group of friends and I were hanging out before debate (held after school) on Wednesday last week. A friend and I are likely going to be missing the biggest, most important debate tournament of the year to go on a retreat required for a mission trip we'll be going on this summer (the generic youth group type. Great experience, for the most part... but that's for another post) and the topic of evangelism came up. I utterly misrepresented myself. I tend to do that a fair deal. So listen up, y'all, this is my attempt to redeem what I believe.
As I said in the first paragraph here, I don't condemn anyone doing things differently, but I think it is wrong and twisted to go about "evangelism" by purposefully doing certain actions to "win them over," so to speak. I believe that there is a great difference between spreading the word and scoring goals. I also believe that there is a difference between scoring goals and forcing Christianity on people. People tend to tie the latter two up in one group. Please note that they are separate, and I am only talking about the first.
Yesua of Nazareth was a funny guy. I've admired him more and more over the years as I've gotten to know more about him. I'd gladly say I have entirely devoted my life to his cause (called redemption by most). The apostle Matthew recorded him as saying to his friends, right before he left, "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit." He did not say "go be nice to people in order to provide sufficient bait to lure the people of all nations over to our side." I thought I'd address this passage just because it seems like the sort of thing that immediately comes to mind: just because he said to spread the world doesn't mean we're going on a happy conversion spree. Jesus' intention, demonstrated by the entire way in which he lived, was to live love, to live obsessing about his cause and joyfully welcome all who wanted to join up. Jesus spent his adult life as a poor, homeless bum walking around loving random people and talking about the Truth, criticizing the religious leaders and hanging out with walking sex scandals and criminals. (Does that sound anything at all like the modern Christian to you?) That is 'evangelism.' That is what we should all be doing. Evangelism does NOT mean going out to make altar calls and create swooning plebeian seas of unlettered converts blinded by week-long emotional highs. Evangelism does NOT mean going somewhere to be a walking billboard reading "free baptisms and bibles." Evangelism does NOT mean living as a basketball hoop, throwing as many people as possible through the hoop and counting up the score. All evangelism is a lifestyle of love. It means spreading awareness to those who have never heard of the guy named "Jesus," and loving endlessly on those who have.
That's what it truly means to be a Christian. That's what "religion" he's "mandated." Freedom. (Can one mandate freedom? What a delightful paradox.) If you all want to call that evangelism, I suppose that's what I want to do with my life.
Evangelism is a lifestyle, yes, one of love as you said. But recognize that in that lifestyle, there is the hope that through it you will show Christ to others.
ReplyDeleteNo, it is not a matter of sports and scoring goals, but of gardening. You tend to your garden because it makes it beautiful ,and a direct result of that is the spreading of seeds. But the spreading of seeds is more than just an insignificant or accidental by-product. When you tend your garden you have the hope that if you do it correctly you will spread seeds, but that is not the only reason you tend your garden.
(By tending one's own garden I do not mean a life of only being concerned with oneself. We ought think of it as living the life that Jesus intends. The metaphor cannot be taken too far)
Is that an accurate metaphorical summation?
I don't mean to say that we shouldn't want others to come to know Christ, just that purposefully setting out to win people over is the wrong way to do it. One shouldn't love in order to convert people, one should love because that's what Christ did, because we want to spread his love.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the Gardening metaphor is that the ground in the garden, where the gardener spreads his seeds, represents people. People are not dirt. Dirt does not have free will. If dirt fails to produce beautiful plants when seeds are planted in it, the gardener will rightfully say that the dirt is bad dirt and drive to Fred Meyer to buy Miracle Grow. Unless the gardener is some New Age hippie, he's probably not caring for his garden because he loves the Earth so much that he wants to imitate it by growing plants; he cares for the garden because it's pretty to him, beneficial to him, brings him joy, etc. (Essentially, the same motivations one would have for playing sports.) We definitely have problems if we're 'evangelizing' because converts are pretty prizes for us to cherish. So, if the dirt could choose whether or not it wanted seeds to grow in it, perhaps it would be a decent metephor... but I think it'd be better not to treat the people around us like dirt.
I believe that we should purposefully, *intentionally* try to "win people over." It is like when I attempt to convince my friend to go to sleep before 1am. I want to convince him of this because I am quite certain that it is what is best for him. However, I do agree that "winning people over" should not be the sole purpose of the Christian lifestyle. At this point we either agree or we do not, and I am not completely sure which it is. I am inclined to believe that it is the former because you said "because that's what Christ did, and we want to spread his love." My interpretation of this is that if we disagree in anything at this point, it is in the wording, not the meaning.
ReplyDeleteOh my...*cough* As I said, the metaphor should not be taken too far. I only meant it for the specific parts of it that I addressed. Christians are gardeners and everyone else is dirt...ha. Dearie me, no.
We disagree only on emphasis. You take a very typical Christian stance... so I disagree with you in a way that is very typical of me. Now you understand the position I am constantly in at churches and religious gatherings everywhere: half the time I can't decide what I disagree with, becaues it doesn't seem that I disagree with anything at first glance, yet it feels somewhat uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI would not disagree that we should want new 'members in the club,' so to speak. And I would not disagree that our actions can and perhaps should be an intentional demonstrations of God's love. And I would not disagree that demonstrations of God's love brings 'new members into the club.' Yet I don't believe it is right for Christians to set out to demonstrate God's love IN ORDER TO win people over.
Well, although I found the dirty (pun ABSOLUTELY not intended) implication in the metaphor amusing, my point was that dirt can't chose whether the farmer plants in it or not, and the dirt is simply a tool the farmer uses to get what he wants. The motivation is different. As I said, the farmer is probably not caring for his garden because he is in love with the dirt.
It is absolutely hilarious how many people are made uncomfortable in religious gatherings of their "own type." Irony is so charming that way.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find funny about you is that you typically really don't disagree with what is said, you just dislike the way that it is said. However, though that is very legitimate at times, it seems that in this case you merely dislike the implication of what you yourself have stated. Setting out to demonstrate God's love in order to win people over, to you, just overemphasizes the wrong point but it is an implication of the way that you phrase it (If this comes off as inflammatory I apologize but I prefer frankness).
You still read much too far into the metaphor. Banish the thought.
Flawed Societal Filter. Gah.
ReplyDeleteFrank is good.
The reason I don't like the way it is said is because it points to a worldview I disagree with. It makes implications that are much larger than what is actually said. There are all kinds of fallacies and flaws and holes in people's implications because, since they are *implicatory,* the errs are not as easily seen and/or adressed.
What was "the implication I myself have stated"? I don't *think* I'm disagreeing with myself...
There is an enormous difference concerning the spirit in which the action is done between the Garden mentality and that which I am suggesting. If a band gets signed TO become rich/famous (and this allows them to make the music they love along the way), it is certainly different than if a band gets signed TO make the music they love (and this allows them to become rich and famous along the way). The entire action changes when the emphasis does. So, to apply this to Evangelism, I believe we ought to set out to show God's love (and the product of this is often conversion). We ought NOT set out to convert people (the product of which is a demonstration of God's love).
Only if the metaphor may be banished with it. :)
Who are you?
I think it becomes "pretentious" or "forced" or a "distraction" as soon as it's not your choice. Like, someone like my mother...who is really Christian but really happens to (through upbringing, in part at least I'm sure, but also a choice...she was confirmed as an adult...in 2000 I think?) be Catholic also. (Granted, I *really* don't know where I fall on the scale. Probably somewhere in between?)
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of what Brother Sam said at school one time...how he went on a mission trip with the mindset (the stereotypical "white evangelist" mindset) of "helping" and "teaching" (I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them as *goals*, but the implication being that "my faith is superior to yours")...and then, apparently, when he was...wherever he was (I'm not sure exactly....somewhere in Africa I *think*?), he realized that these people who'd never heard the bible or anything knew more about how to be Christian than he did.
If you are actually spreading God's love and believe in it, you are going to want people to convert. You will live your life in a Christian way, and you will hope that people come to God through it. Your very life is evangelism, in both conscious and subconscious ways. Spreading the Word and living a Christian life are interlinked enough that I don't think they can be separated as much as you seem to want to separate them. I suppose my point boils down to this: if you honestly believe in the Gospel you are really going to want other people to as well.
ReplyDeleteDare I say it....your Mom.
Patrice, that is one of the best stories I have heard in some time.
Patrice: I would wager that there are lot of people who are Christians and happen to actually be Christians as well. ;)
ReplyDeletePseudonymous: I agree. The entirety of my point is what you were just talking about: living one's entire life saturated with love, so that there is no seperation between "evangelism" and life itself. Although I understand that it seems strange to seperate a desire to spread Christ's love and to help others know him, the difference is in the emphasis, the motivation, as I have been saying. I will give another, more real-life example: a few years back, I had a non-believing friend that had no interest in debating her beliefs or considering Christianity. I believe I have told you about her before. A mutual friend of ours, a Christian, had the Garden emphasis on her relationship with this friend, which I believe turned the first friend away from Christianity even more. See, if the only point of loving on this friend is to bring her to Christ, it's nothing but continual failure, day after day after day. /She is not going to get to know him./ Not as long as she's adimant that she's not. If one's only goal is to love on her as much as possible, there isn't that element of failure. We cannot hold ourselves accountable for others' conversion... that comes very easily with this mindset. It is neither our work nor our fault what others believe if we are truly living as Christ did. If we are truly loving with all our heart and soul and mind and strength at every moment.
It doesn't help to live with the Garden mindset and then just point up and say, yeah God did it, either. It needs to /be/ that way. Christianity is to live in love.
I laugh out loud every time I remember I failed to recognize your voice. You sure had me confused...