If I were a superstitious man, I’d say Somebody doesn’t want me to write this. I’ve begun this post once while I was in Orlando (and fell asleep before I was done), and once mere minutes before my notebook crashed this past week. So if my head suddenly explodes while I’m writing this … well, hopefully Margie will post it for me …<\/p>\n
What are the duties of a Christian to “spread the Good News”? <\/p>\n
What are the most effective ways to do that?<\/p>\n
What exactly does that mean, anyway?<\/p>\n
Okay, now that 95% of you have scrolled on to the next post, let me provide some background to those questions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I’m a Christian. I regularly attend and participate in a Christian church (Good Shepherd Episcopal), and I have a belief system that, with a few tangents, would probably be identified by most people as being Christian. Of course, there are also Christians who would consider me, charitably, as a heretic, and many of my beliefs would have gotten me burned, stoned, or otherwise done away with at the behest of the Church during a number of periods in history.<\/p>\n
Someone in a comment to a post a few days back noted that I was not a “knee-jerk Christian,” by which the person meant, I assume (and it seemed to be a good thing), that I don’t automatically rear back on my heels, point my finger at unorthodox stuff, and cry out for the Lord to Smite It\/Them. Which is quite true, and points out the main problem, to my mind, with the whole evangelism thang, to wit, merely identifying yourself as a Christian these days carries with it a tremendous amount of negative baggage to many audiences.<\/p>\n
I’ve been acting as a small group facilitator at a three month weekly course at the church called Alpha. It serves as a basic introduction to Christian beliefs, gives folks a chance to sort of explore, with others, where they are on their spiritual journey, etc. To be honest, I took the course the first time, along with Margie, a year ago, largely because it seemed like a good way to meet people in the congregation. And it was. But it was also interesting and educational.<\/p>\n
Part of what was interesting was this: when you actually sit down with a bunch of Christians, you run into a full gamut of beliefs, questions, concerns, uncertainty, and faith. Granted, this group was self-selected as folks with questions, folks looking for guidance toward answers, etc. Plus these are Episcopalians, for the most part, and we’re a bunch of odd ducks to begin with. But the fact is, I haven’t run into any “knee-jerk Christians” in those small group discussions. And that includes when there have been clergy in the groups.<\/p>\n
Anyway, last week’s discussion was on evangelism — “what do we tell others?” And that’s been a real tough one for me on a lot of levels. “The Great Commission” from Jesus was to tell the nations about the Good News. That direct command is behind all that missionary work you see going on, even today. It’s not just a bunch of pushy people looking to score points, or folks who want to lord their faith over the heathen. It’s as much an explicit directive from Christ as is “love your neighbor.”<\/p>\n
But what does it mean<\/i>? <\/p>\n
One thing I notice among my circle of friends is that there is almost zero discussion of religion. Not just a lack of the bull session “So, if God is both omnipotent and omnibenevolent, how can evil and suffering exist?” sorts of discussions, but even in terms of just acknowledgment in passing of religious affiliation. There’s a bit, but it’s really minimal. It’s like religion in and of itself is not cool. Or it’s just too sensitive to discuss.<\/p>\n
I have no idea how widespread this is. My circle of friends is a bunch of odd ducks, too.<\/p>\n
But it seems to me that the last thing that anyone in my circle of friends is looking for is for me to buttonhole them and start handing them leaflets about Jesus and Salvation and Have You Been Saved and all that. And that’s a good thing because, frankly, I don’t want to do that, for a number of reasons.<\/p>\n
First of all, it’s just not my style. I’ll recommend a movie, or loan out a cool comic book I read, but for the most part I try to avoid imposing my aesthetics, let alone my fundamental beliefs, upon others. Hell, I tend to be wishy-washy about what sort of pizza we should order in a crowd, or what restaurant we should go to, and things like that. “Whatever. I’m flexible.” That’s my mantra.<\/p>\n
Secondly, I think it’s counterproductive. Many, many people these days see that sort of evangelism as a threat, if not as an insult. And the way it’s usually presented, it really is. “There’s something wrong with you. You are a sinner. You are going to suffer unending torment because of your present beliefs. Convert or face damnation.”<\/i> Yeah, that’s the ticket. People respond oh-so-well to threats these days. And they respond so well, too, to the suggestion that their own spiritual beliefs, which may very well be deeply thought-out, based on family traditions, or whatever, are really just misguided (if not demonically-inspired) fantasies. <\/p>\n
It even goes beyond that. There are people who not only see evangelizing as an attack on their beliefs, but who see Christianity, per se<\/i>, as a threat, a bad thing, a force that, througout history and up to today, has sought to oppress and destroy. And the really sad part is that this perception is not without foundation. Leaving aside the historical record (which is a huge thing to leave aside), fact is that there are people today, a lot of people, here in this US of A, who believe that this nation is, and should act like, a Christian Nation. Who believe that atheists are not true citizens, that pagans ought to be locked up, that Muslims ought to be forcefully converted, that Catholics are disloyal papists, that … well, the list goes on and on and it frankly sickens me. Many Christians are their faith’s own worst enemy, and there’s cold comfort that the biggest restraint on them is not those of other faiths but other Christians (85% of Americans, or so, identify themselves as Christian).<\/p>\n
(Hell, I would not at all be surprised to discover that some people, having read this far (if they’ve read this far), have already decided that I’m a menacing religious nut and they’ll never read this blog again. Which, of course, is just as blindly knee-jerk as some right-wing fundie responding that same way to something on their site. But I digress.)<\/p>\n
And that gets into the thirdly thing, which is: I’m not morally convinced evangelism, or, rather, that being Christian, is necessary<\/i>. <\/p>\n
My present beliefs work for me. They bring me comfort. They offer me guidance. They make as much sense — more sense — than anything else I’ve encountered. I feel they are right. For me. <\/p>\n
But that doesn’t mean they are absolute and universal. In fact, I’m pretty certain they are not. I don’t think everyone has to think as I do. I do not believe that my beliefs are the only valid, useful, truthful beliefs out there. I do not believe that Christianity is the One, True Way (that’s one of those heterodoxies I mentioned above that would have gotten me burned at the stake). I don’t think there is<\/i> a One, True Way (that’s another one). Or, rather, I do, but I don’t think anyone here knows it, nor is likely to. And I don’t think knowing it or following it is a prerequisite to avoiding the Fiery Furnace. In fact, I don’t believe anyone ends up in the Fiery Furnace (that’s a third). But I digress once more …<\/p>\n
So, given all of that, to portray myself as an Expert on the One, True Way would be, at best, hypocritical. <\/p>\n
That having been said, I do make moral judgements. I think that’s something we all have to do. I do think some ways are better than others, and some beliefs closer to the truth than others. And I have found my own current beliefs and situation to be satisfying, as noted above. And I also feel that being an active member in an organized church is useful and supportive and necessary to keep those beliefs fresh and on the surface and appropriately challenged and nurtured. So I do feel some desire to share all that. <\/p>\n
And, frankly, my spiritual life is a part of me. While I’m not out there grabbing folks by the collar and preaching to them, to go the opposite route and hide<\/i> that part of me feels dishonest. <\/p>\n
What to do, what to do?<\/p>\n
What to do is this: what I feel comfortable doing, and what I feel is appropriate and useful.<\/p>\n
To my mind, it’s become un-cool to be a church-goer. Hell, it’s uncool to be Christian. I joke about it, but look how much apologizing and “See, I’m not one of those<\/i> sorts of Christians” I’ve done above. Before anyone is going to listen to even a gentle and respectful invitation to come to a church to visit, or to consider Christianity as a belief system, it’s a necessary prerequisite that the whole idea of being a church-going Christian isn’t automatically considered something seriously weird. (About 40% of Americans claim to be regular church-goers … but groups that have actually counted think the number is more like 20%, and I suspect that in certain demographics it’s significantly lower.)<\/p>\n
So here’s part of my evangelism, probably the most radical part: I mention going to church in conversations.<\/i><\/p>\n
I don’t do so as some deep, dark plan. It isn’t laid out in advance. “Hey, I’m going to be playing D&D tonight … better bring up that I’m going to be going to church on Sunday.” Instead, where it fits into the conversation, I don’t intentionally not<\/i> mention it. <\/p>\n
So if I’m going to be doing something with friends on a Sunday, I’ll schedule it for early afternoon, “after we’ve gone to church and had brunch.” I’ll mention the Alpha class I’m participating in. I’ll mention I’m on the Vestry at our parish.<\/p>\n
I’ll mention it the same way I mention business trips I’m going on, or things happening at work, or stuff I did out in the yard, or whatever. I’ll mention it as part of my life, because it is<\/i>.<\/p>\n
And if that frees up someone to think, “Hey, there’s someone who goes to church. I guess that’s not some weird thing that nobody does any more,” then that’s cool. And if they then say, “Hmmmm … maybe I should give that a whirl, too,” then that’s even more cool, and if they want a suggestion of a place to attend, I’m happy to reply.<\/p>\n
(Of course, now that I’ve said that, I’m going to be very self-conscious about it the next time I mention such things, particularly to friends that might read this blog.)<\/p>\n
As to the second part … When I was a kid going to Catechism class, there was a popular church folk tune with the chorus “They will know we are Christians by our love.” While I’m not sure that’s a particularly PC attitude to have any more (since the implication is that Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc. don’t act in a loving fashion), it ties in with the way I think a lot of Christians feel: that the best way to draw people to the Christian faith is to demonstrate that Christians are not intolerant ogres, but to lead loving, caring lives of service and faith. To preach by example and action<\/i>, not by words. Which, frankly, also serves to do what Jesus wanted us to do anyway.<\/p>\n
So I try to do that, too — though I don’t do it to lure folks into the church, but because it’s the right thing to do, in and of itself.<\/p>\n
So why am I writing this?<\/p>\n
Well, like I said, the subject of evangelism came up, which set me to thinking about it. And I try to use this blog not just to post interesting news items, or the results of goofy personality tests, or links to funny sites, but to talk about what I’m thinking about, about my beliefs and what’s going on with me. And this fits right in with that.<\/p>\n
And maybe, from an evangelical point of view, that’s not a bad thing, either.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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