When we were on a break at work the other day, my fellow laborers and I started up a discussion about world events, globalization, the Arab-Israeli conflict, etc. You know, normal stuff. Someone posed the hypothetical question, “Isn’t there just a way we could get everyone to be nice to everyone else?” I responded, “Well, I’ve got an idea,” and (only half-jokingly) pulled my Biblia out of my bag and held it up. When another member of this discussion saw it, he responded strongly, “No! You can’t solve the world’s problems just by forcing everyone to have the same religion as you!”
Well, I wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to this, and fortunately someone else started talking before I had to. But I can say that my heart hurt a little bit because upon seeing a guy holding a Bible, the first thought that came to this person’s mind was of an objectionable and oppressive force. You see, I’ve been reading Matthew lately, and all I was trying to say with my little gesture was that if people observed the Sermon on the Mount a little more closely, then everyone probably would be nicer to everyone else. I was talking about a lifestyle change, not some tyrannical crusading “religion,” as my friend indelicately put it.
I just finished reading a cool book I bought at Rockbridge called Reimagining Evangelism by Rick Richardson. Richardson reminds us that our faith is a journey, not a product, and in our witnessing we should be more like traveling guides than traveling salesmen. His goal is to “rebuild trust in a post-Christian society.” I’ve got a feeling that this broken trust may be partially responsible for my friend’s reaction to my Biblia. A few of the points I found particularly useful or interesting relate to the way he suggests we approach seekers and skeptics about faith.
He emphasized the need for us to identify our specific spiritual gifts and use them to their full potential, but to recognize that we cannot (and therefore should not) try to do it all. Too many Christians look at non-Christians as projects, which does little more than cheapen the whole experience. At Rockbridge, our chapter’s coordinating team was asked to make a goal for the chapter: to set a specific number of people they wanted to bring to Christ over the course of the upcoming year. Our c-team refused to do that, and I couldn’t have been more proud of my friends that day. We are supposed to do what we can with what we have, and the rest is up to God. He sets the number, not us.
Richardson also talks about the need to open up about our own trials and struggles and resulting transformations, rather than speak from a place of moral authority (a place that not one of us has to speak from anyway). “When trust has been broken, leading with strength merely lengthens the distance between you and others. Broken trust is rebuilt as you show and share your humanity and your needs. An open, trusting heart is what melts the hearts and defuses the defenses of others.”
Basically the book has a lot of good stuff in it, more than I have taken the time to get into here, but I think a lot of it comes down to not insulting the people you’re trying to care for. There is a reason they have rejected faith thus far (in general, or specifically Christianity) and it is the reason we should be looking at, not just the rejection. When talking about the actual question and answer regarding the choice to accept Christ, Richardson sums up with this:
“Post-Christian people don’t want to hear the question popped in cliché ways and with a one-size-fits-all approach. And they will be offended if it seems as if you need them to respond more than they want to respond. Evangelism is not about sales but about spiritual guidance. It’s not about getting “in” instead of being “out.” It’s similar to getting married, becoming one with the God who loves us and will transform us. So let’s not ask post-Christian people to mark their choice with trite responses. Prompt them to use their own words and to mark their ignition in a significant and meaningful way.”
So many people are just like my friend - they think they know what Christianity is by the words they've heard used to often in church or on television. But so few of them understand the truths behind those words because it seems like no one ever takes the time to really explain it to them, let alone let them try to figure it out for themselves.
Please feel free to ask me more about the book or whatever else may relate to this topic. I’m always happy to learn more.
And now for something completely different!
I feel the need to clarify something about my last post. I may have misrepresented my current living/family situation. For the most part, I have a good relationship with my family. As good as anyone else’s, I’ve always assumed. Any anger or frustration that I wrote, explicitly or implicitly, pertains almost exclusively to the particular incident involving Paris (because I am right, and they are wrong).
Sometimes, I wonder about the potential sinfulness of self-pity. I have talked with some folks about this in the past, and I think it’s probably something we all experience occasionally. We all slip into selfishness from time to time, and if we’re not careful, that can turn into a “woe is me” sort of attitude. Although I don’t think that is the case with my situation this time, I realize that it is close and could be seen that way. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think it’s a sin to be a little angry when you don’t get something you want, or to share that frustration with others. I just think that pitying yourself, or looking for others’ pity, is non-productive attention-seeking selfishness and can therefore become sinful.
Got any thoughts? Leave your comments at the sound of the tone!
That’s it for now everyone, I’ll be back soon, hopefully with my next and final movie. In the meantime, check out this song from Justin McRoberts!
Shalom.
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