Thursday, June 16, 2011

EVANGELISM: ARE THERE OTHER PERTINENT CONCEPTS?

Evangelism for some may have become sterile.  Not only is such a non-effort, it could be that it is a non-thought.  I understand it because I could not pull the outreach trigger for several years in ministry.  This left me both unproductive along with being saddled with guilt.  I was the preacher; the evangelist who couldn't do the main job.

I have become aware of something about Jesus which might just open the heart-doors for a few among us.  Not all would claim the concept as theirs.  For those who might, I toss out this avenue as yet another way to place some among us onto the mission path of winning souls.

I wonder if maybe we have some courageous soldiers who cannot find motivation or satisfaction in our present systemic approach.  Could it be possible that for these servants, who have yet to find a place of deployment, we have cleaned up the church's approach to a devious and dirty world?  Have we polished the Son of God without letting his true nature fly?  Has the "go" of His commission been diluted to "sit n be safe"?  Have we moved too far from aggressive outreach to subdued "contribution" toward? 

I wish not to sound like nothing is being done...for it is.  But I merely wish to jar some from possible crustification of unimagination. 

Jesus wasn't "in their face" but he was surely aggressive in his approach to humanity.  He was clearly after their heart.  The bottom line is that I wonder if Jesus is more rogue than we realize.  We would tend to veer from such an image and make his work among us more....conventional?  We would do so to make the most important and necessary work on earth....respectable?

What did Jesus do?  Among his many tactics He trained rebels.  The Son did not talk men into going to church; but rather to get the church to move out in protest that the deeds of darkness might be defied.  He built a sub-organization of misfits and losers groomed to infiltrate existing systems.  Jesus pirated world religions and hi-jacked (Saul of Tarsus being one) important people who were on their, otherwise, merry and persecutory ways.

Currently we have many evangelism tactics that are effective.  Creative missionaries and more creative business men and women offer us variety of outreach opportunities.  All, who think souls, have latched on to one or more ideas and ran with them.  We celebrate conversions in the church every day.  This is to be acknowledged as well as applauded.

Yet, I wonder about another pocket of believers who haven't been stirred by conventional calling.  I wonder what we could do to train rebels.  Would this have much greater appeal to some of our own who have a hunger to do something major; yet can't find it in our existing order?  What could we do if we trained our young to rebel in a form that would be God-accepted and God-endorsed?

What could we do to begin infiltrating the current internet/technology drift?  Would you know of a pattern any are using to spread the Word through the magic of Facebook?  Twitter?  Email?

Surely new tech components are coming to our present world.  I urge the creative among us as to ways to infiltrate these approaching newbies.  And what's next?  Grok?  sYnc?  (I just created the terms.)  Just as Facebook and Twitter were recently created more new concepts and names are surely coming.  And when they do, will we have minds to imagine their use for kingdom life?

Evangelism.  Keep your eyes open to the riches and the power and the glory that all might be transformed into a tool for kingdom expansion.

3 comments:

Stoned-Campbell Disciple said...

I always enjoy your thoughts Terry. Thank you for blessing us.

Terry Laudett said...

On Facebook, I look for friends in need of prayer, and I let them know that I'm praying for them. Once in a while (when I feel comfortable with it), I share a link to one of my blog posts on Facebook. Sometimes I just try to be encouraging by letting friends know that I like something they have shared that is good and encouraging (and sometimes spiritual). Those are my usual methods of sharing my faith in Christ on Facebook. Mostly, I just try to be a good friend.

Anonymous said...

Well, I'm reading your blog, and it is blessing me. :)

My own, which is linked to Facebook and Twitter, has been quite the tool in making connections and staying connected to people I'm reaching out to.