Here’s
a paradox for you. I believe (that doesn’t mean I opine, that I think this is probably
right – it means this s a conviction on which I base my life, this the basket
in which I place my existential chips) – I believe evangelism is the most
important thing we are on this earth to do. But I don’t worry much about the
church folks who are against evangelism, hate the word, and oppose all our
efforts to do it. The reason I don’t mind them is that those folks are often
the best evangelists; while the ones who claim to support evangelism are
actually gatekeepers excluding people from the church.
I
want to name the major obstacles to evangelism, the barriers to doing the first
thing Jesus told his disciples to do, proclaim the good news. People opposed to
evangelism are not the problem. We have far larger obstacles.
There
are plenty of good methods for evangelism, effective, proven methods. But
churches use them only a little if at all. They don’t use them because the
congregations are not spiritually evangelistic. Even if the staff used the
proven methods, they wouldn’t work unless the congregation is authentically
evangelistic. So the barriers to evangelism are really spiritual issues inside
each congregation. These barriers are killers for many congregations, but only
minor problems in others. It’s a matter of degree and we can work on the
degree.
THE
WRONG MOTIVATION.
The
biggest barrier to evangelism is the wrong motivation, which results in
something that pretends to be evangelism but is actually just a sales pitch. It
comes from this: “I just wish we could get some more people in the church.” “I
wish we had more young families.” “What we need is more children in the church
so we can have a Sunday School.”
Those
natural and common attitudes – I hear those things said in our churches all the
time! – are poison to evangelism. Why? Because they aspire to lasso poor
innocent people who are minding their own business, reading the newspaper on
Sunday morning while eating bagels and drinking coffee, and drag them into our
churches to meet our needs. We need them to prop up our institution, which we
are afraid is going to die out from under us. So we solicit people to join us
to meet our needs. In other words, we want to use them for our own ends.
People
are pretty smart. They don’t like being used. And they can smell manipulation.
If we are after pledge units, a treasurer, or someone to chair building and
grounds, then secular folks will run the other way and rightly so. That is not
evangelism.
Evangelism
is possible only if two things come together. And if they come together
evangelism is inevitable. First, we have to have Jesus in our hearts. We
symbolize that in the Eucharist when the people who will administer the
sacrament receiving it first .We cannot give what we have not first received. If
we don’t have a genuine relationship with God the Son who cares for us, redeems
us, and shows us the path to joy, then we have nothing to offer anyone else. If
we don’t have a relationship with Jesus that makes us want to share him with
others, then we are dead in the water. So the starting point is our own
spirituality, our own discovery of mercy and blessing.
Second,
we have to have the other person in our hearts. If we don’t care about the well
being of the other person, then we won’t share our spiritual treasure with
them. We will be trying to get something from them instead. But when we have
the other person in our hearts and we have Jesus in our hearts, they can’t help
but meet.
I
had the privilege of addressing the House of Bishops this month about several
things going on in Nevada, including our stewardship and evangelism. This is
part of what I said:
“A
few years ago I was visiting congregations. I asked them, ‘What is the mission
here?’ .The most common answer by far was ‘survival.’ That is a self-defeating
mission if ever there was one. Jesus said, ‘He who seeks to save his life will
lose it.’ That seemed to be true for congregations who were trying to survive.
There
are other things we could be concerned about. Our suicide rate is double the
national average. Our death rate from alcoholic liver disease is 1.7 times the
national average. We lead the nation in
women killed in domestic violence. Las Vegas has more sexually trafficked
minors than Bangkok. Our high school graduation rate is the worst in the
nation. Some of us have begun to wonder if perhaps Jesus cares about those
things. And if Jesus cares, maybe it’s our business to care too. That would be
a different sense of mission . . ..
The
final piece of the shift that I am beginning to see is Evangelism. There are
two challenges. One is our methodology. The other is our motivation. As long as
Evangelism is about our survival or vitality, it is self-serving, not
Christ-serving. We are working to take the focus off a nostalgic wish that we
had more young families. Instead, we hope to ask who are our neighbors and what
do they need? Why are they committing suicide, drinking themselves to death,
killing their spouses, dropping out of middle school? And what can we do about
it?
Jesus
may not be all they need. But Jesus is the first thing they need.
We
are hoping for an authentic Evangelism that shares the love of Jesus
mediated
by an accepting supportive faith community.”
The
motivation leads inexorably to the plan. We invite the people we care about
into a community that will heal them with the love of Jesus. That will include
one part God talk to nine parts godly action. But it will include both.
NOT
OUR SORT DEAR
Episcopal
congregations are not noted for being welcoming. There is a reason they call us
“the frozen chosen.” But we actually do a decent job of welcoming, even
inviting, people who are like us. “Like us” means different things in different
congregations. But the dynamic is the same. If new people visiting a
congregation are, in whatever way the congregation feels (often unconsciously)
is important, the newcomers will feel welcome and “fit right in.” But newcomers
who are different are not recognized.
One
of our congregations has complained to me for years that they have no young
adults. They are in fact an aging congregation. But I have never, not once,
been to a service there that did not include young adults. I have generally not
seen anyone acknowledge their presence. We sometimes seem to be downright blind
and deaf to the presence of folks who are different. Congregations that claim
to want children in general are sometimes hostile to families who actually dare
to bring children to church – especially if the children are the wrong color.
It
isn’t just the church. It’s human nature. They even have a term for it in
marketing, “the congruity heuristic.” It means “birds of a feather flock
together.” It is human nature. To do evangelism we have to overcome human
nature with Christ nature. We have to drop the criteria that St. Paul would
call “merely human” for another common criteria, our common brokenness and need
for Jesus. In an AA meeting, there will be all sorts of people who differ in
every way, but they all struggle with addiction. Christians all struggle with
sin, mortality, and being cut off from others. We find forgiveness, life, and
communion in Jesus mediated by a caring, supportive community.
This
takes a constant intentionality. It takes alertness. Our limited efforts to
publicize our churches tend to be aimed at people like ourselves. I even hear
churches say they are focused on attracting people who are already
Episcopalians. Episcopalians who are not in church probably don’t want to be.
They have probably been effectively inoculated against the gospel. What about
all those people who don’t know Jesus from Spiderman? Nevada is full of
genuinely lost, alienated, lonely, despairing people – who just don’t fit our
demographic. They are our mission field. They are the sheep of our pasture, the
people God has placed in our hand. They are the ones who need what we have. And
if we truly have it, we cannot help but share it. If we are not compelled to
share it, then we don’t’ have it.
Obviously,
we overcome these barriers often enough to celebrate. I have seen some real
openness to others, some real sharing of Christ, and some willingness to see
the congregational make up change in many of our parishes. I celebrate that. We
all should celebrate it. But the obstacles are always there and always need to
be remembered so we can keep our witness to the good news of God in Christ
Jesus strong, authentic, and transformative.