EARNING THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD
Do you stand eagerly at your door hoping a Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon will come by and share his religious ideas with you? It is more likely that if you see them on your block you do your best to make it look like no one’s home! Do you think it’s any different with preachy evangelicals?
People don’t want to connect to religious fanatics. They want to connect with people who share their interests in the activities of ordinary life. It’s our responsibility to be people who can and will share those interests.
The first step of evangelism is not connecting people with Jesus.
The first step of evangelism is not connecting people with your church.
The first step of evangelism is connecting people with you. If Christianity is about following Christ in everyday life, then everyday life (not the pulpit) becomes the platform for displaying my faith. By my life I must earn the right to be heard.
I knew a couple that befriended a non-Christian couple. They did things together and enjoyed each other’s company. After about a year of friendship, the non-Christian woman was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She wanted her Christian friend to be there and care for her. They began to have meaningful conversations about spiritual things. The Christian woman had earned the right to be heard.
Another Christian lady who didn’t know the dying woman at all decided to “minister” to the situation. Uninvited, she barged in and “visited” the dying woman, “preaching the gospel” every day, much to the annoyance of both the dying woman and the Christian friend. The incessant preaching confused the dying woman (“Who is this lady and why is she coming?”) and cheapened the gospel. It made it harder, not easier, for the faithful friend to talk about Jesus.
In America we talk about the right to freedom of speech and that is a wonderful thing. But the right to speak neither entails nor guarantees the right to be heard. We must earn that, and we earn it by living and speaking in ways that make people want to connect – and stay connected -- with us.
People don’t want to connect to religious fanatics. They want to connect with people who share their interests in the activities of ordinary life. It’s our responsibility to be people who can and will share those interests.
The first step of evangelism is not connecting people with Jesus.
The first step of evangelism is not connecting people with your church.
The first step of evangelism is connecting people with you. If Christianity is about following Christ in everyday life, then everyday life (not the pulpit) becomes the platform for displaying my faith. By my life I must earn the right to be heard.
I knew a couple that befriended a non-Christian couple. They did things together and enjoyed each other’s company. After about a year of friendship, the non-Christian woman was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She wanted her Christian friend to be there and care for her. They began to have meaningful conversations about spiritual things. The Christian woman had earned the right to be heard.
Another Christian lady who didn’t know the dying woman at all decided to “minister” to the situation. Uninvited, she barged in and “visited” the dying woman, “preaching the gospel” every day, much to the annoyance of both the dying woman and the Christian friend. The incessant preaching confused the dying woman (“Who is this lady and why is she coming?”) and cheapened the gospel. It made it harder, not easier, for the faithful friend to talk about Jesus.
In America we talk about the right to freedom of speech and that is a wonderful thing. But the right to speak neither entails nor guarantees the right to be heard. We must earn that, and we earn it by living and speaking in ways that make people want to connect – and stay connected -- with us.