Sunshine is a wonderful congregation!
I like to imagine what things might look like in Sunshine's future. Trusting that God will continue moving upon the many prayers to fill the folks of Sunshine with His Spirit, what will it be like? I believe it will be somewhat like it is now, expanding upon what is presently good and diminishing what is presently weak.
What will dynamic evangelism look like?
I don't see big revivals or door-knocking campaigns; instead, I see a lot more of what might be called "pull evangelism".
In a meeting I attended this morning, Dr. Kendall Stewart, made mention of pull education. Pull education occurs when the recipient desires information from the educator. This, of course, is opposed to push education. Push education involves the educator offering information to a disinterested, maybe even unwilling recipient.
If we employ this push-pull metaphor in thinking about evangelism, it has obvious utility.
Sunshine is a faith community. When Christ is lived within and among us, we become extremely attractive! Like thirsty people are drawn to water, people outside of Christ are drawn to those who genuinely know Him. We are not just speaking of the spiritual maturity of individuals, but rather, a spiritual maturity of the community, the Sunshine community.
One aspect of community spiritual maturity is forgiveness. Here is a sample from Larry James:
The capacity to extend forgiveness to others, to "give them a break," links us with a larger reality at work in the universe. I believe the essential openness to others that provides for forgiveness and multiple "second chances" is a characteristic that links us to our Creator and to the giant picture of eternity.
When it comes to forgiveness, often my problem relates to my inability to step back and take a longer view of my life and my relationships. People who have the gift of "long-sightedness" provide direction and leadership for healthy communities.
I would like to challenge us all to avoid thinking and behaving exclusively in terms of our own individual spiritual development and try focusing our thoughts and actions on community spiritual development. What do you think?
Monday, May 07, 2007
Pull Evangelism
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3 comments:
Jason -- thanks for your comments!! When I look back on my own life to this point I realize there is nothing anyone has done to me as of yet that I cannot and should not forgive. Jesus paid for a whole lot when he died for me. As this becomes clearer, I realize that I have no business setting in a judgement seat for anyone. THanks for always getting us to think!
"I would like to challenge us all to avoid thinking and behaving exclusively in terms of our own individual spiritual development and try focusing our thoughts and actions on community spiritual development. What do you think?"
Sounds like community outreach to me...scary words to so many within the church. I think we are too often caught up in reaching out to ourselves or to one another that we forget what the mission is....reaching out to the lost.
We should be encouraging and supportive and helpful to our brothers and sisters in Christ but it should never stop there. If we aren't willing to go beyond our little friends inside the safe walls of the church building, then there really isn't much about us that is Christ-like is there?
In order to obtain that "pull" that causes the lost to come to Jesus, we need to be different than what the world has ever known Christians to be before. We need to be bold lovers of the lost. Afterall, wasn't Jesus?
That will get their attention because the way I see it, the lost are still lost because they've never known what it's like to be loved like God can love.
Jennifer
Thanks for the link! Recently, I heard someone say that the essence of the Good News was simply to keep on loving people until they ask "Why?"
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