Mark 7 – A Church Trained to Evangelism in an Organic Way – of 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church in the 21st Century American West
Sully
Notes are meant to provide you with direct quotes from some books I've
read in the last year, so you can get a taste of the overall theme of
the book and then begin to chew on what your life might look like if you
applied what you read.
This
series of special Notes are touching on a subject growing in
recognition and discussion within the 21st century American church. What
is the missional church? Is it something we do or who we are? What does
a church look like that is living out the mission of God in their
cultural context? How does a church remain faithful to the good news of
Jesus, the Spirit of God, the Scriptures, the church throughout human
history and around the world, and the mission of God that the church is
called to join, while also meeting the questions, needs, and desires of
the people God is sending us to in the cultures and contexts we live in
today? I have found no better book to answer these questions than in Michael Goheen's A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story.
For these 13 posts, my goal is to share the final chapter of the book – Chapter 9: What Might This Look Like Today – with you. In this chapter, Goheen
shares from his pastoral and professional experience in answering the
question, "Ten Things I'd Do Differently if I Pastored Again." The list
grew from ten to a lucky thirteen. I think all thirteen are essential
for considering how Emmaus City will be a faithful church for our city – Worcester, MA.
Each
blog post will feature one mark that will take about 5 minutes to read.
Here is the full list featuring links to the previous posts:
- Mark 1: A Church with Worship That Nurtures Our Missional Identity
- Mark 2: A Church Empowered by the Preaching of the Gospel
- Mark 3: A Church Devoted to Communal Prayer
- Mark 4: A Church Striving to Live as a Contrast Community
- Mark 5: A Church That Understands Its Cultural Context
- Mark 6: A Church Trained for a Missionary Encounter in Its Callings in the World
- Mark 7: A Church Trained to Evangelism in an Organic Way
- Mark 8: A Church Deeply Involved in the Needs of Its Neighborhood and World
- Mark 9: A Church Committed to Missions
- Mark 10: A Church with Well-Trained Leaders
- Mark 11: A Church with Parents Trained to Take Up the Task of Nurturing Children in Faith
- Mark 12: A Church with Small Groups That Nurture for Mission in the World
- Mark 13: A Church That Seeks and Expresses the Unity of the Body of Christ
Mark 7: A Church Trained to Evangelism in an Organic Way
"A missionary encounter will also mean an evangelizing church. Evangelism is a verbal communication of the good news about Jesus Christ – his life, death, and resurrection – that invites others to follow him with their whole lives. A scandalous dualism between word and deed profoundly weakened the witness of the church in the twentieth century. Lesslie Newbigin has strong words for those who uphold such a division: deeds of mercy and justice that are divorced from words are betrayal, and gospel words void of deeds are false.
This does not mean that every deed needs a word and every word requires a deed. But it is the working together of both word and deed in the fullness of the church's witness that makes the gospel credible. According to some estimates, most people become believers after encountering some kind of Christian witness at least eight times. Together words and deeds backed by the life of the church can have a cumulative effect of making the message of Jesus good news. Not only does this point to the importance of small yet timely words and deeds of faithful witness but also to how ultimately the work of conversion is a work of the Holy Spirit. He sovereignly orchestrates the witness to Christ using even our weakest words and deeds.
Many Christians tremble at the word 'evangelism.' It seems to point to a heavy responsibility of offering a polished and persuasive presentation of the gospel accompanied by the skill to expertly lead the repentant hearer to a slam-dunk conversion. This notion is fueled by the way we often train for evangelism. We teach various methods and techniques that make evangelism appear to be more propaganda or slick sales pitch than good news. We feel pressure to lead people to Christ. No wonder uneasiness arises; we can't all be persuasive salespeople, quick-witted apologists, and eloquent speakers. One wonders if this kind of technique evangelism arises from a situation in which unbelievers seldom ask what is different about our lives, thus creating opportunities for us to verbally witness for Christ.
The kind of evangelism that we must embrace is something more organic to daily life. Here Hendrik Kraemer offers helpful insights: 'One of the fundamental laws of all presentation of the Christian truth everywhere in the world is that this truth is vitally related to all spheres and problems of life, the most common and trivial as well as the most elevated.' The kind of evangelism of which Kraemer speaks is a spontaneous 'chattering the gospel' in the midst of life. This means, first, that we understand and are living the gospel in an all-embracing and holistic way. It is not a gospel about a future, otherworldly place that has little relevance for much of life other than personal ethics. Rather, if we see good news as it relates to our lives, in major public issues as well as minor private concerns, then the gospel will not be an uncomfortable intrusion but rather woven into the very fabric of our daily walk and quick to flow to our tongue. The point of contact with our neighbors will be our common lives, its joys and sorrows.
If we understand the global economic crisis, for example, as a problem of communal greed and corporate idolatry that makes economic growth a central cultural goal, then the gospel cannot be kept out of our discussion about economic issues today. If we see that the breakdown of educations stems from the lack of a compelling narrative to give it meaning, and we believe that only the Bible can offer that kind of narrative, then our participation in education cannot help but refer to the gospel. If our struggles with death, sickness, and loss are buttressed by the hope and comfort of the good news of Christ's work, then we are unlikely to be silent when unbelieving neighbors and friends struggle with their pain. If we live in the experience of God's grace and forgiveness of our sin and waywardness, our words to those caught in addiction and self-destructive behavior will humbly and sympathetically point to the source of our forgiveness and renewal. And in all these things we need not be theological experts who can relate the gospel to economics, education, pain, and sin. In these cases we can 'chatter the gospel,' naturally pointing to Christ and the gospel as good news. It is God who uses even our bumbling verbal witness.
Organic evangelism that is vitally connected to everyday life will also communicate the gospel in such a way that it touches the deepest religious longings of the heart. This is what makes the Gospel of John such a brilliant piece of missionary communication. John understood the deepest yearnings of his contemporaries in Greek culture and answered them with the gospel. But in so doing he also challenged idolatry in its cultural expression. So his message both answered the longings of his contemporaries as well as called them to repentance for commitments other than the gospel.
To be able to hear our neighbors, we will need to spend time listening in an empathetic way. What are the deepest hungers of people living in our consumer world to which the gospel gives answer? Perhaps the Rolling Stones have expressed something of that longing: 'I can't get no satisfaction ... and I've tried and I've tried and I've tried.' Life in Christ offers the kind of abundant life that our consumer society longs for, but it will also call people to repentance for the way they seek it. Good evangelism will love and listen to our neighbors to learn what they ache for and offer the gospel humbly and uncompromisingly as the truth that provides true life indeed." – pgs. 215-217
This does not mean that every deed needs a word and every word requires a deed. But it is the working together of both word and deed in the fullness of the church's witness that makes the gospel credible. According to some estimates, most people become believers after encountering some kind of Christian witness at least eight times. Together words and deeds backed by the life of the church can have a cumulative effect of making the message of Jesus good news. Not only does this point to the importance of small yet timely words and deeds of faithful witness but also to how ultimately the work of conversion is a work of the Holy Spirit. He sovereignly orchestrates the witness to Christ using even our weakest words and deeds.
Many Christians tremble at the word 'evangelism.' It seems to point to a heavy responsibility of offering a polished and persuasive presentation of the gospel accompanied by the skill to expertly lead the repentant hearer to a slam-dunk conversion. This notion is fueled by the way we often train for evangelism. We teach various methods and techniques that make evangelism appear to be more propaganda or slick sales pitch than good news. We feel pressure to lead people to Christ. No wonder uneasiness arises; we can't all be persuasive salespeople, quick-witted apologists, and eloquent speakers. One wonders if this kind of technique evangelism arises from a situation in which unbelievers seldom ask what is different about our lives, thus creating opportunities for us to verbally witness for Christ.
The kind of evangelism that we must embrace is something more organic to daily life. Here Hendrik Kraemer offers helpful insights: 'One of the fundamental laws of all presentation of the Christian truth everywhere in the world is that this truth is vitally related to all spheres and problems of life, the most common and trivial as well as the most elevated.' The kind of evangelism of which Kraemer speaks is a spontaneous 'chattering the gospel' in the midst of life. This means, first, that we understand and are living the gospel in an all-embracing and holistic way. It is not a gospel about a future, otherworldly place that has little relevance for much of life other than personal ethics. Rather, if we see good news as it relates to our lives, in major public issues as well as minor private concerns, then the gospel will not be an uncomfortable intrusion but rather woven into the very fabric of our daily walk and quick to flow to our tongue. The point of contact with our neighbors will be our common lives, its joys and sorrows.
If we understand the global economic crisis, for example, as a problem of communal greed and corporate idolatry that makes economic growth a central cultural goal, then the gospel cannot be kept out of our discussion about economic issues today. If we see that the breakdown of educations stems from the lack of a compelling narrative to give it meaning, and we believe that only the Bible can offer that kind of narrative, then our participation in education cannot help but refer to the gospel. If our struggles with death, sickness, and loss are buttressed by the hope and comfort of the good news of Christ's work, then we are unlikely to be silent when unbelieving neighbors and friends struggle with their pain. If we live in the experience of God's grace and forgiveness of our sin and waywardness, our words to those caught in addiction and self-destructive behavior will humbly and sympathetically point to the source of our forgiveness and renewal. And in all these things we need not be theological experts who can relate the gospel to economics, education, pain, and sin. In these cases we can 'chatter the gospel,' naturally pointing to Christ and the gospel as good news. It is God who uses even our bumbling verbal witness.
Organic evangelism that is vitally connected to everyday life will also communicate the gospel in such a way that it touches the deepest religious longings of the heart. This is what makes the Gospel of John such a brilliant piece of missionary communication. John understood the deepest yearnings of his contemporaries in Greek culture and answered them with the gospel. But in so doing he also challenged idolatry in its cultural expression. So his message both answered the longings of his contemporaries as well as called them to repentance for commitments other than the gospel.
To be able to hear our neighbors, we will need to spend time listening in an empathetic way. What are the deepest hungers of people living in our consumer world to which the gospel gives answer? Perhaps the Rolling Stones have expressed something of that longing: 'I can't get no satisfaction ... and I've tried and I've tried and I've tried.' Life in Christ offers the kind of abundant life that our consumer society longs for, but it will also call people to repentance for the way they seek it. Good evangelism will love and listen to our neighbors to learn what they ache for and offer the gospel humbly and uncompromisingly as the truth that provides true life indeed." – pgs. 215-217
– Sully
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