I didn’t mention in yesterday’s blog that Mark’s relatives who were having the abortion weren’t Christians. Kevin Rubottom wrote a blog comment basically asking, “What happens to this couple after Mark’s intervention?”
One good thing would be if they could trust Jesus with their lives. And in that regard, here is today’s great news: Mark led them in a prayer asking Jesus to be Lord of their lives yesterday.
Now, I’d like to make a larger point: This is usually where the story ends. Too often we in the Church engage in hit-and-run evangelism. The worst story I heard along these lines is the guy who left a bad tip for the waitress and a Four Spiritual Laws tract. Or, there was the Christian who threw a tract at a hitchhiker while racing by (can you flip someone off in the Spirit?).
We were called to make disciples, not get people to pray a prayer and put a notch in our Bible. Generally, Baptist churches are among the best at getting their members to evangelize. The rest of the body of Christ has much to learn from them. But sometimes they go overboard. It’s terrible how insensitive some of us can be. In a cross-cultural context, this approach is the epitome of the ugly American (I hope this is offending some of you; it needs to be pointed out).
Having said that, let’s be clear: tracts do have their place. Many of us were convicted by one. We need to evangelize and we need to begin reaching out to people like Mark’s relatives in love.
I will follow Mark’s ongoing ministry to his relatives and update you later. I think we’ll see an example of what the Church should look like.
Seth,
Your critique of “hit and run evangelism” needs to be heard by everyone in the Church. I believe that it actually does more damage than good and that is why I am so opposed to a Christian culture/mantra that propagates such half-hearted “love”. Though I agree that the Baptist church tends to be the most “vocal” about their faith, I am hesitant to group such superficial actions under the banner of evangelism. Rather, I believe that we “preach” our beliefs through our actions instead of that which passes between our lips. Having said this, I believe that people like Dorothy Day, Bishop Romero of El Salvador, Gandhi, and many unsung heroes serve as the most effective evangelists of our day. Here I use the words of St. Francis of Assisi to exemplify this train of thought: “Preach the Gospel always and when necessary use words”. So referring back to the story of Mark, I earnestly pray that he enunciates the central tenets of his faith through the faithful and selfless provision of the life that is coming into this world. By doing so, I believe that all who witness and benefit for such committed actions will experience a grace-inspired sincere and authentic encounter with God, which is the goal of all evangelism, right? Lastly, we must all remember that when Jesus “preached” the good news, he was always in “solidarity” with those receiving his message. Now the question is, how can we enter into solidarity with those we evangelize?
Seth-
Can you explain this part a little more…what do you mean my tracts.
“It’s terrible how insensitive some of us can be. In a cross-cultural context, this approach is the epitome of the ugly American (I hope this is offending some of you; it needs to be pointed out).
Having said that, let’s be clear: tracts do have their place. Many of us were convicted by one.”
Thanks
I doubt very much if Gandhi was a Christian, but I include him along with Romero, Bonhoeffer, Wycliffe et al as “required reading/viewing” for my children.
Tracts like street preaching in the US are essentially marginal (and retro) evangelical pursuits for outreach. Yes they were successful, yes they can still be, but do i believe statistically that more than .01% of the conversions in the US in 2006 would be through this? probably not.
But what if it is part of a cocktail, and what if it was say immediately topical?
In Gretna, Lousiana in September with the Red Cross, and FEMA MIA several Christian organizations were delivering aid, chainsawing trees, and dumping refrigerators and cleaning them out in Jesus’s name. In that context street preaching was VERY effective. Why? People presuppositions were gone.
I was also VERY impressed in September of 2001 at a Penn State when people were handing out tracts wrapped around 911, they were taken respectfully and they were read, people in lines were reading them. Why again? Because their presuppostions were gone.
I was impressed by a big sign outside a little cracker jack church today in the country it said
“No matter what pain you have suffered, faith is the solution”
I thought they should build a bigger sign, because I think they had an essential, pain is the universal lever, you can create mental illness, suicide bombers or redeemed souls.