The 'E' Word

Introduction

Today I’m not going to be preaching on the scripture readings. Instead, I’m going to use this time to introduce our Lent study course, which is based on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book for 2021 - “Living His Story”, by Hannah Steele.

The E Word

This book is all about the E word. Evangelism.

What is Evangelism?

This is a topic that can stir quite mixed emotions in us. I’d like you to have a think, then call out the first phrase that comes in to your mind when you hear the word ‘evangelism’?

There are a lot of misconceptions about evangelism.

Misconception #1: Evangelism is for the experts

When you think of an ‘expert’ evangelist, you might think of someone like Billy Graham, who could easily stand in front of thousands of people, and experience seemingly endless conversions and people giving their life to Christ. Or you might think of the person standing on a street corner spouting bible verses and thrusting papers at people as they walk past.

Either way, if this is how you see evangelism then it’s not hard to find excuses to avoid doing - it’s easy to say that you don’t have the skills that Billy Graham has, or you may find it hard to think of anything more unnatural and embarrassing than standing on a street corner!

In reality though, evangelism is for everyone, and it isn’t what we might think it is. The first disciples were a rag-tag bunch of misfits - they certainly weren’t natural experts.

Fun fact - the term ‘evangelist’ only appears three times in the New Testament (Acts 21:8, 2 Timothy 4:5, Ephesians 4:11). The more common word is ‘witness’ - which appears 23 times in Acts alone - it’s used as a noun to describe the followers of Jesus such as in Acts 1:8 (‘You will be my witnesses’), but also as a verb to describe the act of talking about who Jesus was and what he did.

Bearing witness to Jesus is the fundamental aspect of being a disciple - it’s not something we can pick and choose - to follow Jesus is to be a witness. You don’t have to look far in the Bible to see how bearing witness to Christ saw the kingdom grow through the excited presence and proclamation of people to their changed lives in Jesus. The women at the tomb were the first witnesses to the new reality that Jesus had risen from the dead. With the simple words “I have seen the Lord” a new era began.

How can we bear witness to where we have experienced Jesus in our lives?

Misconception #2: Evangelism is morally dubious

Another common misconception is that evangelism is morally dubious. In her book Hannah Steele says that a recent survey in the UK (Barna) conducted among Christian millennials (those born between 1984 and 2000) discovered that this age group was morally conflicted about the concept of evangelism.

She says that

“The majority of those interviewed thought that evangelism was an important part of being a disciple but over half of them were uncomfortable doing it. In our society where dozens of religions and worldviews coexist within even just one suburb, we can feel awkward about the idea of persuading someone to our way of thinking…we are also aware that evangelism done badly can be manipulative and coercive, and so the old adage ‘preach the gospel and if necessary use words’ can seem a more appealing course of action. Eventually silence about our faith becomes the norm.”

Evangelism done well is always invitational, so therefore cannot be morally suspicious. Most people start attending church because of a personal invitation from friends or family. Evangelism should be invitational by nature, but sometimes we place too much focus on an invitation to church when it should be an invitation to Jesus - even if it’s just an invitation to start asking questions.

Misconception #3: Evangelism is irrelevant

It’s also easy to think that society has moved on. You may have attempted to invite someone to church only to find out they’re not interested; you may have talked about what you did on the weekend only to be met with an awkward silence. As Hannah Steele puts it:

The gulf sometimes seems too huge and what a man in Palestine did 2,000 years ago had to say just doesn’t figure on the conversational agenda. Concepts like sin and salvation seem out of touch with the language of ordinary life.

I’ve had so many experiences where I’ve been talking with people who cannot reconcile Christianity with science, suffering, gender identity, or sexuality. And I’m sure I’m not alone in this room with this.

The Barna / World Vision survey I mentioned earlier has some pretty stark findings.

This is a map which shows the breakdown among the surveyed countries which are either predominately Christian, multi-faith, or secular. The predominately Christian countries are shown in green, while the secular countries are shown in yellow.

We can look a bit more closely at the statistics.

This graph shows us that New Zealand is the most secular country in the world. Just over 40% of those surveyed identify as Christian, while just under 50% identify as having no faith. For those aged 18-35 the gap is even wider - with under 40% identifying as being Christian and just under 60% having no faith.

Looking more locally, the census data for Newlands North shows a marked decline in those who identify as Christian - from 49.8% in 2006 to 32.2% in 2018, while those who identify as having no religion have increased from 36.9% to 44.5%.

This is scary stuff. It’s easy to feel like this is an impossible situation, when so many appear to see Christianity as irrelevant to their lives.

The gospel is good news for all people in any time or place - it addresses our deepest needs and longings as humans:

It tells us we are loved

It tells us we are forgiven

It tells us that we do not have to fear death

This good news can not ever be irrelevant - it is sadly true however that our own presentation of it often fails to connect with different realities we all face. As witnesses, our job is to connect the story of the gospel with the stories of those around us, and to show them that it is relevant and significant to them. As we journey through Lent we will explore how to be authentic and imaginative with our evangelism to find new ways of making that connection.

Missio Dei

This all sounds pretty daunting, but the thing to remember is that we are never alone, and as Rebecca said last week, God goes first. Missio Dei describes the understanding that we can only be truly fruitful when we have eyes and ears to see where God is at work, and to join in partnership with God. This is finding out what God is doing and joining in with it. This requires a complete reliance on our part on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In the words of Psalm 127:

Psalm 127 (NRSV)

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.

It’s often said that the engine room of the church is prayer. Prayer is the unglamorous and unseen work of witness, but it is the engine that provides the power. Jesus tells us ‘Ask, and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you’ (Matthew 7:7)

As Rebecca and I have been praying and trying to discern God’s will for Newlands, it is becoming increasingly clear to us of God’s desire to grow new fruit in this place - to be and build community. We can see some of where God is already at work in this place - doing beautiful things. We know however that the only way for us as St Michael’s to both grow in number and more importantly to help more people know the life-transforming power of God, is for every one of us to be be witnesses of Jesus. This is why the Lent course is so important for us - to give us ideas, resources, and tools to help us be authentic, relevant, and significant bearers of Christ’s light and love in our community. If you have not signed up already, then I urge you to prayerfully considering doing so.

Let me pray.