Thus far, I have shared two posts (here and here) with you about the remodeling that the Lord is doing in my heart through the book UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. Remodeling jobs are rarely fun and often are just plain painful. This one is no different. Jesus is challenging not only my thinking but also the way I have programmed my heart to respond to a host of issues. Today we delve into one of those issues where my thinking has been challenged. Join me.
I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, was raised by Southern Baptist parents and grandparents and have attended Southern Baptist churches for much of my life. Evangelical Southern Baptists are all about spreading the gospel and fulfilling the Great Commission. Wonderful!! I completely agree that is what Jesus told us to do and we need to be about doing it. No argument there!
However……………………………………….(long pause)………….UnChristian is challenging my thinking about the way we fulfill the Great Commission…about our methods and the motives behind the methods.
You will not be in an evangelical church for too many hours before you will begin to hear about witnessing and sharing the gospel. Probably most of us have gone through some sort of witnessing training program such as Evangelism Explosion or any number of other programs. Those programs are great and serve a needed function in the body. What I fear we are leaving out, however, is the heart behind the program. As the authors of UnChristian point out from their surveys, too often we are more focused on increasing the numbers on our church rolls than we are on loving people and meeting them right where they are. Jesus never treated people as just a number. Rather He loved them into the kingdom. He met their needs and showed them love, yet He never, ever excused their sin.
Allow me to share a few quotes from UnChristian on this issue:
“Young outsiders generally do not get the impression that Christians have good intentions when it comes to trying to ‘convert’ them. Most reject the idea that Christians show genuine interest in them as individuals. This was one of the largest gaps in our research: most Christians are convinced their efforts come across as genuine, but outsiders dispute that. Only 1/3 of young outsiders believe that Christians genuinely care about them (34 percent).” P.68
Many outsiders are seeking a faith that they can be excited about. All too often their experience with Christians turns them off from Christianity. Consider the story of Rachel told in the book:
“We interviewed Rachel, a pleasant, poised twenty-one-year-old. At the time, she was a nursing student in Kentucky. She calmly, almost apologetically, explained her experience, ‘There was this transitional period, I guess, in my personal faith, where I wasn’t quite certain of all that was going on, but I was starting to lean where I am right now, where I don’t really believe in religion as much. I would go to churches, and they would be like, ‘You’re a Catholic? Well, you can’t be a Catholic and come to this church. You need to convert.’ And I just think it shouldn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter what brand of this you are….” p.78
“Like Rachel, many outsiders actually miss the chance to experience true life in Christ because we cheapen the message of Jesus to church membership or denominational loyalty.” P. 79
Quote from Andy Stanley in UnChristian:
“If we were able to rewrite the script for the reputation of Christianity, I think we would put the emphasis on developing relationships with nonbelievers, serving them, loving them, and making them feel accepted. Only then would we earn the right to share the gospel. Their acceptance by us would not be predicated on their willingess to accept Christ. After all, God loved us before we were lovable; God loved the whole world before the world knew anything about him. This should be our model.” P.88
I believe that Andy Stanley is all over this truth like white on rice. People just want to feel that someone cares for them, for heaven sake. All of us do. Unfortunately we have become a throw-away society. Surely the one place people should be able to feel loved and accepted just the way they are is the church of Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean they need to stay the way they are—none of us do. However, it is not our job to convert one single person. That is the work of Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit alone. Our job is to love them and offer them the gospel in a way that says they are valued and respected.
I believe that Andy Stanley is all over this truth like white on rice. People just want to feel that someone cares for them, for heaven sake. All of us do. Unfortunately we have become a throw-away society. Surely the one place people should be able to feel loved and accepted just the way they are is the church of Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean they need to stay the way they are—none of us do. However, it is not our job to convert one single person. That is the work of Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit alone. Our job is to love them and offer them the gospel in a way that says they are valued and respected.
Do we look like Jesus to the world or do we appear as if all we care about is adding a notch on our spiritual belt? Just saying……………………………….
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