The ‘Why’ of Evangelism
Friday, 5 March 2010
| Shane Varcoe - Executive Director, Dalgarno Institute
The, at times, aggressive cultural distaste for the term (not necessarily the practice) has rubbed off on the Church and we too avoid its use. In some quarters of Christendom we have tried to eradicate even the echo of this seemingly politically incorrect term! Terms like ‘out-reach’ (or should I say ‘In-drag’?), ‘mission’ or ‘Christian presence’, are all used and preferred over the seemingly offensive ‘evangelism’.
Don’t get me wrong, all these exercises are important, but are they evangelism? If evangelism is defined accurately then it means the preaching and promulgation of the gospel (the Great News about Jesus). Now terms like outreach and mission may provide vehicles and methods to engage people – everything from serving, caring for, profiling activities and even ideas – but do they facilitate the presenting or the ‘good news’ of Jesus Christ – the Gospel? They may be a clever cladding that invites people to unwrap that that is before them and investigate, but again, is the Good news actually shared? Are the credentials, claims and call of Jesus Christ sensitively, wisely, yet unequivocally tabled via verbal or other proclamation means?
Of course, we then have to grapple with interpretations of what this ‘good news’ may or may not be to our affluent and, arguably, hubris first-world culture. What would be perceived ‘good news’ to time-strapped, technology-craving, comfort-fun-and-ease junkies?
If it the primary driver of the gospel (as some neo-practitioners have espoused) is ‘meeting the felt need of the audience’ rather than or over the ‘Author’s’ prescriptions, then evangelism or ‘mission’ is about making everyone at ease with how they are and never about truth claims and challenging allegiances – which might lead to redemption, restoration and wholeness.
Whatever processes engaged to reach the ‘unsaved’ (whoops, I mean ‘pre-Christian’) should, no must, reveal the multi-dimensional nature of the Triune God – the compassionate, accessible and relatable God; the merciful, selfless interventionist God; the healing and providing God; the saving and rescuing God; the transcendent, supernatural God of creation; the Holy righteous God of justice who hates sin; the gracious, redeeming and transforming God of eternity.
How do we represent this God? How do we communicate these truths? Before any ‘how’ can be formulated our ‘why’ must be utterly and crystal clear. We must know these truths, be convicted and captivated by them, hold them as if they were breathe themselves and demonstrate them by the way we live in, and not for, the one who rescued, redeemed and related to us.
Unless we know the ‘why’ we will not evangelise in any New Testament sense, we will simply assuage, placate, compromise or, most tragically, abdicate.