Successful Evangelization…

I talked to a Baptist family member the other day as well… and as I was sharing something withhim a discussion I’d had with Pumpkin (dd almost 16) over the philosophies embraced by our country, particularly during the 20th century through today, how that had impacted our society and what it meant for our future, he brought up Rick Warren’s hosting of a debate for the presidential candidates as an example to illustrate what he thought was my point.  He thought it was so wonderful and spoke to how godly our country had become that it would ask a pastor like Rick Warren to mc such a debate.

Not exactly.  Rick Warren and the debate are a good example but not of how good Christians are at evangelizing.  Those philosophies I mentioned having been embraced by our country were individualism, hedonism, and minimalism.  These have permeated not only the secular culture but have ‘evangelized’ Christians as well… so well  and so subtly in fact, that many Christians who’s lives and attitudes are very much ruled by these philosophies would argue that they are not guilty of holding such anti-Christian philosophies at all. 

The fact that our individualistic, hedonistic, and minimalistic country is so comfortable with Rick Warren hosting a secular debate tells me something… but it isn’t so much about our country as about Rick Warren. 

I am guilty of these sinful philosophies myself and am working at rooting them out of my own life. 

I had no idea that the ‘rugged individualism’ that was held up as a virtue  when I was growing up was in fact a vice more often than not.  I did not realize that the desire to protect the rights of the individual could become such a ferocious and ungodly monstrosity that any godliness in the effort had long been cast by the wayside. I did not anticipate the rights of the individual taking precedent over the good of society as a whole or even over right and wrong.   Freedom to do what is right, that which we once held so precious, has become freedom to live a Burger King life… ‘your way, right away’ no matter who it hurts while all the while buying the lie that (especially if private) it hurts no one.

Christ calls us to die to self. He calls us to give up not just small things but even our very lives for others.  We can not serve two masters.  We can not embrace self and die to self at the same time. There is a place for the individual in that death to self, but not to the detriment of others and not when right and wrong must be redefined in order to satisfy the wants or perceived needs of that individual.

I did not realize that I had bought into the pleasure seeking greed of hedonism… no idea that my tendency to laziness, to indulging in things that pleased my senses, to over-indulging in things that tasted good, were indicators of a philosophy in direct opposition to the godliness I sought in my spiritual life. 

Christ calls us to take up our cross.  He does not call us to health or wealth or pleasure in sensuous (think 5 senses here please – not just or even primarily sexual) things.  He calls us to embrace suffering.  Christ suffered.  He suffered not only in His Passion, but during His life as well.  So too, in being transformed into Christ-likeness, are we called to suffer.  This calls us far beyond the shallow pleasures of hedonism into a deep and lasting joy.

It never occurred to me that the ‘least necessary’ wasn’t ‘good enough’.  I was not only settling for, but SEEKING mediocrity in every area of my life without ever realizing I was doing so.  In fact, I would have argued vehemently with anyone suggesting the Truth. 

Christ calls us to give our very best, to give everything we have.  Even if our work involves changing diapers or emptying bedpans or picking up garbage in front of homes or along the highways, regardless how dirty or anonymous and unrecognized the job, Christ calls us to give our best… We are called to excellence. Our best may not be the same as someone else’s… but we aren’t called to be the best, only to give OUR best. ‘Good enough’ isn’t an option for us.

Rick Warren moderating a presidential debate is far from evidence of how well we Christians have evangelized our society… it is rather evidence of how well some of us have been evangelized by it… and we don’t even realize it.

God have mercy.

 

The Job of the Laity…

It isn’t ALWAYS about the homeschool forums… really, it’s not… but many of the discussions there do spawn trains of thought or bring to the fore things I want to go into further or save for future reference.  This thread has been a hot topic the past few days…

 Thread Topic: Why are you dissatisfied with church as you have known it?

Kid Sister/Anne: Since you know I converted, first I should say that I was not unhappy with my church. I loved my church. The pastor was someone I admired and who was an excellent teacher. Oh sure, there were odds and ends of things that bugged me, but that happens for anyone when people get together for any purpose.

Am I satisfied now? Yes. On a much more deep and fundamental level. Does that mean that everything is perfect? No. Are there things that bother me? Yes… even at times something very important. Yet even in that, there is comfort.

All that said, whether or not I am satisfied is completely irrelevant. It isn’t about me. It’s about God and what He has said is right to offer to Himself.

Later in the thread came this post…

Originally Posted by Shorty

Well, I’m at a place where I want my church to be “holy”. As in, I am sick of bringing in garbage to the church because there is so much garbage in the world we must be ‘relateable’ to those who drift in the doors. Baloney! Church is for Christians, and I want to go to church and be reminded of the holiness of God, not the sinfullness of the world.

We are the Church, too. We are to be ‘in the world’ and to bring the Light of Christ TO the world. How can I do that without recharging myself with the Light of Christ?

I’m sick of leaving church feeling dirty, because my children discuss internet pornography or transsexualism in Sunday School. I don’t care that those things are ‘in the world’- they do not need to be in the church.

Sorry- but you asked. There it is.

To which I (Kid Sister/Anne) replied:
Completely understand. I’ve said for YEARS that Church is not the place for unbelievers… Church is for believers. You don’t bring unbelievers to church to hear the message. You LIVE the message. We come together to worship, we are sent OUT to reach others. 

In response to my comments here I received the following… 

Forgiven: Can you explain your thinking here to me? I don’t post in this forum much but I read it alot! I am really “bothered” by this statement. I was having trouble sleeping last night thinking about it.

<clip and paste>

I guess I don’t understand where the unbelievers belong if not in church? I mean where do they go to learn about Christ. I was not raised in church at all. When I starting seeking God I went to a few churches and a student Bible study. Thankfully, those churches were not exclusive to believers. I learned a lot, asked a lot of questions and gave my life to Christ at a church. I have been blessed to see 1000′s, yes 1000′s of people come to Christ in churches. I know God can speak to both believers and unbelievers through his teachers in a church.
Yes, it is uncomfortable to an unbeliever at first to see people worshipping God but soon when they know Him they join right in and laugh that they used to think it strange. They get how wonderful and awesome He is and that they should praise Him with their whole heart.
I have a great friend who lost his Mom to cancer on Christmas Eve. She was a believer, her son was not. He started coming to church and sitting in his car during praise and worship. He would listen to tapes of sermons until worship ended then come in for the bible study. He now writes new believer study Bible study guides and is on staff at the church. He said it took him a while to trust God and he is glad people gave him his space and didn’t criticize his decisions. We loved him through all of his wrestling, and now he is serving his Creator.
I think church is for everyone. Unbelievers need to see believers worshipping their God.
We may need to agree to disagree on this one. I just was flabberghasted when I read your statement and thought maybe I was misunderstanding what you meant by it.
Maybe you can explain your reasons for believing this and I will be able to see your side of things.

My response, interspersed with her comments, was as follows…

Originally Posted by Forgiven  I guess I don’t understand where the unbelievers belong if not in church? I mean where do they go to learn about Christ. I was not raised in church at all. When I starting seeking God I went to a few churches and a student Bible study. Thankfully, those churches were not exclusive to believers.

Kid Sister/Anne: You weren’t the type of person I meant. Certainly seekers should be brought to church, should be welcome to come any time to ask and to learn.

Originally Posted by Forgiven I know God can speak to both believers and unbelievers through his teachers in a church.

Kid Sister/Anne: Yes, He can… but the primary PURPOSE of Church is not for the unbeliever and it should NOT be geared to ‘reaching the lost’ or meeting the NEEDS of the unbeliever. That is what believers are for, as they live their lives out correctly in the world. Church is primarily for Worship, secondarily for education of the faithful, preparing, challenging, deepening them in their walk and their faith so the Body of Christ can go forth and be salt and light.

Many Christians today remain spiritual infants themselves because they are so geared to the lost that they are still covering children’s bible stories in adult education classes, superficial teaching at best. These Christians are not impacting their culture or their world for Christ because they look nothing like him. Rather, they look remarkably like everyone else. The unbeliever looks at them and says ‘I’m a good person too, I don’t see anything you’ve got that I need, you’re no different from me’. If such a Christian WANTS more, they must go outside the church to get it because frequently pablum is all that’s offered.

In our era, in an effort to ‘reach the lost’ the Church has brought the lost into the sanctuary and as a result been watered down and lost its savor. In order to reach the lost, the Church must become once again that place that it was intended to be, so that instead of bringing the lost to us and diminishing who and what we are to be as a result, we go out and take what we are, what Christ has given us, to them.

Originally Posted by Forgiven I think church is for everyone. Unbelievers need to see believers worshipping their God.

Kid Sister/Anne: With the exceptions I have mentioned already such as seekers and those who have needs met and know to go to a Church, I disagree with you. Church is primarily for believers. Unbelievers don’t need to see believers worshipping their God. Unbelievers need to see believers SERVING their God by living out the Christ-life. If believers are REALLY doing that, unbelievers won’t need to go to Church to hear the message… they will be going to church as seekers.

It’s so much easier to just ‘ask them to come to church with us’. Then we feel our duty has been done… it’s much harder to live in such a way that they ASK for what we have, that they ASK to come…

Originally Posted by Forgiven We may need to agree to disagree on this one.

Kid Sister/Anne: If we do, it will be with good will and love for you as my sister in Christ. 

Originally Posted by Forgiven I just was flabberghasted when I read your statement and thought maybe I was misunderstanding what you meant by it.

Kid Sister/Anne:Perhaps now you understand me better, and you may still be flabbergasted. Your situation, and the other you described, were not the sort of people I thought didn’t belong there. That said, church shouldn’t be about reaching the lost.

The exchanged continued a bit further…

Originally Posted by Forgiven  Maybe it is a doctrinal difference for us. It sounds like you are all Catholic (those who responded to me[who were agreeing with KidSister/Anne]), for me church is a bible study every time I go. I have gone to the Catholic masses a few times (dh grew up Catholic) and mass is very different than Sunday morning service for me. I appreciate chapter by chapter, verse by verse services. Thank you for explaining your statements to me, so I could understand your position.

Kid Sister/Anne: You are most welcome. Yes, I am Catholic, as is Shellie*… but this was my belief long before I became Catholic, and given her comments appears to be the same for Shellie as well since she is a VERY new convert. So I’m not sure it could be primarily chalked up to doctrinal difference. I certainly believe there is a place for chapter and verse teaching, but that is only part of what Church is… the learning part… but not worship.

I’m glad that we understand one another better.

The exchange did continue another post or two in which Forgiven explained a bit further her own position and though we still had substantial differences, in the end we were closer than either of us had thought at first.

Imagine then my astonishment at visiting the blog of a friend, Contemplating Christian, who used to frequent the forums but has not been a member in some time, only to find this excellent blog entry up. Being “Seeker Sensitive” is the job of the Laity, not the Church was posted after she read the reaction of Red Neck Woman to Pastor Stephen Furtick of Elevation Church‘s rant over church shopping and the discussion that followed. It was incredible to read such an fabulous post on the VERY topic we had just been discussing on the forums but taken from this completely separate discussion begun from only a slightly similar topic. Interesting how God works. 

*Shellie was not the only person who agreed with me and posted to Forgiven. However, the other people who did so were protestant, though two are possibly on the road to Rome.

 

Imperfections…

One of my dear friends is a pastors wife.  They are a protestant homeschooling family.  This friend recently posted a letter written by her husband which was to be published in their local paper and asked for thoughts on it.  

The letter is as follows…

I’m A Christian…Please Forgive Me
Some of you may be offended or confused by what we’re saying. Others may react by thinking, “It’s about time somebody said that.” Some of you may think it’s just a gag. I assure you, I am serious. This is a sincere apology for all the harm that has been done to Jesus and His movement of revolution and life-change by those of us who call ourselves Christians.

*I’m sorry for neglecting the poor and not loving people the way Jesus did.
*I’m sorry for being slow to notice the 25 million dead in Africa from AIDS and the
40 million infected including millions of women and children who had no say in the
matter.
*I’m sorry for all the people protesting outside the funerals of our soldiers “in the name
of Jesus”.
*I’m sorry for televangelists & churches that give the impression that Jesus is more
interested in getting your money than He is in having your heart.
*I’m sorry for those who’ve given the impression that God’s love is dependant upon
what you do or don’t do instead of sharing that God loves you just the way you are.
*I’m sorry for those who’ve made you think that to be a Christian you have to act like
they do, dress like they do and use the “spiritual lingo’ they do.
*I’m sorry for the times when people in the church have been the first to judge and
condemn instead of offering Jesus’ embrace of grace and restoration.
*I’m sorry for the way many in the church have given people the idea that God hates
homosexuals.
*I’m sorry that for too long the church has treated women like second-class
citizens and acted as if their gifts are unwanted and unusable.
*I’m sorry to those who’ve given up on the church because of the infighting, back-biting
and rivalry that’s gone on by people who are supposed to be Jesus’ representatives
here on earth.

I want to ask for your forgiveness and tell you that Jesus loves you more than you’ll ever know. Please don’t allow our mistakes to drive you away from Jesus. We’re not perfect and won’t ever be as long as we draw breath. But it’s time we acknowledge the damage that’s been done, the pain that’s been inflicted and then do everything possible to change the adjectives people use to describe a Christian. Hopefully by at least acknowledging our past we can begin to change the future.

 Mixed in with many positive reactions was the following reponse by another protestant…

I think the major thing that threw me off in original post was the list of things and the implication that all Christians are guilty of those things. That’s just not the truth; and frankly, I find it insulting when it’s implied that we are – especially from a fellow Christian who knows it’s not true.

I’m ashamed to say that I once felt this way.  I was prideful and arrogant, oh-so-sure that  I wasn’t guilty of much sin I saw in others… and I sure as HECK didn’t want to align myself with them… bearing my own sin and shame was bad enough thank you very much.  Yeeeeeeeeeah. Real proud of THAT. **sigh**

That didn’t last long.  God began dealing with sin in my life that I had NO idea I was guilty of… and it wasn’t just ONE thing… and even when I thought I had some sin ‘beat’, it would rear its ugly head a year or two later like some evil specter that needed further exorcism.  I began to learn that I was guilty of all KINDS of (and a great deal more) sin that I wasn’t aware of… and that ignorance did NOT mean I was any ‘cleaner’ than Tom, Dick, or Harry… rather, just like all those on whom I sat in judgement, I was not only guilty of sin, I was even more offensive in my ignorance and false self-righteous pride than I ever was in the sin itself.  During that time, I ran across a quote in my reading that said basically…

‘when someone tells me something they find wrong with me, I am not surprised and it doesn’t hurt nearly so much as it once did… God has shown me how sinful I am in His eyes and that is MUCH worse than anything anyone else can point out… so I’ve learned to accept and appreciate the reprimand so that it can be dealt with.’

That’s a rough rendition of a much more concise quote which I unfortunately do not have the attributions for.  However, I’ve never forgotten it’s essence and that attitude is one that I have embraced more and more over time.

Not only that, but God has been teaching me about communal life during and since my reconciliation to the Church and I have come to understand how so much of the time He deals with us corporately. When He allowed His people to be taken into bondage for four hundred years, He considered the promise to bring them out again fulfilled, even if it wasn’t the exact same people who went in four hundred years before.  Look at David, Daniel, and the prophets… how often they cried out and interceded to God on behalf of their people… and how did they do it? ‘God, forgive your wretched people… THEY are horrid sinners?’ No, it was always Lord, forgive US.  They took upon themselves and attributed to themselves and all members of the body, the sins of the people. If such godly men were willing to do this, how can we do less?

Lastly, what a selfish thing to say ‘no, I am INSULTED by the idea of having to bear someone else’s sin’ and ‘no, I am INSULTED that someone else would claim to bear mine’.  HELLO?  What else did Jesus DO but that?Are we not to be LIKE Him? Does sacred scripture not say that we are to bear one anothers’ burdens? Then how can we for one moment be insulted to be thought worse than we are for the sake of healing another, reaching another, loving another. Simply, we cannot.

I, too, am guilty. God forgive me for my selfishness, my unwillingness to fully embrace the cross, my refusal to join Christ in His suffering for the sake of the world. I repent that my own pride in being *spit* clean *spit* kept me from being willing to get dirty in service to others. May I never again be too *good* to be like Christ.

Instead, I have been learning what Saint Therese of Lisieux describes here…  learning to rejoice in my imperfections, in my weakness, in being small… because in them is God revealed. In them is He most glorified.

“Ah! lord, I know you don’t command the impossible. You know better than I do my weakness and imperfection… Now I am astonished at nothing. I am not disturbed at seeing myself weakness itself. On the contrary, it is in my weakness that I glory, and I expect each day to discover new imperfections in myself.”                                

       ~Saint Therese of Lisieux

There is a dramatic paradigm shift in this view of oneself as opposed to the earlier one… and it is a great gift indeed.

 

I am the vine…

When I was ‘growing up protestant’, scripture verses were something which became as familiar as breath.  Various verses stood out particularly to me over time, and one of those verses was John 15:5.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

This is a verse that caused a great deal of frustration and doubt for me.  My father is very active in teaching in his church, and outside of it.  He’s led Bible studies in a prison ministry, Sunday school classes, private Bible studies in homes, worked Kairos and Walk to Emmaus Weekends. He’s impacted a lot of people for the Lord.  My eldest brother was a missionary for seven years behind the iron curtain (before it fell). Big shoes to follow in… and this verse was often referred to in such a context. 

I never liked the whole ‘street corner/tract/accost people’ type of evangelism, and it seemed to me to do more damage than good. In study of scripture, it didn’t seem to be what we were told to do anyway. Witness meant LIVING it, not TALKING about it. So despite my strong conviction about living my faith as my witness and using words only when necessary to share it, which I did my best to do, this verse haunted me. Despite every effort I made to ‘remain in him’, despite every effort to be and do what God wanted from me… I bore no fruit. I wasn’t ‘reaching anyone’ like these members of my family were… and for sure no one every ‘came to Christ’ because of me.  I couldn’t help but feel like that was an indicator that something wasn’t right, that somehow I was failing God, I wasn’t a good enough believer, a good enough follower… and so it went.

Then God made me Catholic, and I didn’t think about winning anyone to Him anymore, I just wanted to sit at His feet and learn, absorb all that I had been cheated of, and incorporate the devotions etc into my life that would help me to love Him, know Him, and serve Him better. It was just enough to be His… enough to live my life in service to Him, even if I was never good enough to be of any real use… I’d give what I had and it was a joy to do what He had called me to do.  I was excited to share what I was learning and discovering, but that was it… and in doing so I had come to understand that reaching others wasn’t my job. It never had been.  That was the Holy Spirit’s job and it was a relief to stop trying to be good enough to do it myself.   

I understood, accepted, believed that in my head… but the teaching of one’s youth is not easily to rise above… even when it was in error. Then today, my paradigm shifted… again…

Today, on the Spitfire Grill, someone posted saying that “The Journey Home”, currently playing on EWTN, had a woman on with an experience very similar to ours.   Her name is Carol A. Fletcher, a former charismatic pentecostal.  It was an excellent testimony to her journey and many things stood out to me, but one thing stopped me cold and I had to turn off the audio feed to process it.

John 15:5 was mentioned and the ‘fruit’ discussed… but it wasn’t about winning souls.  As I realized they were talking about a familiar verse, but in an unfamiliar way, I listened closer and suddenly it hit me like that proverbial two-by-four and I turned off the audio feed as tears welled up and flowed down my cheeks. This ‘fruit’ that had tormented me for so long wasn’t the ‘fruit’ of winning of souls at ALL… it is the fruit of the SPIRIT! All this time I had been judging myself so harshly, and not even by the right standard (ok, so I had been judging myself by the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ verse too, but you see what I mean). It took me awhile, sitting there in shock, allowing that understanding to seep in, and felt a big burden I hadn’t even realized was still there, lift and fall away.

I’ve come so far, have learned so much and yet, I know nothing. I am still a child and have so much yet to learn. I am so grateful for the great blessing and gift of a faith filled upbringing.  I owe much to my father for such a great gift… he gave me the most precious thing he had to give… faith… I would not be here were it not for him, for that foundation, for the things he taught me, for teaching me to always hunger for everything of God.  Were it not for him, and the leading of God, I would not be here… and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything in the world.