Evangelism: Say What?

I had a great conversation yesterday with a young woman trying desperately to share her faith with her girlfriend, a person who is a little acquainted with church, but who dismissed it as irrelevant to her life some years ago.

She was using all the phrases she had been taught as a child and young adult. Trying to make sense of the language of Christendom just wasn't working. First, the life of faith is one of "trusting" that this way of being in the world leads to new life and reconciliation, to justice and health and wholeness for all people. That's what it means to follow Jesus. It is far from an individual "belief system" that protects you from the fires of hell.

I think this practice of sharing the Good News may be the second most challenging thing we have ever done...the first being actually living as disciples. (Insert old joke here...how do you know Christianity doesn't work? it's never really been tried...yuk, yuk, yuk...) I find myself paying close attention to phrases and scripture passages and explanations that really resonate and don't have the "insider language" barrier attached. There is a time and place to learn some of the insider language (after people are "insiders," probably).

Richard Rohr gave me good food for thought as he teaches about St. Thérèse:

Thérèse rediscovered the same thing that Francis did: We don't come to God by eliminating our imperfection, but by rejoicing in it because it makes us aware of our need for God's mercy and love and it keeps us humble. She called this her "Little Way," a way which everyone can follow. Brother Joe Schmidt describes Thérèse's method as "the way of being aware of your need for love, willing to give yourself to God's loving embrace like a child abandons itself with confidence and love into the arms of its loving parent, and then freely sharing love with others in creative good works of peace and justice. It is the willingness to be the person God calls you to be."[2]  (Click here for the whole piece.)

Rejoicing in our imperfection which makes us aware of our need for mercy and love.

There's a thought worth sharing.

Evangelism: Elevator Speech...

Given the huge number of people who haven't a clue what we are talking about when we speak of our faith, speaking of our faith perhaps becomes our biggest challenge. We are habituated to the phrases and concepts with which we grew up--phrases and concepts that grew our of the time when most people knew the Christian story and accepted its validity as a world view even if they didn't actively practice its tenets.

So, have we thought about what we would say to someone that might make sense? We should.

My faith community gave this a try on Sunday morning. We had our children "judge" our statements...good to go, not sure I understand, and OK, I'm clueless about what you just said. It gave us some idea of how our words were heard. But our kids are raised in the church, so they still have a clue.

Here are some examples of reasons people gave on why they were "Christian."

Common statement, but one with huge question marks:

Believing in God and worshipping with other believers.

For those of us who understand the gift of grace, who "believe" and who enjoy worship or see its importance, this is great. For anyone else...unintelligible and exclusive.

Response: "If I don't believe...I'm out.  If I don't worship...I'm out. This is great for you, but I just don't see the point. "

We have to know the point. We are called to tell others the point.

Here's another starting place:

I am fully me, broken and human, and I am loved anyway. I am able to love others who are also broken and human. I am allowed to fail. I am allowed to give.

In a culture that demands perfection for worth, that insists one who is not perfect is un-lovable, that never allows failure, and that spreads the gospel of "take care of number one," the church's counter-cultural message is one of grace and acceptance. The only thing missing in the statement is the verbal recognition that these words represent God's kingdom...one that holds us to a standard foreign to our culture, one that enables us to live this way, and one that invites us in before we ever start living this way. We are loved. Period. Not after we learn to live "in the kingdom."

The challenge is to learn to articulate our "reasons," to ourselves and to others...especially to those who are "clueless." We may need to learn different reasons. We have to practice with each other, though. We have to listen carefully and critically until we learn to express ourselves in a way that truly communicates God's grace.

"Comments" might be a good place to practice this...

 

Evangelism: Secularization

Martin Marty suggests secularization that has occurred over time has taken three forms. The first (characteristic of the European continent) is "utter Secularity." It takes the shape of "formal and unrelenting attack on gods and churches" and people "lose" their faith in that hostile environment.

The second he labels "Mere Secularity." God and the church aren't attacked, they are ignored "by people preoccupied with this world and their daily routines." Think Great Britain. The trappings of religion are everywhere...but no one really cares. "Christianity" is equated with being "morally good."

The third, exemplified he says by the United States, is "Controlled Secularity." Marty says the dominant religion in America is a "folk religion which deifies traditional American values." The symbols of Christianity get mashed-up with culture...so huge, rich churches are the "best," prosperity gospel (worshipping consumerism, in essence) is popular, God "chooses" America over all others as the most beloved (nationalism).

From where I stand, I think we struggle with Mere and Controlled Secularity. But regardless of the type of our secularity struggle, what is critical for "evangelism" is the understanding that most people haven't a clue what we are talking about when we speak of faith or faith practice. (Yep...most. I think given the number of folks outside our churches on Sunday morning, and a large number inside who are nominal, it adds up to most.) George Hunter III articulates it well in his book How to Reach Secular People:

Secular people vary in their consciousness of Christianity. Perhaps a third of them...have no christian memory; they are "ignostics"--that is, they don't know what Christians are talking about. Another third have a distant christian memory--they could identify Moses; they are "notional" Christians--who think of themselves as more of less Christian because they assume their culture is more of less Christian. Another third are "nominal" Christians--who are somewhat active in churches, but their religion is civil religion (which they mistake for Christianity) and most gospel washes past them. But all three subgroups are secular, for their lives are not significantly influenced by the christian faith. Their assumptions, vocabularies, decision making, and life-styles reflect no christian agenda...

The first two groups are also not "church broke," Hunter reminds us.  If you can get them in the door, worship is clumsy and alienating. Nominal Christians know enough to fake it, but it is meaningless for them because they are not practicing faith.

Our attempt to "get people in the door" assumes that once there, there is enough knowledge and history to have practices make sense. Really, we think, all we have to do is be nice and welcoming, then they will stay and do what we know they know they should do.

Frankly, it's like taking me to a football game and then assuming if you are nice to me and buy me a beer and a jersey that I will become a football player...or even an avid fan. Understand I know there are two teams and one ball and a whole lot of crashing into each other. And I do enjoy hanging out with people I like while a game is on. But I don't understand the game. I don't get the strategy. And I wonder "what is the point?" That attitude is heresy to a die-hard fan.

The good news is that people left in church, practicing their faith, are mostly pretty serious practitioners. The bad news is that it has been so very long since we have had to interpret or articulate the "why" or the "how," that many of us, even those of us who have the strongest faith practice and whose practice is transformative of our lives and our worlds...even we fail the "seculars" in our midst.

Worship is a hold-over from a time that the entire culture (frankly, whether they were "Christian" officially, or not) understood the "Christian" language, practice, and moral code.

We don't live there anymore.