Part V: Incarnational Christianity
If you have ever been to Six Flags over Texas in Arlington then you know there is a large orange tower in the middle of the park. To walk through a certain section of the park you have to walk under the tower. I was twelve and with a group of friends as we were walking under the tower when I see two guys approaching people. Well one approached me and started talking to me being quite pushy. I was young and impressionable and before I knew what was going on I was on a bench listening to this guy. He was telling me I was a sinner and needed to be saved, but all I could think about was getting away from him. I bowed my head said his prayer and left as fast as I could to get back to my friends.
A lot of us have experienced this type of evangelism either being the victim or the pusher of a flawed misconception of what it means to evangelize. Yes I still remember the episode, but not because I was touched by the Holy Spirit. I felt brow beat, intimidated and held captive until I did what someone else wanted me to do.
The Barna Group has done research indicating a real change happening in American culture. In 1991, just 24% were un-churched. That figure has jumped to 37% today. What these numbers mean is that we must learn to take a new approach to evangelism. If you have noticed a lot of people just don’t like church either through misconceptions or true bad experiences with judgmental, religious and legalistic Christians. At the same time a lot of people are just bored with church services and have a busy American life finding no value in regards to their time to attend services.
True evangelism is not bringing people to church, but revealing Christ to a hurting world. I am not saying there is anything wrong with church services or inviting people to them. I am saying we have to find ways to be the church in the public square instead of thinking of the church in the terms of an organization or a meeting place. Jesus took upon Himself our humanity identifying with the context of our pain, confusion, hurt and simple lack of understanding. He was abrasive to the self-sufficient religious people of His day, but very tolerant and compassionate to what we would call the un-churched.
Jesus came to His own as one of them, being a Jew, of the tribe of David according to the flesh and living in the land of His fathers. He identified with them. In I Corinthians 9:19-23 Paul said that he learned to identify with his audience. He contextualized his message in such a way that his listeners could hear the gospel in a context they understood. Look at how he preached to the Athenians in Acts chapter 17. He used their own philosophers and idols to help them understand the unseen God who created all things. Yes we need the power of the Holy Spirit active, but we can also wrap our message within the context of those with whom we are speaking to. Jesus and Paul did it so I think we are in pretty good company.
If you listen to some of the messages that are the loudest in society today concerning the gospel they come across as judgmental, legalistic and downright mean spirited. I know the media highlights these voices to make it look like all believers are as extreme as these polarizing voices. It is even more reason why we must allow our lives to be true to the DNA of the gospel. People are watching our lives to see if we are like the voices being exalted by the media. Let’s show those in our lives that the God who laid down His life to save us is the one we serve.
Colossians 4:5-6 says, “Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, using your time to the best possible advantage. Let your speech always be gracious and so well reasoned out that you will know how to reply to each individual.” The good news is redemptive and it tells us here to always let our speech be gracious and not judgmental. We don’t have to be a drug user to minister to a drug user; we just have to show them the love of Christ. We don’t have to put pressure on people for a commitment, but we walk with people, love them and just like fruit from a tree it will ripen. We have to be like farmers who watch for the right moment and stop acting like the car salesmen who needs to make a sale. Yes we need to share the good news, but let’s do it with wisdom and in the context of the community that we live in. Each of us who are part of the Incarnational body of Christ are to be equipped to reach those within our influence with the very life of the risen Christ in both a spiritual and a practical way. Remember we are the very hands and feet of Christ in the earth today so let us represent His heart in all that we do.
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