Evangelism and the Gospel

One of the subjects I find we have a hard time talking about in the church is evangelism. Part of this struggle is that we define evangelism in different ways. Differing methods, theology, and focus make evangelism very different ideas for many of us. At its root, evangelism is the simple idea of sharing our faith with those who are outside of the body of Christ. In its implementation, evangelism is often a mess. All the ideas of evangelism that I grew up with made me really despise and distrust the notion of sharing my faith. Sharing my faith, as I was instructed, usually composed itself with ideas like passing out tracts, knocking on people's doors, or learning conversation starters and apologetics to try and debate people into the kingdom. Frankly, none of these notions ever inspired me to try them or to want to be an evangelist, whatever that is.

For a long time, however, I have realized that many of the ideas I held about evangelism were rooted in a poor understanding of the Gospel. Evangelism, after all, is sharing the good news or the Gospel with the world. It is being a messenger of the gospel. If you have a poor understanding of the gospel, you will certainly have a poor understanding of the how to share it. You will also have poor understanding of how to live out the gospel. So what is the gospel and how did I misunderstand it?

The good news of Jesus, the message that he went around proclaiming, centered itself on the Kingdom of God (or as the Gospel of Matthew usually refers to it the Kingdom of Heaven). The good news is that the Kingdom of God is here, and it is open to all people. Those who are in the kingdom of God are called children of God and they are heirs to his blessings. That is good news! The good news is that the separation of humanity from its creator has been removed. No longer do we need to be irreconciled to our creator. Jesus, through his life and death and resurrection and ultimately his return, has opened the gate to the kingdom for all people.

What many of us, seemingly especially in Evangelical and Fundamentalist circles, have misunderstood about this gospel is that our salvation is focused solely on eternity. For much of my life the only part of the gospel that seemed particularly important was going to heaven. All those who believe in Jesus will go to heaven. I got my heaven ticket punched and now I am all good. I viewed evangelism as simply trying to get people to pray a prayer and "accept Jesus as their savior" so they too could go to heaven. That was the most important part. To do anything else, such as concentrate on discipleship or social concerns, seemed secondary to just getting people into heaven.

You know what, that isn't the gospel. Jesus didn't become incarnate and serve as our atonement just so we could go to heaven. If you read the gospels Jesus seems much more interested in how we live now, here, on earth, as part of the kingdom of God, than he was about our eternal destiny. Certainly heaven and eternal life are a significant part of Jesus' message, but Jesus seemed to think that your eternal life began now and so you better start living it. The Gospel is not just about some prayer or heaven, it is about heaven here and now, lived and experienced by those in the Kingdom of God. That means that growing in our faith, serving God and others in this world, and living a life of worship are our salvation. They aren't something we do in addition to our salvation. They are salvation itself. We have been saved to live as a kingdom people in this world. We have been saved to be disciples of Jesus. We have been saved to make a difference in our world. We have been saved that we too may proclaim the good news of the kingdom. To live our lives this way is to work out our salvation and grow in the holiness and sanctification God calls us to.

But, when we misunderstand this purpose of our salvation, we misunderstand how to share the good news with others. A life lived working out our salvation as kingdom people is a life of evangelism. It is not just about making Christians. Jesus told his disciples, "Therefore go and make DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Our charge of bearing the good news to the world is a charge to make disciples, to instruct, lead, live along side of others and be examples of the life Christ lived among us. You can't do this through a tract. You can't do this with a bullhorn on a corner. You can't do this merely arguing with someone. You can't do this quickly. You can't do it half-hazardly. You can't pretend to do it. You can't leave it to someone else. All who have heard and believed the good news carry the inherent responsibility of living it out and in doing so sharing it with the rest of the world. The good news is here. The Kingdom of God is all around us. And we, the church, the body of Christ, have been called and equipped to bring it to the world.

Hamilton on "Postmodernism" and the Emergent Church

I'm on a mailing list for Adam Hamilton, the pastor at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection (COR) in Lenexa, KS (just outside Kansas City). When I was living in KC, my wife and I would often venture down on Saturday evenings to worship at the church. Since we were in ministry at a church, we appreciated being able to go somewhere and worship without worry of anything else. COR provided that for us. While I confess that I'm usually a downer on large churches, I've appreciated COR and their continued challenge to the KC area. There are always downsides to such a large church, but COR has done well to continue making an impact for the Kingdom through the metro-KC area despite. While I've not identified them as an emergent community (no one has that I know of), I have seen some characteristics there that relate (namely small aspects of liturgy and a challenge to remain active in social change in KC). Noting that the church is Methodist, perhaps what I'm posting will fit into our conversations here.

Anyway, Adam gets a sabbatical every summer and this summer he's spent some time reading and reflecting on postmodernity (is 'postmodernism' even a word?) and the emergent church. Below is part of one of his recent weekly e-mails. I appreciated many of his insights and summarizations. I also disagreed with him in places. I'll comment my own thoughts after posting, rather than in the post. I didn't edit any of it, and the whole e-mail can be seen here.

This week, I spent three days in solitary retreat at the Lake of the Ozarks. I believe every one of you would benefit from doing something like this at least once a year. I brought several books I wanted to read, something to make notes with, and my Bible (as noted above, I also brought a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly and some chips - if I don't eat another PB&J sandwich for a while that will be okay!).

I read James K.A. Smith's, Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? (Baker Academic, 2006), and selections from Gibbs and Bolger's, Emerging Churches (Baker Academic, 2005). My aim was to understand more clearly what is meant by "postmodernism" and to have a better understanding of "emergent churches" that have sprung up in response to postmodernism. As a part of my study I will be worshiping at a church that considers itself "emergent" one Sunday this summer and meeting with a pastor known as a leader in this genre of church.

What is postmodernism? Great question to which there is not one right answer. At the very least it means, literally, "that which comes after modernism." What is modernism? Great question to which there is not one right answer! Most recently, the term has come to be used as nearly synonymous with "the Enlightenment" and the philosophical and cultural views and values it spawned...(more).

Click "more" above to continue reading Adam Hamilton's writing on postmodernism on his website. Then come back and share your thoughts.