Evangelism: Imposing Our Truth on Others?
"What I know for sure is that you feel real joy in direct proportion to how connected you are to living your truth." – Oprah Winfrey
Oprah's advice summarises our cultural moment perfectly. In Western countries like America and Australia, we believe that we must find our true selves and be brave enough to express them if we are to discover real joy. This is the key to self-actualisation. This belief involves a lot of knotty assumptions, some of which are deeply flawed. I'm not going to deal with them here, but there are great resources online that can help you untangle it.
This blog has to do with how our cultural story affects Aussies' perception of evangelism. Two decades ago, evangelism was seen as annoying, but today it is increasingly seen as harmful. John Dickson shares this story in his Undeceptions podcast,
"Years ago, I was having coffee with a pastor friend in a cafe at my local beach. I was explaining to him what my church was doing to promote Christianity among the residents of the area, all pretty standard stuff, I thought. At one point, I noticed this woman a few tables away looking inquisitively at me. And I assumed she was a fellow Christian who'd overheard us talking and was interested in listening into the conversation, so I just kept on blabbing on. A few minutes later, the woman got up from her table, paid her bill, walked straight across to me. And at what seemed like the top of her voice in this packed cafe, she said, "You want to convert the world, do you? How dare you?" And off she stormed."
Yikes! That's exactly the reason why some of us don't like discussing or sharing our faith publicly. Our culture views Christian faith as just one option among many, certainly not 'the truth'. In this view, evangelism is imposing your subjective opinions on somebody else. This is the highest form of blind arrogance in a culture where the deepest, realest and undisputable truth is 'your truth'. How dare you and I try to influence someone else to abandon their truth for ours?!
Is this correct? Should we abandon evangelism as arrogant and wrong-headed? Well, if secularism is 'the truth', then I would say yes. But, if Jesus is the truth, then I have to say no (while acknowledging that Christians have sadly been inappropriate and obnoxious in their attempts to convert others). If Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), then sharing His message is less like saying, "My way of living is better than yours because I say so", and more like saying, "I've received life-saving medical treatment, I see you have the same problem I do, would you like to be healed too?"
Jesus is not 'my truth'. He is 'the truth'. I don't own Jesus. He owns me. In fact, Christianity's natural bent is to humble people rather than inflate their egos. Think about it. To trust Jesus is to accept that he says I'm evil in and of myself (Matthew 7:11). No one wants to admit that naturally! It's too self-degrading. But I love admitting that now, because confessing my flaws has been like opening the door for God's grace and love to flood into my life. The world believes you must cover up lest you be shamed. The gospel tells you to expose your shame so you can be covered and accepted in Christ. And when you've experienced something so incredible like the grace of God, you want to share it with people you love.
So, Christian, I want to encourage you. If you're praying and seeking to share Jesus with others, you're not being arrogant, obnoxious, or wicked. Provided your evangelistic approach is still respectful, you're being loving. Don't be intimidated by the culture's perspective on evangelism. People need to hear the gospel (Romans 10:14). Don't shrink back in fear when you're ridiculed. In fact, rejoice when that happens! For Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12). Keep sharing Jesus, because "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
God is with you,
Ben
