What
is the most important thing that you will ever do in life? Think about it. Is the most important thing success and
accomplishment in the work that you do?
Is the most important thing making money? Or, is it how well you love and take care of
your family? Is the most important thing
excelling in a game or hobby? Is the
most important thing having time for leisure or travel? What is the most important thing that you
will ever do in life?[i]
This week, I want to suggest that one of the
most important things we can do in life is to invite another person to church
and help them establish a meaningful spiritual life with Christ. Think about it.
Imagine that you knew someone who did not have a deep, spiritual
life. Perhaps this person was struggling
with a job loss or an addictive behavior or a divorce or the death of a loved
one and that individual would be really helped by the support of a church. Or, perhaps that person was not struggling at
all; instead, they were gliding through life, doing well. Yet, even though things were going well, this
individual lacked spiritual depth in the enjoyment of their life. Think about how much this person could
benefit by renewing the spiritual dimension of their life through a
relationship with a community of faith.
As Jesus’ disciples, we know how deeply and profoundly our lives can be
transformed through our spiritual relationship with Christ. Think about it. When we encounter huge challenges in life or
deep disappointments or tragic losses, we are sustained by our spiritual
relationship with Christ. Alternatively,
when we experience important accomplishments or great joys, these satisfactions
are enriched through our spirituality.
Our ability to flourish through good times and bad is enhanced and
blessed through our relationship with Christ and our church.
If our Christian faith brings joy and flourishing to our lives,
shouldn’t we be interested in sharing that faith with others? Jesus seemed to think this was extremely
important. In fact, his last earthly
instructions to the disciples were simply to “go therefore and make disciples
of all nations… .” (Matthew 28:19a)
Inviting others to establish a deeper spiritual relationship with Christ
is at the very core of what it means to be a Christian. It is integral to discipleship. Some call this process of invitation, evangelism.
Unfortunately, evangelism has acquired a reputation among many American
Christians. When many of us hear the
word, “evangelism,” we get tense and nervous.
We think about being asked to go house-to-house, knocking on doors and
essentially making “cold calls” in which we encourage complete strangers to
attend our church. Or, we think about
handing out pamphlets to complete strangers, giving our “testimony” and asking
strangers if they “know Jesus”. Yuck!
For most of us, the very thought makes us very uncomfortable. As a result, “evangelism” is just an awful
concept and task, which we don’t want any part of. Interestingly,
this aggressive form of evangelism is not Biblical at all.
Jesus calls upon us to share the good news, he calls us to share the
good news by inviting others to simply “come and see.” As a result, in my message this weekend, I am
going to propose a biblical evangelism.
That is, the type of invitation which we see unfolding when Jesus calls
together his twelve disciples. My
message is based upon the scripture, John 1: 40-51.
In this passage of scripture, a person named, Andrew, hears Jesus
speaking and becomes convinced that Jesus is, indeed, the long-awaited
Messiah. So, Andrew tells his brother,
Peter, who also becomes a disciple.
Continuing the story, we learn that Andrew and Peter’s neighbor, Philip,
becomes a disciple. Philip tells
Nathanael, who is a friend, that Jesus of Nazareth is the long-awaited
Messiah. At first, Nathanael is
skeptical. He asks, “‘Can anything good
come out of Nazareth?’” Rather than
arguing with Nathanael, Philip simply invites him, saying, “‘Come and
see.’” Later, when Nathanael sees and
talks with Jesus, he also becomes a disciple.
In the scriptures, evangelism does not involve going house-to-house or
handing out pamphlets on a street corner.
For the most part, sharing the gospel in the scriptures does not involve
talking with strangers at all. No. Instead, evangelism is simply inviting those
persons whom we know already—family members, friends, neighbors, classmates,
colleagues from work, and others—to simply “come and see.”
In our social networks, each of us knows persons who do not have a
church home, where they can feel welcomed, secure, and supported. Some of these persons are struggling with
life’s challenges and disappointments, while others are gliding through
life. It doesn’t matter. Everyone can have a happier, more flourishing
life through developing further the spiritual dimension of our lives. Isn’t that what we want for our family, our
friends, our neighbors, and everyone else who is important to us?
If you live in the
Lincoln, Nebraska area, come, join us this Sunday, October 16th, at Christ
United Methodist Church, as we explore what it means to be an invitational church. Our church is located at 4530 A Street in
Lincoln, and our traditional worship services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday
mornings.
Everyone is
welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
