December 09, 2009
Tis' the Season
With all the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, evangelism is probably the last thing on our minds. I would hope that I don’t overlook a ministering opportunity if it comes my way, but the reality is that I’ve never gathered up my family for a trip to the mall saying, ‘Let’s look around…maybe we’ll run into someone we can share about the Lord with.’ Paul tells Timothy to, “…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching…” (2 Tim 4:2 ESV) Maybe I should put the Lord’s name at the top of the shopping list as a reminder that any season is the season.
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Gail;
-----When I was eighteen I learned an important lesson about evangelism. At the time I was attending a Pentecostal church where there was a high expectation of wearing God and the Holy Spirit on your shirt sleeve. A group of us youngsters decided we were going to evangelize Grand Junction’s main street. The marching orders were to stop and present the Lord to everyone whose trail we crossed. I encountered an old gentleman sitting on one of the street benches. I have forgotten the words I first spoke to him, but I never forgot his reply. He stood up and said directly into my face, “I ought to slap you down right here!” I could have taken that as a moral victory, the persecution we face when we speak boldly of the Lord. But I did not. I took it as a moral loss, my failure to speak with respect for the man’s understanding. Even evangelism has its venue.
-----”And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,” (Eph 4:11), so we are not all given the gift of evangelism. But even evangelists are respectful of venue. They may come through your community and speak to whomever may gather at meetings arranged for that purpose. They may stand upon a box on a street corner and speak to whomever may stop and listen. They might even approach people on the street, like I did, and speak to those who will hear. But if they do not wish to be the vessel through which God will harden the hearts of whomever He chooses, they must have a knack for perceiving which knock on a particular individual’s door might draw a welcome opening. Not all of us have that knack, so not all of us are able to evangelize effectively in the mall in that manner.
-----But that does not mean there is no manner of evangelization in the venue of the mall for those of us who are not given the gift of evangelism. A palatable wearing of the Lord upon your sleeve combined with the personable character traits of our new life - the kindness, gentleness, goodness, and other common decencies that flow from genuine love - brew up a pretty good evangelistic message wherever one may go. But combination is important. Recently, I had to pay for a ding one of my daughters left on another lady’s car. I paid the body shop in advance of even her car’s arrival. That must have left at least some small impression on both her and the repairman. But I am not always careful to wear a telltale mark upon my sleeve indicating that I direct my life by the Lord. So how much benefit might that impression have done for Him? Maybe some, maybe not much. Add to that necessary mix a good preparation to defend or explain the hope that is in you, as you discussed in your December 4th blog, and you may open many effective “woman at the well” venues.
-----However gifted with evangelism we may or may not be, we have all been called to live a life having a savory scent marking a discernable trail. By this trail, those whom He is calling will be able to sniff their way to the next step the Holy Spirit wants for them. Thus will the mall be evangelized.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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