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Relational Evangelism Road Trip: Go on the Record as a Christian!
By chris | May 14, 2008
“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8)
If you are going to be an effective witness, you can’t do it incognito. You have to be willing to be known of as a Christian if you are going to be a witness. Yes, I am well aware in certain cases missionaries have to serve covertly to protect the people to whom they carry the gospel from being killed…I am not talking about that. I understand there are some other situations where it isn’t appropriate to be too overt also.
But in most cases for relational evangelism, Christians need to come “out of the closet” more and let the people in their network know clearly they are believers.
At times I meet people who are unwilling to let people know they are Christians in public because people give them “that look”. They fear people will be looking down on them for their public faith stand. Sometimes people do more than just look at you funny, they treat Christians with prejudice after they find out you are a believer.
There are even some preachers I have met who are reluctant to come out of the closet with their faith up front in public. I have meet some who tell people when asked what they do, “I am in communications”, or “I am a life coach”, or music ministers who simply tell people, “I am a musician”. I am not against these approaches when they are used as a way to build bridges with people…but then, again, maybe they are not as needed as many people think.
We need ministry leaders who are unapologetically affiliated with God—don’t you think? When is the way you creatively present yourself a means to not run people off before you get to know them, and when are the times we avoid letting people know about our faith so as to avoid getting into the discussions about it?
I agree getting strange looks from people is not comfortable. And it is wrong the way some people treat Christians. No one likes to be looked down on by others. I have lived through being treated like a cult leader when I was serving in Spain as a missionary. I am not denying it hurts and I am not trying to be simplistic. I want to reflect on the benefits of coming out as a Christian as a relational witnessing strategy.
Think of this, if people give you “that look” it is because they have misconceived ideas about what a Christian is (or what a minister is) their meeting you brings up those thoughts. It may make you feel uncomfortable at first, but let the “look” people give you be your cue that this is your opportunity to help change their negative perceptions. You can turn their misunderstanding into your opportunity for telling the truth.
If you are mistreated or marginalized for your faith, consider it part of your spiritual heritage. Jesus said: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18) and “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)
By not going on the record, you may be damaging your opportunity to be a witness later. Telling someone you are in “communications”, and then later admitting your communication really is preaching in a church, may make people feel you are being evasive or even deceptive.
Being incognito at work may keep people from taking you seriously when you do speak up. Who knows how many people might be wishing there was someone they could talk to about their faith questions. Many people who have “gone public” have found people coming to them later for advice or a question that led to an opportunity to share the gospel.
Don’t be overly concerned when you get “that look” from people you meet, be more concerned that through your positive public influence they give Jesus a second look.
Topics: Evangelism |
May 15th, 2008 at 3:50 am
I have a daily test that I teach people (in the U.S.) to give themselves each night. At the end of the day, think back to all of the people you encountered today. Then ask yourself, “How many of them knew I was a Christian?”. If the answer is none, then you are more “of” the world than you should be.
I don’t mean we are to always go around broadcasting our Christianity like a street evangelist. But, the owners’ manual says we are “peculiar” people. This is not our home. People should see positive qualities about us that are different than this world’s norm.
I love the quote from Bill Bright - anytime he was alone with another person for more than a couple of minutes, it was a divine appointment.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Thanks for the comment Sam.