Welcome again to our Saturday series on how to be a factotum—a servant. Last week we introduced the idea of ‘consumer oriented evangelism’. This week, we start to see some practical outworkings of thinking about our evangelism in terms of the people we are trying to reach for Jesus. The first part of the article challenges us to be compelling Christians and the second half talks about learning to think like the people we are trying to reach.

The compelling Jesus

Jesus himself captivates. His humanity is impressive and demands scrutiny. He never changed his mind, made a mistake, backed down or apologised. He had extraordinary self-assurance. Those who met him were never the same. He always divided his audience. And beyond his humanity he claimed to be God and manipulated the created order as if he was.

Sometimes our gospelling is reduced to presenting a theological catechism and a totally impersonal Jesus. We start with creation, sin and judgement, and Jesus fits in as a piece in a theological jigsaw. We certainly need to communicate the theology, but gospelling is announcing a Person. Jesus is compelling and challenging and interesting and exciting. We need to work out how to communicate that. Maybe we should start by showing how Jesus is compelling to us. What would it mean to be a compelling Christian?

The compelling Christian

Distinct

If you were imprisoned for being Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Our distinctive Christian lifestyle is a bait to non-Christians. We have just as many problems as them, but fewer ulcers. We enjoy relationships more, including marriage because we know how to forgive rather than seek revenge. Take, for example, my friend in Adelaide, who, when rammed by another motorist, got caught up talking about Christ and forgot about the damages cost! We are not racist, sexist, ageist, homophobic or elitist. We work hard; we use ‘honest scales’. People are more important to us than organisations and bureaucracy. The only thing that bothers us about being poor is being a burden to others. If this sounds like Alice in Wonderland, think about it—it shouldn’t.

Honest

Christians sin and do evil like others, except we know how to deal with it. We know the One we have offended, we know his forgiveness even for the most gross evils, and we know to stop. We don’t have to cover up the past or present. People think we are claiming to be perfect, so we cower in embarrassed silence in the face of our hypocrisy. In reality, our openness in admitting to our sin, and how we deal with it, is gospel bait. Facing sin has its advantages.

Real

“Does it work for you?” People are pragmatists— they want what works and makes a difference. They want to know how following Jesus works for you. How were you convinced it is true? What difference does it make today?

Think like a fish

There is only one rule for fishing: you have to think like a fish. Where do they swim? What time of day do they come out? What do they eat? Do they suck or bite? Do they swim with the line or fight?... We get so filled up with what we want to say that it just pours out all over the place and leaves quite a mess. Instead, listen, chat for hours and days. Think carefully about the person with whom you are talking.

• Who is this person and makes them tick?
• What are their beliefs and values?
• What influences have shaped them?
• What motivates them?
• What persuades them something is true: logic, people or experience?
• What is their religious background?
• What do they know about Christianity?
• What is their attitude to Christianity?
• What are the big implications for them if they follow Jesus?

Best Bait

Doing Consumer Friendly Evangelism is like finding the best bait for that particular type of fish. If they never take worms, it is useless to thread the hook with one. If they love worms, why would you use anything else?

The gospel of Jesus addresses the whole of life. God’s Word shines into every crevice of our lives, illuminating the prevailing darkness. There will be certain aspects of an individual’s life to which the gospel is especially pertinent. These are the best bait.

The gospel addresses our many roles and situations. It addresses us as fathers, mothers, children, wives, husbands, citizens, employers, employees, orphans, divorcees, widows, power brokers, victims, manic and depressive. It addresses our many and varied concerns: fear of death, boredom, suffering, anxiety concerning the future, needing a cause worth dying for, dealing with guilt, raising kids.

In Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. His Word is sweet like the honeycomb. Search for the best bait—look for a person’s tender spots: where will they be impressed by the wisdom of God and soothed by his comfort?

Fishing co-ops

The best fishing is with mates, dragging each other out of bed at 5am, giving advice on the best bait, tackle and spots, swapping tall tales of tiny catches. It’s the same with evangelism. Why not form an evangelism co-op? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Find 3-6 others who could join you in evangelising a particular group. Some examples: work colleagues reaching your office or factory; your co-op joining a sporting club; three couples evangelising your school community; four of you living in the same street or block of units.
• Meet regularly for prayer, Bible study and friendship
• Start praying for everyone in the group you are reaching.
• Think about the people you want to evangelise using the questions in “Think like a fish”.
• Work out how you can make a positive contribution in the lives of your target group. e.g., meeting practical needs, organising social events, remembering birthdays. Become the social centres of the group rather than the social misfits.
• Aim to get into meaningful conversation about things other than the gospel with each person. Jumping from light banter about the Melbourne Cup into evangelistic conversations is quite a social hurdle! (The Melbourne cup is a horse race in Australia—it’s called the race that stops the nation)
• Work at naturally letting individuals know you are Christians.
• Invite the group to a dinner party at one of your homes— purely social, no evangelism.
• Work out ways of introducing the gospel with each person in private conversation.
• At some stage invite the group to your church or a dialogue meeting or something that puts Christianity squarely on the agenda. Working in a team like this will keep you going when the results are slow in coming. It also allows people to see how Christians relate, and to discover that you are not a ‘freak’.

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