Disobedience to the Gospel
February 26th, 2007It’s simple. We are not being obedient to the Gospel of Christ. That’s what Paul Borden (author of “Direct Hit†and “Hit the Bullseyeâ€) told the General Council at its retreat in January. How many non-believers have we nurtured into faith this past year? How many adult baptisms has your congregation celebrated this past year? When we don’t place making new followers of Jesus Christ as the primary mission of the church, then we are disobedient of Christ’s mandate to make disciples of all peoples.Anyone who has met Borden or read one of his books knows that he doesn’t mince words. He is direct; and he left most of us feeling appropriately uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable. It’s not that no one had ever accused me of being disobedient to the Gospel before – but, let’s face it, usually they were on the other side of an argument or theological divide, and, frankly, I didn’t agree with them. What disturbed me about Borden’s comment was that he was right. Even I, the Associate General Presbyter for Evangelism …, couldn’t name one new believer that I nurtured into faith in the past year.
Evangelism is at the core of what it means to be Christian. “The proclamation of the Gospel for the salvation of humankind†is the first great end of the church. (G-1.0200). Our congregations will continue to decline in membership as long as we consider making new disciples a peripheral activity of the church, or a duty reserved for the pastor.
Our confessions confirm that the witness of Christ to all peoples is the responsibility of every Christian, not a select few. Whatever we do, wherever we find ourselves, it is our joy and responsibility to not only act in love and serve compassionately, but to teach, share, and witness to the truth in Jesus Christ.
Many of us, though, don’t know where to start. We haven’t been taught how to nurture a non-believer into faithful relationship with Christ. And, on top of that, most of us have been conditioned NOT to talk about our faith, at least not in public; religion, we’ve been taught, is a private matter. But, the reality is that nothing is more public than the visible expression of Christ alive in each of us, nothing is more vital to the lives of our neighbors than the Good News of Jesus Christ, nothing is more necessary for peace in the world than the way of Jesus. And there are ways of sharing our faith and knowledge of Christ that are non-confrontational, compassionate, respectful, and life-giving.
And now a plug from your AGP … the presbytery can help your congregation learn ways of sharing faith. We can recommend resources, lead workshops (check out the Chip Arn event in May at First Westminster in Baytown), and even teach courses at your church. But none of these will be fruitful until each one of us decides to pray and nurture someone into faith.
Disobedience calls for repentance; and repentance means doing something different. When we begin living in a way that takes faith-sharing seriously, we will feel awkward and we’ll make some mistakes, but we’ll also be the witness to Christ visibly changing lives.
Originally published in the March 2007 edition of Connections, a publication by the Presbytery of New Covenant
You do know what you get if you cross a Presbyterian with a Jehovah’s Witness?
A knock on the door from someone without a clue what to say.
Elaine
Norman, OK
Ha! That’s awesome. Similar:
“The one best way to cause a Lutheran to have a heart attack or nervous breakdown is to ask her or him to pray aloud.”
I get what you are saying, Wendy, but I also know that I have definitely not “brought anyone to Jesus” as it were in the last year. I can offer several explanations that are fully plausible, but I’m not sure if they cover the issue:
– Most of my friends and associates are/were incredibly hostile to the idea of Christianity because of the hideous experience they have had previously. The very fact that I can be Christian without them being suspicious is astounding, given the serious hideousness of their previous experience, and the fact that the only “Christians” in the media are crazy.
– I have certainly attempted (and possibly succeed) demonstrating the love of Christ to people. I’m not sure I’ve failed in the directive because of that. No, I haven’t made disciples out of anyone, but they are grownups and have to make that decision to follow for themselves. I try to love unconditionally, but that isn’t going to make my Buddhist friend be a Christian. That doesn’t bother me, actually. A wise presbyter once told me that “there is more than one path to God” and I have found that I agree with that statement wholeheartedly.
I also think that going by years might not be the best idea. A year means nothing to God, so why should it mean anything to us? If we have loved to the best of our abilities, and tried to show the ideals and love of Christ in that time, does it matter whether someone shows up to church?
This sort of gets into politics and perception and not so much faith, but if I can show a positive Christianity to people who have been hostile (and with good reason) to the idea, doesn’t that make a difference?
I can think of exactly one of my friends here who I can say I have a fifty percent chance of her saying yes if I invite her to church. But she’s already a person of faith, and Lutheran to boot (although she was Missouri Synod, but we can’t all be perfect). Someone else may or may not be observing Lent this year due to my influence and he has expressed the thought of going to Mass again. I don’t know if that’s me, or if it’s them. I do know it’s God…and that’s about all I know for sure.
That devolved into incoherent. The last bit: I have a friend who IS observing Lent this year, though it may or may not be due to my influence.
And, yes, of course it matters if people aren’t showing up to church because we have to maintain our congregations. However, what is more important? That someone shows up to church, or that they help a little old lady across the street, or let the person behind them in line at the grocery store go first because they have like three things? Is it more important that people show up at church and call themselves a Christian, or that that behave in a Christ-like manner without thinking of themselves as Christian?
I know that ideally, people would be sweet to each other AND show up at church, but if I’m going to evangelise, I feel like I’d rather they be sweet and kind and loving — to follow the example of Christ, and possibly not come to church with me, than come to church because they feel like they ought.
Also, a theological question (due to my involvement in an Apocalypticism class, which I really should be writing that essay right now), is that (and no, I don’t ever know what verse it is) if the rocks and the flowers and the bunnies, or whatever, are crying out the name of God, wouldn’t a person whose actions reflect the love of Christ be doing the same?
Absolutely, Ivy. I wrote this article with you and some of your friends in mind … not because you were the target of the article, but because you were the example of what we could be if we were truly witnessing to the love of Christ. You not only live the love of Christ, but you talk about it freely and appropriately.
Of course you’re right; it’s the work of God that makes disciples, not the effort of you or me. But, let’s face it, many of the Presbyterians I am writing for are not comfortable articulating their faith at all. It’s time for us to be more public about our knowledge and love of Christ … not only in corporate action but in personal interactions as well. Being tolerant and respectful doesn’t mean we’re excused from sharing our experience of new life.
And, you know that I never equate “going to church” with being a follower of Christ or, for that matter, “inviting someone to church” with making disciples. Disciple-making is much more about living in the way of Christ and being willing and ready to talk about it to whoever God is calling us to.
Wendy, you really have no idea how many you have brought to Christ over the past year. You don’t know if you were the one to plant the first seed or the final one who nurtures that seed into a full grown “Christianâ€, or the one somewhere along the way who feed the young potential Christian to enable them to continue to grow. For myself I hope every time I testify to my faith and how it helps me to deal with the problems and situations I am faced with, every time I express to someone how grateful I am to God for all the blessings he has given me or when I talk about the miracles I He has granted to me in my lifetime I hope that I am helping to nurture a Christian. Also we never know when our words help to keep someone from slipping backwards and surely a “save†counts. Keep praying for the right words at the right time and you will have more success than you will ever know in this lifetime….. Love Ya, Aunt Charlotte