A New Look at Evangelism:

A friend of mine asks "what if someone receives a Christian, that is,
embraces that person and that person's community relationally, has that
someone received Jesus?" Jesus said to his disciples when he sent them out
into the towns and villages, "whoever receives you receives me and whoever
receives me receive the One who sent me." Imagine that. People in towns all
over Galilee receiving Jesus and God as they receive the disciples. Now,
post-Pentecost with the Spirit residing in Christian community, would it not
be even more true that those who receive Christians receive Jesus? What does
it mean to be an "ambassador"? When interested people feel the touch of
authentic humanity and respond by wanting to be part of it, aren't they
receiving Jesus-the supreme authentic human? Isn't evangelism more
relational and communal, than it is propositional and verbal? Isn't the
church now "the letter of Christ" not written on tables of stone or paper
with ink, but with the Spirit on human lives? When people receive other
people who are living out, however haphazardly, God's story, aren't they
receiving the God story, too? Just wondering....

posted by riddle at 12:39 PM | |