Show and Tell

This morning I was reading in the book Messiah, a chapter called The First Evangelists, to get some perspective on a passage I read in Luke 9. This is where Jesus sends out His disciples with nothing more than the clothes on their back, and nothing less than His authority to heal, cast out demons, and preach in His name.  What I found was a refreshing perspective on controversial concepts such as "evangelism" and "witnessing."  It's easy to get the idea that evangelism is all about public speaking, and witnessing is all about awkward conversations.  Of course, if someone said that I would argue the other side, but sometimes when I take those positions, I wonder if I'm just making it up, or if that's really how it is.  After all, these are pretty common definitions or at least connotations.

Well...you should read this chapter.  Summary: evangelism and witnessing start with showing who God is, sharing His love through actions...then explaining with words.  Show and tell.  I kind of wonder if spiritual gifts aren't related to this.  In the community of Christ, we have those who naturally are the do-ers, but might struggle with words, and those who are the speakers, who motivate change through their words.  They work together to spread the Gospel.  It doesn't mean that we don't take advantage of opportunities that might be out of our comfort zone (I might need to have a few awkward conversations with strangers if the need arises), but the point is that it all begins with love: love for Jesus, and sharing that love with others so they can love Jesus too.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the chapter, related to this idea:

Jesus called the twelve disciples together and sent them into the towns and villages--two by two, so they could pray and work together.  His instructions to them were simple.  They weren't going out to argue to convince people that Jesus was the Messiah.  They were going out to heal the sick and the lepers, raise the dead, and drive out demons--all in Jesus' name. (p.207)

Jesus spent more time healing than He did preaching...The evangelistic work that we do would be much more effective if we did the same.  We should work as Jesus did--feeding the hungry, comforting those who suffer, and holding out hope to those who have given up.  This will be much more effective in changing lives than will preaching or stern treatment.  (p. 208)

Sharing Jesus with others is more than having the correct doctrines or beliefs.  It is about sharing the love that Jesus has for others. (p. 210)