here is my May 2010 newsletter article. it is talking about a witnessing fail.
“Why is it that for some of us evangelism is such an awkward thing? First of all I believe that it is a spiritual gift, and some of us aren’t evangelists. But more often I believe that there often is a lack of boldness and confidence in Jesus. Instead we worry about having clever questions or things to say. Evangelism should be rooted in sharing the amazing story of the resurrection and the love that God has for us. I recently was watching a musician and he was singing about the resurrection. He started to cry at the end of the song, and you could tell that the crowd was somewhat weirded out. He said something to the effect of “Sorry it is just hard to not get emotional when you think about what God has done.” It then dawned on me how quickly I forget how powerful the resurrection is and the love that our God has for us. Sharing this reality is what evangelism is! I remember my first time that I evangelized to someone. I was in England and I saw this lonely looking guy on a park bench. I walked over and said something like “Hey how are you doing? I just wanted to come by and tell you about the love of Jesus.” He abruptly responded, “My brother was just murdered.” If there ever was a statement that so changed the tone of a conversation it was that one. I don’t even really remember what else was said, other than I told him I would pray for him and his family. But I often think at that awkward situation, and how that really changed how I look at evangelism. Some people are seriously hurting, and have huge issues and Christians need to be quick to offer more than just a “I’ll pray for you.” No amount of clever or well orchestrated statements would be able to do anything for this man. He needed to hear the heart of the gospel, and the resurrection, and the power of Jesus. Those of us who are saved all need to have this fresh in our minds, and be ready to share the power of the resurrection with the people around us. I pray that God would make us a church and a youth group that is focused on sharing the goodness of God. Please lift up our group and pray for opportunities and open doors.”
Good post. Looks like God is ‘teaching’ you the meaning of true evangelism….fellowship and service. What a great example you named in the man with the murdered brother. At that moment, he did not need to HEAR the story of Christ. He needed to SEE the risen Christ in you. He needed you to ‘feel’ his broken heart. He needed arms around him which hugged his hurt with deep compassion. He needed HELP for himself and his entire family during one of the worst times of his life. He needed LOVE!!! And ‘Love never fails.’
Again, good post. Thanks.
Carolyb