If you’re a Christian driven to evangelize to nonbelievers, beware of the devilishly smooth transition between glorifying God and glorifying yourself. It’s a seamless slide from “God is good! Let him save you!” to “God and I are good! Let us save you!”
The moment you begin to proselytize to a person, you will likely catch a heady buzz. And though it might feel like it, that buzz will not be coming from the joy of sharing God’s love. Its cause will be the dizzying one-two punch of knowing that you’ve made yourself the focus of that person’s attention, and that you’re meddling deep into that person’s life.
You’re the star. You’ve got the answers. You’re wise and all-knowing. You have what that person needs. You can solve all their problems. You’re the person they need to listen to.
Good for you! You’ve got the power!
Bad for God. You’re acting like he doesn’t.
♣ Join me on Facebook here. ♣
Related posts o’ mine: What Non-Christians Want Christians to Hear, Are the Great Commandment and the Great Commision Incompatible?, and Me, My Wife, Zen, and the Evangelzing Christian Who Broke the Great Commandment.
Posted by FreetoBe on October 1, 2008 at 7:13 am
Ah, what a delicate balance. I often hear Christian’s say “I led so-and-so to salvation.” No, you didn’t. If God wasn’t there, no one was saved. God does the leading, the calling, the saving. He uses us, we have no right to use Him.
Thanks for the reminder, John.
Posted by Lindsey on October 1, 2008 at 8:56 am
So, so good.
Posted by Jessica on October 1, 2008 at 9:56 am
A group of girls participating in a recovery program spoke at my church several months ago and I remember them saying several times that…”I have saved ___ people since I turned my life around.”
I just remember thinking…no you didn’t. Jesus did. I hope someone told them to stop saying that when they were speaking.
Posted by skerrib on October 1, 2008 at 10:28 am
The best advice on evangelizing I ever received was “people don’t save people; God saves people.”
Posted by ME on October 1, 2008 at 11:19 am
Good advice, but those people are in the minority. Witness with love and prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. I sometimes tell people “I’m just one poor beggar telling another poor beggar where to find bread.” It’s easy to find excuses to not witness to others. Don’t waste opportunities to share the gospel of Christ.
Posted by Christian Beyer on October 1, 2008 at 11:23 am
So true, so true. I remember (not that long ago, actually) I was ‘on fire’ for God, a confrontational zealot that was so busy ‘telling’ people about Jesus that I never showed them anything remotely like Jesus (unless hr never swore, smoke, drank and had a penchant for tee-shirts about himself). I never listened to what these people had to say, never even considered that they might have an opinion about what they needed help with. Didn’t matter, I had the prescription. But this prescription seemed to cause drowsiness as their eyes would always glaze over.
Once I stopped this sort of thing, started pulling back and acting a bit more (dare I say it?) humbly, people stopped running away whenever I entered a room. They would actually talk to me. Once and while they might even ask me something about my faith. Funny.
Posted by Christine on October 1, 2008 at 11:39 am
I think this is a realy struggle for Christians everywhere. It is in our nature to take the glory whether we like to admit it or not. Heard a song the other day by Casting Crowns. One of the lines was “jesus i going to save the world, maybe we should just get out of the way”. Really impacted me
Posted by arlywn on October 1, 2008 at 12:25 pm
whoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go John! You just kit the nail on the head on why so many non christians really dont like religion talks with christians.
And my feelings are exactly that. If your god really loves me- he’ll come convince me to believe in him; you wont.
Posted by morsec0de on October 1, 2008 at 2:29 pm
“And my feelings are exactly that. If your god really loves me- he’ll come convince me to believe in him; you wont.”
Hopefully.
Unless the horns and tail I’ve been growing actually mean something…
Posted by arlywn on October 1, 2008 at 3:48 pm
lol, you have those too morse? Darn, thought I was special… lol
Posted by Christine on October 1, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Hey pretty sure God would be able to look past the horns and tail, I mean he did make them right LOL
Posted by John Shore on October 1, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Wonderful stuff. Thanks, guys. Nice. VERY nice, Christian.
Posted by odgie on October 2, 2008 at 2:38 am
After 21 years as a Christian, i’m still sorting this one out. I have come to the point where I have nothing but disdain for methodologies, which are man-made and doomed to fail. People don’t respond to a method or a trick, they respond to the message delivered in the context of a relationship. If we see a person as a prospect, forget it. If we witness for Christ through our actions and our words to people with whom we have a relationship, then maybe we can plant a seed. And God, as always, will do the rest.
Posted by tavdy on October 2, 2008 at 4:27 am
“Don’t try to be a good man, just be a man and let history decide the rest.”
I’ve forgotten where I first heard that quote (though I suspect it’s from J. M. Straczynski) but it fits with what Odgie said.
Very often it’s so easy to focus on trying to become some kind of mythical idealised “Christian” in order to attain holiness that we lose sight of the fact that the prize – Christ’s love and life – is not something that can be earned but is given freely. When we lose sight of that truth we see sin as a greater threat than it is, which chains us with fear-based judgmental attitudes towards ourselves and others that alienate non-Christians. We can also become self-hating because, as mortal humans, we can never fulfil that ideal, and that bitterness often spreads to the way we interact with others. The result is that non-Christians often see our faith as a religion of intolerance, self-righteousness, judgmentalism and hate rather than acceptance, humility, forgiveness and love.
We need to stop trying (and failing) to fulfil that man-made ideal and start being humans again, and leave the rest to Christ.
Posted by morsec0de on October 2, 2008 at 5:17 am
“Don’t try to be a good man, just be a man and let history decide the rest.”
It’s from “Star Trek: First Contact”.
Still a good quote, though.
Posted by John Shore on October 2, 2008 at 6:01 am
I believe you’re both wrong about the origin of that quote. It’s from the first “Tarzan” book.
Posted by morsec0de on October 2, 2008 at 6:39 am
I didn’t say that’s where the quote had it’s origin. Just that it was in a Star Trek movie.
Posted by Lynn on October 2, 2008 at 6:59 am
There is a great deal of truth being expressed here regarding evangelism. I wanted to offer a few additional thoughts to what Arlywn has expressed: “…whoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go John! You just kit the nail on the head on why so many non christians really dont like religion talks with christians. If your god really loves me- he’ll come convince me to believe in him; you wont.”
In my opinion, discretion and discernment should always be used in the midst of a discussion regarding “religion” between a non-christian and christian. Many times these communication skills are not applied and great misunderstandings and offenses occur.
I believe that God can, if He chooses, use any form of His creation to convince people of His existence. Although He may not choose to do this in the same way as in the miraculous events of the Old Testament times…He still can use His creation…mankind…in the present day.
Before Jesus left this earth, He told His disciples that God was going to send (as Jesus’ representative) the Holy Spirit to teach them and remind them of everything that Jesus told them. This offers credibility toward the understanding that God dispatches His Spirit to teach people about Himself. Then, when God’s Spirit directs them to do so, they can pass that knowledge of hope on to others.
God’s Word is described as alive and powerful. God can use the bible to convince people of His existence and His love for them.
So, my thoughts are…God can use natural catastrophic events, supernatural miracles, His Holy Spirit, His Word and people in order to convince mankind that He exists; that His love for them is immeasurable; and that He wants to begin and sustain a personal/intimate relationship (one on one) with them, meeting and fulfilling their needs in ways that no one else can do.
Scripture says that God is the author and finisher of faith… He is the creator of faith and the sustainer of it. The bible describes faith as a gift from God. This gift is offered to anyone who has a sincere desire to have it.
Posted by Christian Beyer on October 2, 2008 at 7:44 am
I think this line had it’s origins in Tarzan as well;
“Me saved. You unsaved.” Or something like thata.
Posted by John Shore on October 2, 2008 at 7:49 am
And who can forget that classic, soul-stirring moment when, with utmost resolve, Tarzan determined, once and for all, to invent the flea collar.
Posted by mormonsoprano on October 2, 2008 at 10:50 am
Amen.
Posted by Christine on October 2, 2008 at 1:39 pm
A moment of silence in commemoration of that great inventor Tarzan
Posted by Dan Harrell on October 3, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Ok John, I never know where to put anything, but I just finished I’m OK you’re not. Your message blew me away. I had recently read UnChristian, but it didn’t go into the depth of not only what we should consider about the great commission and the great commandment, as your book does, but with you, I have a logical progressive thought process that helps me understand the entire puzzle. Let’s love everyone and leave the saving to God. Let’s answer questions in a loving way, with lots of respect for other valid viewpoints. Wow! And yes, there was a few times I felt that superior feeling. I’m saved and heaven is mine and you’re not going. In the past few years I came to realize that I’m the last one that should sit in judgement of anyone. That God can have different paths to heaven is exactly what I wanted to believe, but after reading your book, I feel so filled with a calm certainty of how all this works and what my place is in the order of things.
Sorry about the huge paragraph. All my thougths were spilling out at once. I feel like I can look at everyone else differently and enjoy them for who they are, not as targets.
Ah, your style is pretty hip for an oldster like me, but I love it. Can I tell you that only John Ortberg stirred me as much in recent years. Thank you, pal, and God Bless. I hope you get this.
Posted by John Shore on October 4, 2008 at 9:17 am
Dan: Thank you so very much for sending me this love for my book. I can’t even begin to tell you the nightmares this poor book has been through; you simply wouldn’t believe the trucks that have run over the thing. So that it made it through to you, and you read it, and would say the things about it you have here means the world to me. Thank you so much for helping me know that, after all, I’m not, in my work, totally wasting my time.
Posted by Dan Harrell on October 6, 2008 at 5:16 am
John, It’s seems to me that the baby boomers who grew up in organized liturgy will have the most difficulty with this message. They love the structure and the predictability, of course, but they are stuck in a part time religion that preaches redemption through membership. Your book will save a good number of people from mucking up the real. Christian message and turning off even more people. Way to catch the wave!
Posted by Chris on January 6, 2009 at 9:08 am
Very nice.
Now we just have to work out exactly HOW and WHEN do we share our faith with others?
I have a number of thoughts, but two come to the fore:
By unboastful EXAMPLE – simply live the life you should. Others will surely notice and the fact of one following Christ will come out somewhere along the way.
Related to the above: SERVICE. Love and care for others, serve others. What better way to evangelize?
Posted by John Shore on January 7, 2009 at 9:32 am
Chris: Yeah, I wrote a whole book on The Great Commission vs. The Great Commandment. (It’s called, “I’m OK-You’re Not: The Message We’re Sending Nonbelievers and Why We Should Stop.”) But yes, as you say: can’t go wrong simply being loving. Beautiful.
Posted by Des on January 10, 2009 at 8:18 am
The ultimate evangelist was John the Baptist. He could have easily been accused of egotistical behavior except given the fact that he wore camel clothes while preaching.
So the obvious conclusion is that if you want to evangelize, you must prove your humility by wearing some kind of animal skin while preaching.