FROM THE PASTOR - FEBRUARY 2006

Here it is the middle of January, I’m writing the February newsletter, and yet one December event still resonates within me. On December 18th, some of us went caroling to the houses of some of the folks in our church. At one stop, we were gathered outside the house, singing away, when the neighbors across the street invited us over to sing for them. We sang about three or four carols and then got back into Sheila’s SUV. That’s when someone from the house we’d just sung at came to the door of the SUV and told Sheila how much our Caroling had meant to them.

It seems that the reason the family was there that night was because their grandmother had just died and they were planning her funeral. For that family our singing was just the “shot in the arm” they needed. Believe me, hearing that was just the “shot in the arm” I needed.

That event highlights what we’re learning in our midweek study: Evangelism takes many forms. All of us have certain stereotypes about evangelists and evangelism. We figure an evangelist is some guy on TV (and they do tend to be mostly guys on TV) with slick backed hair, hitting us up for money, telling us that if we don’t believe the way he believes that we’re going straight to hell. But as we’ve discovered in our study, that’s not what being an evangelist, or evangelism is all about.

To be effective in reaching people for Christ does not mean that we have to become something odd that we do not want to be, nor that we become something great that we may never be. Rather, we can be ourselves. God knew what God was doing when God made us who we are.

What we’ve discovered (and are still discovering) is that some of us have a confrontational style of evangelism, others have an intellectual style, a testimonial style, an interpersonal style, an invitational style, or a serving style. We’ve found that some of us have a strong affinity for one style, but also have strengths in one or more of the other styles. More importantly, we’ve discovered that there is no “right” or “wrong” style. Each style has its strengths and weaknesses. The “right” style is the style that works for us.

As I said in my sermon on January 15th, it is important that we take back evangelism from those who have stolen it; that we remember that, at its best, Evangelism means “Good News,” and that we are to be the bearers of that Good News.

                                                                                                              Pastor Tony