I've looked at the conviction that drives evangelism, the perception that informs evangelism, and the action that accompanies evangelism. So, what's the progression from here?
The Progressive Evangelism booklet from the Student Christian Movement asks the question: Can evangelism ever be considered progressive when its history is so complicated?
That's an interesting one. It suggests that evangelism itself might be beyond redemption. Is that possible? Surely if Christianity is still worth hanging onto, then we should also be able to tell others what we believe. But my preceding posts have dredged up some pretty serious negatives. I can see why some Christians might decide that it's better just to leave everyone else be. If they're interested, fine. If not, no problem.
I guess I'm still evangelical at heart. The appeal of leaving everyone else to whatever they believe still rubs up against a conviction that evangelism is somehow important.
Progression
How do I communicate with respect?
The difficulties that I raised in the conviction post were:
- sharing a faith which is no longer full of certainties
- differentiating my beliefs from beliefs which I do not hold
- responding to questions which reflect deep struggles
- communicating genuine meaning about very personal topics
Dealing with these issues requires communicating with a lot of respect. Respect for other Christians: the ones who have different levels of tolerance for uncertainty, the ones who hold beliefs that I do not, and even the ones who make me feel like I'd rather not be a Christian. That's hard.
And respect for those who are not Christians. Not reducing them to an ism; not speaking as if they are deliberately refusing to see the truth; not assuming that there is nothing I can learn. Words are powerful and beliefs are powerful, and both are constantly changing. It takes a lot of care and attention to put words and beliefs together in a way that makes sense to someone else. To speak well and to listen well.
How do I counter preconceptions?
The difficulties that came up in the perception post were:
- finding role models for good evangelism
- recognising that evangelism is often viewed negatively, sometimes for good reason
- realising the complexity of the relationship between people and God
- avoiding attempts to coerce or control people's faith
I think that countering negative preconceptions is one of the hardest problems, but also the reason that it is worth trying to continue with evangelism. The angry voices always seem to be the loudest ones anyway. If we back off and let them be the only ones too, how will anyone's perception of Christianity ever change?
It seems to me that a good first step is recognising these negative views and admitting that they are a big reason why I don't want to evangelise. Evangelism is not an activity that I have a neutral reaction to, and nor do other people. After that, it might be possible to work out where these perceptions have come from - where have I seen coercive or controlling evangelism? - and who I would prefer to take as role models instead.
How do I act with integrity?
The difficulties with action as part of evangelism were:
- recognising my motivation for action
- observing that both past and present actions of the church have been reprehensible
- including my faith in a way that is sensitive and relevant
Of course the difficulty is that I can be acting out of integrity and certainty, and still be wrong. In fact the more certain I am, the more likely I am to trample ahead with my own opinions, ignoring everyone else. But if I don't have any certainty about what I am doing and why, the danger is that I don't act at all. I'm not sure I have any great advice on this, but I'll try.
Start small. If all I can do with integrity is pick up litter or make a cake, I'll do that. Becoming a great evangelist can come later, or not at all.
Find others. I gravitate towards walkers, readers, environmentalists, and anything to do with food. There are lots of people doing lots of good things already, and I don't have to go and do a Christian version of it all by myself. Just join in.
Don't stress. Evangelism often comes with a lot of guilt attached. Should be doing more, should be doing better, should be supporting every church activity while simultaneously spending time with all our friends and family, should be repenting of all the ways we have got it wrong. I know. But I'm called to follow Jesus, not to save the world. Hold your light steady, to borrow a phrase from Penelope Wilcock, and don't worry too much about the rest of it.
I hope this has been helpful. For me, it has been useful to tease out the reasons why the word evangelism always gives me a tingle of unease. A large factor is that other people have done it in ways which I strongly disagree with, and there is nothing that I can do about that. But I can figure out why I disagree and decide whether or not evangelism is worth continuing with anyway. I could say the same about being a Christian, couldn't I? So far, the answer is yes.
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