Evangelism as Feast and Adventure (Telling the Story of God VIII)

If we are focused on convincing someone or persuading them, it can make evangelism really hard and awkward, as it was for me at the mall.[1] Indeed, I had a belief that if it’s hard, you’re probably doing it right, and that if you’re miserable, you definitely are. Of course, that’s how I was spiritually wired, in general: the more I suffered, the more pleasing I was to God (so I thought, anyway). 

Jesus’ picture of evangelism tends to be quite different. It’s not that there’s no trial or trouble in being a disciple or in sharing the Gospel (just read the New Testament to see all the challenges Jesus and his followers faced)—on the contrary, telling the story often requires boldness, courage, and a willingness to be misunderstood. Nevertheless, Jesus’ pictures of evangelism are often centered around food and feasting. In Luke 10, for example, Jesus tells his disciples to sit and eat what is set down for them. Luke 24, likewise, involves food shared at a table. His disciples are freed from having to make anything happen on their own (as we discussed in ‘Chapter 2: Ambassadorship and The People Jesus Gives Us to Love’). Instead, they get to discover what God their Father is already doing. This makes evangelism an adventure and a feast, not a task.

Growing up, I believed that I had to save the world (since I was really trying to work my way up The Human Paradigm, which is an enterprise without limits). But Jesus indicates that there are specific people with whom we are to break bread. Jesus’ paradigm is that the Holy Spirit is already working out ahead of us, and we are just walking into His work. In other words: the pressure’s off. It’s not about us, because we are participating in something much bigger than ourselves—God’s redemptive dance of reconciliation. With these two posture points in place (that it’s about presence, not persuasion, and that it’s meant to be enjoyable) we can look more deeply at how Jesus tells the story of God.

For all of these readings in one place, order my book 'Learning to Live and Love Like Jesus.'

[1] Let me be clear that I am not knocking boldness or joyfully sharing who Jesus is; I am saying that for me, it wasn’t about either of those things. I was solidly motivated by The Human Paradigm.