Evangelism 101

The other day someone said to me, “I know we’re supposed to be thinking about evangelism, but I just don’t know what to say to people.”  Believe me, I understand.  Maybe we are making this too hard.  We all know of those little bracelets that were so popular a few years back that showed the letter: W.W.J.D - and how in certain situations we were all prompted to think:  What Would Jesus Do?  I think we need another bracelet.  Maybe we could wear it on the other arm.  It would have the letters: W.W.J.S. which would stand for: What Would Jesus Say?

I’ve looked long and hard and I have never found a passage where Jesus said anything about the doctrine of the Trinity; never found Him talking about ‘text criticism’ or ‘literalism’ or ‘historical redaction.’  And I have utterly failed to find any discussion in the gospels, the letters or the Old testament on the topic of supralapsarianism verses armenianism.  So you can wipe the sweat of your brows.  What Jesus would say to the neighbor that God keeps placing in your path is going to be pretty much what any normal person would say.

George Hunter says that, “evangelism flows from a mindset that acknowledges the ultimate value of people, lost people, wandering people…” your neighbor.  That’s the Jesus approached people.  Study the things Jesus said.  Things like:

“Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

and

“There once was a man who had two sons.”

and what were those great theological words he used with the woman at the well?  Oh yes:

“Will you give me a drink?”

All the more amazing since a few “minutes” later when she went to share what she had learned, she said to her friends:

“Come see a man who told me everything about myself.  Could this be Christ?”

Whew!  I’m glad I don’t have to talk about supralapsarianism!

Scott