In my last post Spiritual Anorexia I reported about an email conversation I am having with a friend from Chile. He made the following observation about the Church he encountered in the United States: I always thought that the Christian background here would be an advantage to extend the Kingdom among those who don’t know the truth about Jesus, but I have had a very hard time mating with the way the Gospel is been preached and the light discipleship that is making Christians use God as their personal accessory instead of their Lord.” In the last post I discussed the discipleship implications of his statement. Now I’d like to tackle the implications for evangelism.

Is the Christian background of the US culture an advantage in extending the Kingdom of God?

I’ve had the privilege of leading a number of people to the Lord here in the US since my return from Spain in 2006. And I’ve learned a lot about what it means to effectively share the Gospel here.

Is the way we are preaching the Gospel effective? I’ve learned that the more disconnected a non-Christian is from Church culture; the easier it is to win them to Christ. It is much easier to win a new age person, the child of atheists, or a Buddhist to Christ than it is someone who grew up in the Bible belt and has been wounded by the Church. And believe me, if they are a non-Christian, who has had connection with our sub-culture, they are carrying wounds. Boy have I heard a few stories.

Jesus is beautiful but many people, particularly those who have been connected with Christendom, can’t see his beauty because we have smeared mud all over it. I know these are hard words but we are going to have to start living in the power of the Spirit and express his fruit or people are going to continue to reject or King because his subjects, and their subculture, are so unattractive. I’m not suggesting that we mimic non-Christians, I’m suggesting that we are filled with the Spirit of Jesus so we manifest his fruit, against which there is no law.

Are we preaching the Gospel effectively?

My observation is that we have become addicted to a way of preaching the Gospel which is incredibly uncomfortable for those who hear it and those who share it. It is a forceful presentation of three or four facts about salvation with a pushy invitation to make a “decision” at that moment; usually given to strangers. Worse, those Christians who don’t want to actually do this, end up having a guilt trip laid on them. We are focusing on the information as if the information itself has power. People come to Christ because of the Spirit; not because a clever presentation or the correctness of a few soteriological propositions.

Do we need to disconnect from our sub-culture to connect with people?

Our culture has become both postmodern and post-Christian. Postmoderns rarely come to Christ through a forceful, factual presentation from strangers. In fact, to present the Gospel like this causes it to become bad news instead of good news. They come to Christ because they actually see Christ in us. They come to Christ because they see his power. They come to Christ because he is majestic, beautiful and gracious. Our lives have to have the aroma of Jesus and they have to have had a good chance to smell him before words are going to have any effect. Jesus is the Bread of Life and they have to smell that wonderful fresh baked aroma before we offer them a piece. And don’t offer them a warm buttered piece of bread with mud smeared on it.

Let me put it another way. People come to Christ because they hear his music in stereo. One speaker (our lives) is broadcasting his beautiful music. And the other speaker (our words) matches what the other speaker is broadcasting. All of this happens in relationships, not dive bombing attacks. Imagine one speaker broadcasting the beautiful music of Jesus like a Vivaldi concerto and the other (our lives and sub-culture) broadcasting loud Mariachi music. That clash of sounds is called cacophony, literally a harsh sound.

Postmoderns, despite what many Christians think, are very open to spirituality. They are usually open to Jesus, when he isn’t presented with cultural mud smeared all over him. But, that has to come out of relationship, where life meets life and Jesus is allowed to be a beautiful aroma. And it takes time. Postmoderns normally don’t “make religious decisions.” They belong to a group of people who they feel comfortable with and slowly absorb their values. It is common for them to “realize” they are a Christian. Our fascination with “decisions” comes from outside the Bible. Why don’t we just connect with the people around us? Why don’t we allow the beautiful music of Jesus to play in stereo? Why don’t we love and be with our friends who need Him?  But don’t be shy about who we are or who Jesus is. They’ll probably be interested if they are hearing his music and smelling his aroma.

  • Am I being unfair to our Christian sub-culture?
  • When was the last time you saw someone come to Christ by seeking out a church all on their own? How often does it happen? What does that tell us?
  • Can we manufacture the beautiful music of Jesus, or does it happen?
  • Have you ever seen mud smeared on a piece of the fresh baked Bread of Life? What did it look like?
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