Words are… OK!

There is a saying attributed to St Francis which goes like this: “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary use words”.

It has become something of a mantra for many in the current Christian world, but as I observe it I occasionally wonder if it hasn’t also served as something of an excuse.

These days I am inclined to say to those I am involved with ‘Preach the gospel at all times and whatever you do – USE WORDS!’

It seems we have lost the ability to speak to people about the hope we have within us, or at best we do so apologetically as if we were ashamed of or embarrassed by this so called ‘good news’. When Peter writes ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect’ (1 Pet 3:15) I think he genuinely intends for us to be able to articulate our faith in some coherent verbal way.

in missional language we speak of proximity, presence and proclamation.

Words.

They are essential in evangelism – not optional.

I realise this gives many people the yips as they mentally ponder conversations with friends turning sour or maybe even nasty. It conjures up imagery that isn’t helpful. Maybe door to door salespeople, or ‘bullhorn ‘ guys in the main street. Perhaps even that pushy Christian you know who just won’t take ‘no’ for an answer and insists that he will ‘get you one day’.

While those images aren’t helpful, I wonder if we don’t need to actually take some time to re-calibrate our thinking on evangelism so that it fits the world we live in.

I have no desire to harrass people into conversion but I do want to speak of Jesus often and in ways that are suitable to the listener.

A friend told me recently of how her husband found himself next to a person on a bus who was asking questions of faith and talking about issues of spirituality. This was perplexing and disorienting for him and he didn’t know quite how to respond.

What’s with that?

Can’t we just talk about who we are and what we know of God without feeling like we need to apologise? Why do we freeze up or have a brain fug as soon as the opportunity arises to speak of Jesus.

I reckon one reason is that we have somehow learnt that evangelism is presenting, selling and closing the deal all in the one conversation (to use some crass language!) If the person we are speaking to doesn’t come

to a point of faith then I think we may feel like it was a ‘failed attempt’. The occasional stories (or myths) we hear of people leading others to faith in the seat next to them on the plane only serve to re-inforce our sense of inadequacy.

What if it were as simple as responding to questions asked and then genuinely enquiring of the person we are speaking with as to how they see the world?

What if the pressure was off to ‘kick a goal’ and the encouragement was there to show genuine interest and care for the person we were speaking with?

What if God actually did have it all in hand?… What if he didn’t want to use us to complete the picture for this person, but only to add one part to it?

I have become much more relaxed in my own evangelism since I took away the conversion goal posts. Sometime I even change the subject, knowing that if it comes up again the person is serious about their enquiry.

Let’s get back to using words in our evangelism (you can’t really proclaim Christ in the absence of words) but let’s relax in the moment and enjoy the relationship and the work God is doing rather than feeling we need to go home with a new convert notched on our belt.