Exiles
I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to share a quote from the book “Exiles” by Michael Frost regarding the dreaded word..evangelism. These thoughts came to me on Saturday when I was visited by a Jehovah Witness, who was at my front door. Here is the quote from the book:
“For too long the church has been preaching to a world that will no longer listen. As a result, many exiles are nervous about ‘preaching Christ’. As I mentioned, I acknowledge that they have been turned off by exploitative and manipulative evangelistic methods and repelled by an oversimplification of the gospel to a few short points in a brief tract. They would rather perform acts of service that ‘share the gospel’ with someone, for fear that they might become the very thing they wish to avoid: a narrow-minded, bigoted fundamentalist. This is an overreaction, though I understand where it comes from. But exiles need to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As we go about our lives, practicing proximity, presence, and powerlessness, there will undoubtedly come a time for proclamation. It probably won’t take the form of an uninterrupted monologue. In all likelihood, it will occur over multiple conversations, over a period of time, with those who we live among. But it will be the kind of private discourse that is intimate, personal, and life-changing, precisely because it has emerged out of a loving, long-term, trusting relationship between equals.”
This paragraph so contradicts, especially the last part, how the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses practice their “evangelism”. There is no dialogue. There is no multiple conversations…just a knock on a door. And there definitely is no relationship. As I said yesterday, and the quote from the book gets at, the best way to share your faith is in the context of a relationship. Which means that not only your words need to point to Christ, but more importantly, your life needs to look like Christ…and that is tough stuff.
12 May 2009 RyanBraught
Growing up in an exile community, the notion of assimilation was never entertained. As exiles, the expectation was an eventual return to the homeland. The attention was directed at educating the next generation in the ways of our forefathers and foremothers. Learning the language, customs, idiosyncrasies, poetry and worldview – these were all the essentials in the midst of growing up in a strange land.
Exiles weren’t nervous about what others would say, they were nervous about losing their identity. So, they built the city, sought education, married and had children. They learned the language in order to protect the community and to ensure it wasn’t assimilated. They also learned to pray for the strange land.
Eventually, outsiders came to see and to ask – why were we different. They came to taste the food, hear the music and experience – the difference. The relationships within the exile community were the first to be strengthened, sustained, nourished and nurtured. Over time, the private, familial conversations became public, local, national – and ultimately, international.
As exiles, it was inevitable that we would be misunderstood, overexposed and at times, we were our very worst enemies. However, the nature of difference exiles seek to retain becomes the essence of the purpose for which they live.