Engagement

Most Christians and non-Christians can agree on one thing: they don’t like the “E” word: “evangelism.” Although the word evangelism comes from the Greek word euangelion, which means “good news,” the term has been “hijacked” by an approach that has not always delivered good news to its intended recipients; the word now elicits negative emotions.

It seems to me that the church at large has compartmentalized evangelism and discipleship into two main buckets: everything that is before someone has a conversion experience with Jesus we call “evangelism” and everything after that conversion experience is called “discipleship.”

I believe author Alan Hirsch is a prophetic voice to the church in the 21st Century. He talks a lot about “reframing evangelism” within the context of discipleship in his recently released digital download, “Disciplism.”

Hirsch explains that treating evangelism and discipleship as part of the same continuum makes space for long-term, loving, authentic relationships with people in our lives, giving credibility to our message and meaning to our relationships. It forces us to think of evangelism as a process, not a transaction where someone prays a prayer and then gets sent on to the next class called “discipleship.” He captures it best when he says:

Reimagining evangelism through the lens of discipleship requires that we let go of seeing salvation as something we can deliver on demand, or when a person says a certain formulaic prayer. Rather, we need to reconceive discipleship as a process that includes pre-conversion discipleship and post-conversion discipleship. A person’s salvation really is God’s business, isn’t it? Our part in it is to simply devote meaningful time and commitment to making disciples of whoever wants to share the journey with us—as we go. We don’t need to rush to share the standard formulas in an unnatural, non-relational, forceful way. Surely,if we love our Lord Jesus and love the people we are investing in, we will get to share the Good News of His saving impact on our lives in a less forced manner. And surely we believe that it is the Holy Spirit who awakens interest in those that He is calling into God’s kingdom?

Maybe there is another “E” word that is a better place to start with people God is drawing to Himself: Engagement. What if simple times of engagement with respectful dialogue is what’s needed to build relationships and a bridge that can bear the weight of truth down the road as people choose to explore Jesus? Perhaps we are getting too pre-occupied with terminology on what we label pre-evangelism, evangelism, and what we call discipleship in the church today. If discipleship is helping those around us engage with God by engaging with them, that starts the minute we choose to love them with His love—not just after a moment of salvation. Let’s have conversations about God flow naturally from our interest in others and see who God leads toward more intentional discipling and ongoing discussions about His Word and Jesus.

Could it be that simple?

Mary Schaller

Q Place President