M.O.D ~ Invite

Invite others to recognize Jesus already transforming their lives.

This is what evangelism is supposed to be. Telling people the good news that Jesus is risen; God has revealed to us the Messiah, who is the Lord.

Sounds simple. Yet for our institutionalized churches lost in the denial of Christendom addiction, evangelism atrophies into outreach, i.e. telling people about our church. Mostly, we're too scared to tell them Jesus is Lord. That would mean we'd have to know him personally. And that would require surrendering ourselves to him in all aspects of our lives. So instead, we tell people about us.

Hey, look at us! We have great services. We're friendly and hospitable. Meet our wonderful pastor. We have great nursery care. We have just the program for you. Come worship with us. Come to our youth group. Check us out.

For those in the church who aren't afraid actually to tell people Jesus is Lord, they often don't know how to go about doing it. Most evangelism committees I've ever known spend very little time or money actually evangelizing and training fellow disciples to be evangelists. Instead their budgets are exhausted w/ things like website development and advertising, receptions and assimilation for new members. In other words, they do the P.R. and H.R. of the institution more so than they share the gospel of Jesus directly with people in the world outside the church.

The mark 'invite' switches the directional flow. We don't invite people in; we send people out. Rather than inviting people to get involved in what we're doing, we invite them to get involved in what Jesus is doing in their lives. In cutting a covenant, identify a person who you see is unaware of Jesus' transforming presence and then point to him.

Some examples:

Kaitlyn is struggling through the divorce of her parents. She's depressed, angry, and scared. She's a Christian, but she doubts Jesus is doing anything for her, if he even could. Ask your self what Jesus is doing in Kaitlyn's life. Is he leading her to open up to a counselor? Is he comforting her by surrounding her with friends who listen to her and cry with her? Is he building a new form of loving relationship with each parent on individual terms? Once you see what Jesus is doing in Kaitlyn's life, name it and get involved in it: "Kaitlyn, I see Jesus guiding you in this dark time by surrounding you with friends who care. I can't imagine exactly what you're going through right now, and I don't know exactly in the end where Jesus is guiding you. But I promise I'll stay with you on this journey."

Brady never really went for the whole "church thing" as a kid, and now he wants nothing to do with church or belief in God. Yet, he's a great friend who Holy Spirit has gifted with compassion. You often confide in him and listen to his advice. He doesn't see Jesus working through himself, but you do. See it; name it; participate in it: "Brady, thanks for listening to me. You may not know it, but I really see Jesus working through you. I thank God for the gift you give me."

The idea is not to push people, not to present an argument, but to share your own faith. Even if they may not agree with your assessment of the situation, they can't deny that it's your assessment, that your faith is important to you, and that you live your life according to your conviction that Jesus is Lord. And I'm always being surprised how open people are to hearing the situation reframed personally through the lens of the gospel. More often than not, people welcome it even if they disagree or don't believe it.

The point is, if we ourselves truly believe Jesus is alive, then evangelism cannot be an attempt to get people to come check out what we're doing. If Jesus really is alive, then evangelism cannot be talk about him as if he's not here, e.g. believe in Jesus and be saved. Because Jesus lives, we see him through the lens of faith given to us by Holy Spirit, and we follow him in his mission to reconcile the world to his Father. We invite people to recognize how he's doing that for them 24/7/365.

For our friends Kaitlyn and Brady, we continue to accompany them on their journeys and naming what we see Jesus doing to lead us. Once they see Jesus alive for themselves, only then we can invite them to grow in their own discipleship by getting involved in what the church is doing on Sunday mornings in worship, or Wednesday evenings in Bible study, or Saturday afternoons in youth events. Regarding the mark of discipleship called 'invite', first we live the gospel of Jesus' resurrection in our relationship with others who need to hear it (i.e. everyone), and then when they encounter Jesus themselves we welcome them to get involved in what we're doing as the church (i.e. Jesus' mission).