Know Your Own Story
Over the last several weeks several thoughts about evangelism have been marinating in my mind. First was the idea that it's hard to go forward while looking backward. Far too many churches look backward nostalgically to some mythical past, rather than looking to the future. Yes, we do need to reflect on what we've done from time to time, but only in order to make what we do in the future better. The second thing I mentioned was that evangelism requires three basic assumptions: that God was/is doing something unique in the Christ event, that we must have some understanding of the thanks that we owe to God, and lastly that we must believe that the life of faith is the best life available. If we can't at least handle these, my suggestion was to skip the church enterprise altogether and go to the golf course. Lastly, I suggested that evangelism is personal and comes best in the context of relationship. It is one person taking an interest in developing a relationship with another person with a view to inviting that person to the life that only Jesus can offer.
Today, I want to suggest that every Christian must know his or her own story. For folks like me who were baptized as infants and can't really remember a time we didn't believe and worship it's very easy to just assume that we don't have a story of faith. The people who can remember one specific moment when they came to faith have a testimony, they've got a real story to tell. They can remember giving their life to Christ at summer camp, at a revival, or after God had rescued them from a terribly destructive lifestyle. Now, that's a story with a punch! In reality, if we have no story at all then we have no faith. If we have faith at all then there must be a story to how it began and got there!
Theologically, there is not one normative way by which a person can come to faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit works in innumerable ways to bring us to faith. Sometimes the result is a rather sudden and dramatic conversion, but that isn't the only way. Far too often I think people confuse who the real actor is in personal salvation. They think that salvation is something they did when they responded to an alter call for instance. In reality, salvation is an act of God. At a moment in time God graciously decrees that a person is just (justification), and this is the result of faith. Thereafter, God's grace gradually works within us to perfect us and make us more Christ-like (sanctification). Thinking of your own personal story should really be a matter of reflecting on how God has worked in your life to bring you to where you are.
This, of course, is crucial for evangelism. The Christian life, as often claimed, is a relationship. If it is a relationship then we must have some idea of how that relationship began and was nurtured. Evangelism, too, is all about relationship; introducing people to Christ. Later on there's plenty of time to learn deeper matters of doctrine, but at heart relationship is who you know not a set body of knowledge. I heard George Hunter, a professor of evangelism at Asbury Seminary say one time that Christianity "is caught more than taught." If we know Christ, then we must think about how we came to know Christ and that becomes our story. It is something that is distinctly and uniquely ours. John 9 tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man. Afterward, the Pharisees in their usual role of "loyal opposition" came to the man and his parents questioning and accusing. To their questions and accusations, the man simply said, "whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." In a similar vein, the 18th century Anglican priest John Newton who is most famous for writing the hymn "Amazing Grace," is quoted as saying in his old age, "Although my memory is fading, I remember two things very clearly; that I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great savior."
However you came to faith, you do have a story and it is uniquely yours and it is valuable and is to be cherished. This becomes the basis for how you bring others along on the life of faith. Tell your story, practice your story, cherish your story because it is the work of the Almighty in your life and it becomes what you alone can share with someone else.
Today, I want to suggest that every Christian must know his or her own story. For folks like me who were baptized as infants and can't really remember a time we didn't believe and worship it's very easy to just assume that we don't have a story of faith. The people who can remember one specific moment when they came to faith have a testimony, they've got a real story to tell. They can remember giving their life to Christ at summer camp, at a revival, or after God had rescued them from a terribly destructive lifestyle. Now, that's a story with a punch! In reality, if we have no story at all then we have no faith. If we have faith at all then there must be a story to how it began and got there!
Theologically, there is not one normative way by which a person can come to faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit works in innumerable ways to bring us to faith. Sometimes the result is a rather sudden and dramatic conversion, but that isn't the only way. Far too often I think people confuse who the real actor is in personal salvation. They think that salvation is something they did when they responded to an alter call for instance. In reality, salvation is an act of God. At a moment in time God graciously decrees that a person is just (justification), and this is the result of faith. Thereafter, God's grace gradually works within us to perfect us and make us more Christ-like (sanctification). Thinking of your own personal story should really be a matter of reflecting on how God has worked in your life to bring you to where you are.
This, of course, is crucial for evangelism. The Christian life, as often claimed, is a relationship. If it is a relationship then we must have some idea of how that relationship began and was nurtured. Evangelism, too, is all about relationship; introducing people to Christ. Later on there's plenty of time to learn deeper matters of doctrine, but at heart relationship is who you know not a set body of knowledge. I heard George Hunter, a professor of evangelism at Asbury Seminary say one time that Christianity "is caught more than taught." If we know Christ, then we must think about how we came to know Christ and that becomes our story. It is something that is distinctly and uniquely ours. John 9 tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man. Afterward, the Pharisees in their usual role of "loyal opposition" came to the man and his parents questioning and accusing. To their questions and accusations, the man simply said, "whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." In a similar vein, the 18th century Anglican priest John Newton who is most famous for writing the hymn "Amazing Grace," is quoted as saying in his old age, "Although my memory is fading, I remember two things very clearly; that I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great savior."
However you came to faith, you do have a story and it is uniquely yours and it is valuable and is to be cherished. This becomes the basis for how you bring others along on the life of faith. Tell your story, practice your story, cherish your story because it is the work of the Almighty in your life and it becomes what you alone can share with someone else.
I have been promoting this at our church, but many people are reluctant to pull the trigger on it. I find it easy to tell others how I met my wife and how thankful I am for the difference she has made in my life. Telling others about how I met Christ and the difference He has made is just as easy.
ReplyDelete