Consider two different visual images – two people playing tennis and two people looking at the same piece of art. In the first, the people face each other and try to defeat one another by hitting a shot that can’t be returned. In the second, the people admire something outside themselves. The first is a competition; the second, a celebration. The first separates. The second unites.
A great deal of evangelism, I fear, looks and feels like the first image. Two people face each other, sometimes with pointed fingers and angry scowls, and argue back and forth. Each participant tries to say something that can’t be answered. A goal of “gotcha” seems to pervade.
To be fair, I admit I have overstated my case. But I think my point still stands. And I hope you know I’m all for meaningful, back-and-forth dialogue for the sake of moving people toward the cross. I’ve written a fair amount of the power of conversation in evangelism, believing that a conversation can accomplish more and better things than a one-sided presentation.
But the tone of many conversations, as of late, has gotten ugly. Our politically polarized climate has spilled over almost everywhere. Rudeness seems to win the day because it works. It gets policies passed and ballots approved. But, if I may apply what James told his readers about speaking harshly to people made in the image of God, “this should not be” (James 3:10).
I’m hoping that more and more pre-evangelistic and evangelistic conversations can look and sound more like two people facing the same direction, admiring the same truth or beauty or wonder. The sooner we stop pointing fingers at each other and start pointing our gaze at Jesus, the more fruit we’ll see in evangelism.
The most obvious and powerful application of this principle is evangelistic Bible study. This could take the form of inviting people to read part of the Bible with us one-on-one, or asking them to attend a group Bible study, or bringing them to an event like Christianity Explored (which usually involves food!).
Another, albeit less direct expression of facing the same direction could involve observing the same display of art or listening to the same piece of music or admiring the same act of kindness and reflecting on God’s common grace behind the scene.
We can even share our testimony or tell of someone else’s testimony with a “look at that” kind of tone to point people in the same direction as us. We can weave statements of the truths of scripture into those narratives in ways that seem less threatening or confrontational than some evangelistic presentations.
In summary, I’m trying to promote making our conversations less pointed and more pointing in the same direction. We want more “Isn’t that great!” and less “Here’s why you’re wrong.” We want to ask “What do you think of that?” more than “How can you believe such a thing?” We want to convey, “Let’s explore this together,” and avoid, “Let’s debate this until one of us wins.”
