Jesus said to the fishermen: “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”
(Matthew 4:19 NRSV)
Fishing for people turns out to be an inescapable part of what it means to follow Jesus.
It is our job to share the gospel with others.
It is our job to commend Christ to them.
It is our job to try to get others to experience God for themselves.
But many of us don’t want to think too much about this.
We don’t mind following Jesus – like being a “supporter”.
We don’t mind coming to church.
We don’t mind getting involved in wee (or even big) actions or campaigns that will help others or make the world a better place.
But sharing our faith with others seems a bit uncomfortable.
Now this sharing of our faith or “fishing for people” has a fancy technical name. It’s called evangelism.
Evangelism is the way we try to persuade other people to embrace our faith. It’s the way we share Jesus with others.
Its something we are called to do as a congregation and it’s something that we are all called to do as individuals.
Yet for many Christian people who faithfully go to church week in week out there is a reluctance to go near this subject.
We are prepared to do all sorts of things for our faith.
But don’t ask us to evangelise.
So what’s the problem? What holds us back?
MAYBE WE ARE PUT OFF BY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY DOING EVANGELISM IN A HIGH-PROFILE WAY.
Examples of bad evangelism stare us in the face.
An obvious and classic example of bad evangelism would be the abuses of the televangelists themselves – the ones we see on TV with fancy suits: their extravagant lifestyles, multi homes, personal jets; their cheating practices – sexual immorality, embezzling of funds, fraudulent healings.
Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not saying there aren’t any genuine people out there.
Of course there are, but many of the most famous have ended up in jail for fraud, theft and deception.
One famous televangelist had his career stalled when it was revealed by his staff what was done with the many prayer request letters that were sent to him. He got people to send letters requesting particular prayers and they all had to include a donation to his ministry. This man’s staff were instructed to open the letters - take out the money and the cheques and throw the letters themselves in the bin! Amazingly I say his career was “stalled”. You would think after that scandal was exposed he would be unlikely to try setting himself up as an evangelist once more. But he has made a comeback and lives in luxury again more, partly as a result of the cheques that gullible people still send in for his “ministry”.
There are plenty examples of bad evangelists out there, so you can imagine why so many people inside and outside the church don’t want to listen to evangelism.
Many Christians therefore tend to dismiss evangelism altogether. They don’t want to talk about it, think about it and certainly not take part in it.
What I want to say today is that this attitude is well wide of the mark.
Here is what we need to know.
The answer to bad evangelism is not no evangelism - but better evangelism.
The answer to a bad message is not no message - but a better message.
The answer to bad motivation is not to stop altogether - but to have a better, proper motivation.
MAYBE WE FEEL IT’S A BIT OF A NERVE TRYING TO PERSUADE OTHER PEOPLE TO LOOK AT OUR FAITH.
Surely we shouldn’t be trying to influence other people? Maybe we feel that it’s up to every individual person to make their own choices in life. So why should we interfere? What gives us that right?
Well I share these thoughts - if our picture of evangelism is really aggressive interfering of people, preaching at them or grabbing their lapels and harassing them.
That’s a crazy way to behave and will only be counterproductive.
Evangelism today should be about something very simple – sharing naturally what matters to us.
And this is something that happens all the time. And everyone does it.
If you see a brilliant film, you tell people.
If you read a brilliant book you talk about it.
If you support a particular football team you are not ashamed to make that known.
If you find a wonderful holiday destination, you share that.
If you come across a great new restaurant, you want others to hear about it.
We share what matters to us.
If we come back from a great holiday we don’t think to ourselves –
“We better not tell anyone about this place. That would be a cheek. We are interfering in their lives to tell them of something that we enjoyed.”
It is perfectly normal to share what is important or has been special for us. What people, do with that info is, of course, up to them.
But this sharing is done in a natural way.
If I meet you for the first time and I introduce myself by saying, “My name is David and there is a brilliant new restaurant opened in the Merchant City” you will think I’m a lunatic.
However, if we start having a conversation about eating out (or nights out) and I mention it then, it’s perfectly fine.
You don’t go up to random people in the street demanding to know if they are followers of Jesus.
You don’t march up to your friends and out of the blue start initiating a conversation about God.
You don’t pester people week in week out about coming to church.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t share something of what is important to us, when the occasion arises.
If something is really that important then we will share it.
Now some people think you need to have a lot of in depth knowledge to engage in evangelism. You’ve got to be an expert. You’ve got to know the Bible inside out. You’ve got to know all the answers.
Everyday evangelism is not about making speeches, delivering tutorials or engaging in endless arguments with other people.
Everyday evangelism is about sharing what we know, and how our faith has helped us.
There are people here in this room today who can tell about finding in the church an acceptance that they haven’t found in other places.
There are people here who can tell of how God’s power has enabled them to overcome obstacles and addictions.
There are people here who have found in their faith a purpose which invades every part of their lives.
There are people here who can tell of how the church has provided them with opportunities of exploring the deepest things of life.
There are people here who can tell of how in times of bereavement or other sorrow their faith has enabled them to cope and work their way through the difficulties.
There are people here who find that worship each week helps them to get their bearings and perspective for the days of the week that follows on.
There are people here who can tell of a time (or a situation) when God became so close to them and God’s love was so real.
We have our own experiences and stories of faith. That is what we should share.
Does being part of the church mean anything to you?
Does your faith in God mean anything to you? Then share it!!
Our job is not to be Bible thumpers.
Our job is not to be Bible scholars.
Our job is not to ready (like the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses) with pre-prepared answers to any possible questions.
Our job is not to have all the answers. (Because we don’t have them).
Our job is not to make out we are in some way better or superior to anyone else. (Because we aren’t in any way).
Our job is not even to wear people down and keep on and on until they finally give up and say they agree with us.
Our job is humbly to share what matters to us.
Not in a forced, artificial, preachy way, but in ordinary conversations when the chance comes up.
To say something of why our faith helps us.
Why our faith is important. Why it means so much.
What we have discovered in Jesus Christ.
That is your job. That is my job.
And it’s our job together as Langside Church.
When you get down to it, our job as Christians is quite straightforward.
We are to follow Jesus in our life journey, and we have to encourage others to know that they are invited to do that too.
The picture that so many have of us Christians in today’s society is a negative one.
The only thing that will change that is other Christians giving out a different and a better picture.
That is done through ordinary people like you and me.
By us being the people to change their mind.
By us being Christians that do not fit into the bad stereotypes.
What we need to do is to say to people; come and see a church that is
not homophobic,
not judgemental of others,
not closed and exclusive,
not old fashioned,
not boring,
and not out of touch with reality.
Come and see Christians who care about the world,
who are sensitive to the needs of their neighbour
and are serious about making this world better for everybody.
The great message of the gospel is that God loves us and God wants us to know that love. And that when we accept this love it changes us around for the better.
The great message of Christianity is that it gives us hope and helps us to make the most of our lives.
Now that’s something worth sharing.
The great message of the gospel is that when we foul up and make our lives into a mess, God can forgive us and restore us.
That’s something worth sharing.
The great message of the gospel is that Jesus Christ is here to help us live life to the full.
That’s something worth sharing.
Real evangelism isn’t about arm-twisting; it’s about sharing our joy in our relationship with God.
Soon we’ll have a new building. It’s an exciting time, and something for us all to look forward to.
There are people outside this church fellowship who have already expressed interest in coming along to see it.
People have been talking about the new church for some time.
When we open up we will have a great opportunity to send out invites to all kinds of folk to come along and see our new place.
It’s basically a great opportunity for us all to invite people to church.
But what really matters is not our building - however good it is.
The real invite is not to a building.
The real invite is for people to discover an adventure that they can be part of.
What really matters is that people can come to
an awareness of God,
an appreciation of God’s love,
a new understanding of Jesus,
and discover a relationship with their Creator.
And our job,
by the way we live,
by the things we say,
by the values we pursue,
is to commend our faith to the people around us.