It’s Time for Evangelism Again

The history of evangelism is super interesting.  The first 2000 years of evangelist shows an ebb and flow of faithful believers reacting to those who have gone before them and adjusting practices to fit their culture (not always successfully or respectfully).  In more recent times we’ve seen a generation of arrogant evangelism with preachers emphasizing hell and tarnation for those who don’t believe.  In reaction to this movement my generation has swung so far the other direction that many of my peers squirm at the sound of the “E word.”  Many churches doing great things are shrinking because they’ve never learned how to effectively invite people to join them.

In his book Nudge Leonard Sweet is trying to recapture a middle ground.  Nudging is the art of being aware that God is all around us and that we should be on the look out for God’s signs.  It is remembering that all people are created by God, that God is present in the lives of all people, that the gifts of all people are God’s blessings, and that the failures or weaknesses of all people are opportunities for God’s grace.  As nudgers we must remember, we did not create this system and we do not own it.  We can only point to the signs God laid out for us and remain aware of the culture that ignores them.

I’m still processing how this is practiced in a congregation.  I’ll bring it up again as more revelation happens.  For now, I’ll be looking for God in each moment of my day and hoping to nudge others in the directions that the signs are pointing.