Ins and Outs of Evangelism

Including the role of hospitality.

James 3:1-1 2 Matthew 12:33-37

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas       September 21, 2003     Rev. Todd B. Freeman

Each year the Presbyterian Church puts out a calendar and designates certain Sundays as a time to emphasize a particular theme. The national office then provides specific worship and educational material to supplement these specially designated Sundays. It’s up to each church, of course, to decide whether or not to participate. We just usually follow the lectionary.

In the next two months alone, for example, they have put on the calendar World Communion Sunday, Reformation Sunday, Stewardship Commitment Sunday, HIV/AIDS Awareness Sunday, Societal Violence/Domestic Violence Awareness Sunday, and Christ the King Sunday. Last year, as another example, we held a Mental Illness Awareness Sunday.

But it is next week’s special designation that we are emphasizing today – Evangelism Sunday. Unlike the common Invite-A-Friend-To-Church program, this is more about educating and inspiring the congregation itself to get more involved in and with the crucial task of evangelism.

Is it just me, or is this concept of evangelism in the Presbyterian Church somewhat confusing and difficult to get a handle on? Do Presbyterians, for instance, evangelize differently than, say, Southern Baptists, or Pentecostals, or even Roman Catholics? Needless to say, approaches to evangelism do indeed differ, with no particular right or wrong way. We certainly have opinions, however, on what is the appropriate way.

What does evangelism mean to you? First and foremost, especially for more progressively liberal Presbyterians, it is not to be confused with being evangelical.

Evangelism is simply sharing the good news of God’s redeeming grace and love.

Evangelicalism is a simply one particular way and method of going about this task, usually associated with more theologically conservative Christians. I know that many of us, though, still have images of the latter, picturing Billy Graham Crusades, revival meetings, a door-to-door personal witnessing program, or even an in-you-face ‘are you saved’ approach. Our Gospel Lesson from Luke, for instance, tells of Jesus sending his disciples out in pairs to preach the good news in every town. This approach is still widely used, especially by Mormons.

Approaches to evangelism have also changed throughout the ages, especially as our culture has adjusted to becoming a more pluralistic society, moving away from the church-cultured society prevalent in the middle of the 1900s. The Westminster Handbook to Reformed Theology has a fairly extensive discussion of evangelism as related to our particular religious tradition. Its ends with a section subtitled Agenda for the future. It states: Theological pluralism and the global shape of the Reformed community raise these issues:

• Who are the objects of evangelism? The traditional category of the lost; the poor and oppressed; or both?

• What is the connection between verbal proclamation and social responsibility? Word or deed, orthopraxy or orthodoxy, or both?

• Where is the boundary between the church and the world? Which is the main arena of God’s activity? What is the role of the church in the world?

• How do we see the place of Jesus in terms of other religions? Historic Reformed theology has stressed his uniqueness [as in the only way and means to salvation]. Modern trends press for a universal extension of God’s salvation that incorporates, not excludes, the world’s faiths.

         These overarching questions are not just an academic exercise. They are very important for each and every congregation to wrestle with in helping them to formulate their own – our own – evangelism program.

At our annual Long Range Planning Retreat in August, it became very clear that the primary emphasis for the session of Bethany in the coming year must be on evangelism and church growth. The elders committed even greater budgetary resources to increase our efforts. To date, they have included advertising campaigns, offering our facilities to outside organizations, new sign in our front yard, hosting panel discussion groups and inviting the community, and participating in local programs such as the Annual Pride Parade, which immediately follows the service today.

Also, the Evangelism Committee has set up a new Bethany Information Table at the front of the sanctuary to help share our message and ministry with both visitors and members alike. And as most of you are aware, the recent article by Sarah Hepola in the Dallas Observer, on our multicultural ministry efforts, has been invaluable in sharing the good news of what God is doing in this congregation.

I have entitled this sermon “Ins and Outs of Evangelism.” That was my way of reflecting that evangelism involves both an internal and external component.

Much of what I have just mentioned, which most would associate as the responsibility of an Evangelism Committee, involves the external element – those things which we do to spread the word outside the walls of this sanctuary.

Often overlooked, however, is the internal element of evangelism, which is the responsibility of the entire congregation. This involves the things that a congregation does in sharing the good news within the church, including extending an invitation to others to join in the life and ministry of this particular community of faith.

It is my sincerest belief that effective evangelism, on one level, must begin with the formation of a caring relationship with another person. With this in mind, the sharing of one’s journey of faith comes as a natural outgrowth of that developing relationship, rather than as something forced or imposed on another, let alone a complete stranger.

Personal evangelism in the Reformed tradition is a dialogue, not a monologue. This approach has been referred to as “relational evangelism.” We, as relational evangelists, are called to step outside the safety of our own individuality and risk being in direct relationship with another. It is only in caring for and loving other people, and developing relationships with them, that they can be “loved into” the church.

A good biblical text for relational evangelism is 1 Thessalonians 2:8, “So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.”

I would suspect that before any of you joined this congregation you experienced some level of relationship with one or more persons in this congregation. Someone was willing to extend true hospitality to you. In turn, we are called to extend true hospitality to visitors and new members of this church. This is the internal component of evangelism.

The theme of hospitality runs from cover to cover in the Bible. It emphasizes that the people of God have an obligation, a religious obligation, to treat others in the same manner we would like ourselves to be treated. Story after story reveals an almost sacred bond between hosts and guests. And most of these stories reveal that it is not only the stranger who is blessed, but the host as well.

The questions before us, then, are these: How hospitable are we as a congregation? Is there more we could be doing in this regard to enhance our own evangelism efforts?

Hospitality is reaching out. It’s a way of saying, “Everyone counts!” By its very nature, being hospitable emphasizes community life and tends towards being inclusive. It focuses on others, not on oneself.

So how can we better develop this readiness to extend hospitality to those who are strangers to us? Catholic priest and renowned author on spirituality, Henri Nouwen, suggests we begin by perceiving strangers as guests. That involves so much more than words of welcome and even acts of kindness. It means opening up the space of our personal awareness and concern.

As Nouwen explains it, we must open up within ourselves a space, an open and safe space, which welcomes the stranger and allows that person to enter and to be themselves.

But creating an empty space within ourselves to make room for others is far from an easy task. We are often so preoccupied we leave little quality time for others. On Sunday mornings it is easy to just spend time with our closest friends. Yet we must learn to make ourselves available and receptive and fully present for the stranger in our midst. And strangers may not only be the first-time visitors, they may be fellow congregation members whom you have never really gotten to know.

With true hospitality comes risk, however. Like many more people may actually join. And with new people comes new ideas, and new leadership, and new relationships. While we say we want to grow, the fact is that some consider it to be a bit of a threat to the way things are now.

Nouwen challenges us to recognize our own fear, prejudice, and even hostility toward people who are unfamiliar, who are different. This is the beginning to opening our hearts and minds to receive others.

So through our external efforts and our internal efforts may we all commit ourselves, individually and as a congregation to the crucial work of evangelism – of sharing the good news of God’s love and grace.

Amen.