Real Lasting Life
About this blog
Ray Jones is the Coordinator for Evangelism for the Presbyterian Church (USA). He has served the church as a pastor for twenty-five years. He has a heart for helping people grow in the love of God in Jesus Christ. This growth always includes our words and deeds. He is married and has two grown daughters. He has experienced training and education at Furman University, Columbia Theological Seminary, the church, and through living in the world.
Recent posts
- The Engine of the Church
- My Witnesses
- Witnessing Communities
- The Ministry of Making Disciples
- A New Creation
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ORGANIC EVANGELISM
As I pray, think, and talk about evangelism, I am convinced that evangelism is closely connected to discipleship. Separated from discipleship, evangelism is relegated to member recruitment. There's no passion involved and we're always trying to get beyond our negative feelings about invading someone's space with an invitation to church. Maybe the real deal is that we are worried about rejection!
But what if in the relationship with discipleship, evangelism is much more organic? We share the love of God with others because we have encountered and bathed in the love of God in the church. Why wouldn't we want someone else to come swim with us in God's love? Why would we hesitate to invite a neighbor to a place of love and acceptance?
I love dogs! I've always enjoyed their exuberance and unconditional love. Several years ago, one of my dogs, Zeus, was diagnosed with cancer. He was very sick and did not have long to live. Instead of leaving him at home, I would bring him with me to the church I was serving. Penny, his sister, would accompany us. They would go to church with me three to four days a week.
"Church" became their favorite word. Each morning I'd ask them if they wanted to go to church, and they'd hear the word "church" and start dancing and barking with glee. They loved going to church! So, I started wondering, "Shouldn't we all be dancing and barking when we hear the word "church?" You know what I mean: Shouldn't we get excited when we think about the community gathered as church?
Why'd they love church? They received two things when they went to church: love and food. And I started thinking: "What if that's what we offered--food and love? If we offered the love of God in Jesus Christ and the food (prayer, worship, Bible study, group life, equipping, and encouraging) we needed to live into that love, we'd not only be excited about entering the body of Christ, but we'd also have good news to share with others about where love and food are found. When we find the love and food that leads into the fullness of life, we can do nothing more or less than invite others to share in that same love and food.
Maybe evangelism starts with renewal. What would it look like if we just stopped what we are doing in our churches and started praying in ways that opened us to God's love and the ways in which God wants us to share God's love?
- Posted at 10:02 p.m.
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