Thursday, November 25, 2010

Rethinking Evangelism

I'm at work one afternoon with someone who thinks I'm a pansy because of how seldom I talk about God in the staff lounge.

"You'll try and convince people that Sufjan Stevens is a great artist, right?"

I nod my head.

"You'll try and convince people to read The Tipping Point or whatever book your into in the moment."

I nod my head again.

"So, why not do the same with Jesus?"

"Because Sufjan Stevens won't save a soul and The Tipping Point doesn't cut to the core of one's existential questions.  It's not that I'm ashamed of the gospel.  I'm not.  I just don't think these questions can be hashed out that quickly and with the force of argument.  You can't argue your way into love and that's what it's all about.  God wants to be loved."

"God doesn't need to be loved," he says with a sigh.

"Sure he does.  That's why there's the Trinity.  So he can give and receive love at all times."

"God doesn't need anything," he says.

I don't deny his points.  Perhaps he's right.  For what it's worth, I can't picture God as needy or anything like that.  But what he desires, what he truly desires, seems to be love.  And that doesn't happen through shouting matches and megaphones.

1 comment:

  1. Being convinced is a poor way to enter into any relationship. While apologetics is an interest of mine, I agree with you that no one should be argued into faith.

    I also agree that God doesn't need anything, he desires relationship.

    With that said, I think sharing our stories is important, arguing for our beliefs seems antithetical to a God enriched story.

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