Evangelism week in Edmonton, 17. - 22. September

In meinem vorhergehenden Post habe ich ja schon kurz von unserer Woche in Edmonton für den Kurs "Evangelism" berichtet. Eine unserer Aufgaben dafür war, eine Reflexion und eine Kritik für das begleitende Buch "Lifestyle Evangelism" von Joe Aldrich zu schreiben, die ich hier mit euch teilen möchte.

Reflection on the Evangelism Week in Edmonton, September 17-22, 2017

I.      Expectations

My feelings going into this week of evangelism in Edmonton were mixed, since it was my first time intentionally evangelising. I had shared my faith before, with friends and colleagues in Germany as well as some of my hosts while I was traveling in the eastern provinces of Canada this year, but had never talked to anybody I didn’t know with the intention of telling that person about the gospel. I always associated evangelism with talking to random strangers somewhat awkwardly about Jesus. Therefore, I was somewhat apprehensive of being asked to approach people in a way that would feel pushy and uncomfortable to me. I went to Edmonton expecting to be stretched and pushed out of my comfort zone, which made me a little nervous and at the same time excited about how it would be, since I know that overstepping our limits gives God the opportunity to work.

II.    Experience

I was relieved on the first day, when we were told that our task for that day would be to simply start conversations with people at the Millwoods Mall. On that day at the mall, Emily and I spoke to three people. The first was Glory, a Jehova’s Witness and then an elderly Christian couple. Before we went into the mall we took the time to pray to insure that we would not evangelise by relying on our own understanding and agenda.

I do not know much about Jehova’s witnesses and it was my first conversation with a Jehova’s Witness. I only knew that they are very well trained in Scripture and try to convert people, too, which is why I tried to keep the conversation more in the area of personal experience. We had a good conversation, simply talking about our lives and faith. Even though Glory seemed cautious, I had the impression that some of the things Emily and I said or the way we said them reached her, even though she often just countered with bible verses. She did not allow us to pray for her while she was present, but did not mind our praying for her after she had left. Upon our asking if she had prayer requests, she told us she hoped her children would also find the truth. Speaking with Glory gave me a new perspective on door-to-door evangelism. When Emily asked her when and how she had become a Jehova’s Witness, she said that people had come to her door. This made me realize that this field would be completely left to Jehova’s Witnesses if Christians do not go door-to-door, too.

The next conversation we had with Hilda and Rudi, the Christian couple, was so enjoyable that I even felt a little guilty for having it, which reveals another misconception I had about evangelism. Unknowingly, I had approached Germans, who had immigrated to Canada about 60 years ago. We encouraged them, prayed for them and were encouraged in return. Hilda felt we had been sent her way and said that God always sent her people when she felt discouraged. It is incredible what we miss by always only passing by people, following our agenda instead of God’s. Time passed very quickly and when the time came to meet with the rest of the group at the van, I would have preferred to stay and continue to talk to people because I enjoyed it so much. This first day – to my own surprise – really encouraged and motivated me for this type of evangelism. In the morning I had been struggling with some doubts and questions, a headache and nausea, which made me question whether I would even be able to go out in the afternoon. Other students in the group reported similar difficulties and spiritual attacks during the week.

On the second day at the mall, Emily and I talked to six people. Most other student groups later expressed having experienced greater difficulty and spiritual opposition, which we did not encounter. I found myself using the Evangecube, that we had been given that day. I had not been planning to use it, since its design does not really appeal to me and the gospel presentation given for the respective scenes – especially the “heaven or hell” one – was not presented in the way I would present it. Furthermore, I did not believe I would even get to sharing the gospel in one of the conversations. However, when I started talking to Houdda, a Muslim woman from Sudan, we came to the point where I could explain to her what Christians believe about Jesus, which I did with the Evangecube. In this setting, the Evangecube proved to be an effective tool, since it illustrates the message of the Gospel and gives structure to the presentation.

On Thursday he went into some residential areas to distribute door hanger invitations for a screening of the movie “The Case for Christ” at the church we were staying at. I did not talk to many people but could invite a few people personally on their doorstep. While I walked through the streets and put the hangers on the doors I started praying for the people in the houses, the neighbourhood and community. The meeting point was at the school, where a fire alarm started shortly after we arrived, which gave me the opportunity to talk to one of the teachers and invite her with the last invitation that I had put into my pocket because the hanger was torn.

III.  Conclusion

The week of learning about and practicing evangelism in Edmonton in combination with the reading of the book “Lifestyle Evangelism” by Joe Aldrich has given me a new perspective on evangelism and inspired me to start the cultivation of evangelism as a way of living.

Starting with a more critical view of evangelism, the course taught me its importance and its different forms and tools. In his book “Lifestyle Evangelism”, Joe Aldrich names three categories of evangelism that are at the same time different stages of evangelism as well as equally coexistent forms (Aldrich 1993, 73; 76). I always thought the only form of evangelism I would be willing to do was the incarnational/relational type, which – according to Joe Aldrich and also to my own impression – is the most natural and effective type, because it allows time for the process of “cultivating, sowing and reaping” (Aldrich 1993, 77). However, during this week, I realized that I am also comfortable with the confrontational/intrusional type as long as I can be sensitive to the situation and do not feel the urge to be the reaper when the soil has never even been cultivated. Since we collaborate with God and fellow believers in this process, our role may vary and we can trust God to work with the input we were able to give (cf. Aldrich 1993, 77). In all of this, it is very important and both our teacher and the author of the book stressed, that “Evangelism is not something we do for Christ; it is something he does through us” (Aldrich 1993, 114).

Another aspect that was important for me to learn is that “evangelism involves both good works and good words” (Aldrich 1993, 78). I have always preferred to only preach by example and works without speaking about my faith, justifying this with the quote (probably falsely) attributed to St. Francis of Assisi that we should preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words, which actually does not even contradict what I have learned about evangelism now. Only that it is always necessary to use words at a certain point: “No one is good enough to let just his life speak for Christ. Words are necessary to point beyond himself to Christ.” (Aldrich 1993, 79). Furthermore, I learned that evangelism and spiritual warfare of any kind always comes with opposition, which is a sign of its impact and effectiveness. We faced and overcame this opposition as a group in fellowship and prayer.

I really appreciate that we were not given a certain number of people we had to talk to in a certain amount of time because it allowed us to follow our impressions of whom to talk to and take time for the people we met without looking at the watch or looking for the next person to talk to, while still talking with another. I liked the fact that the evangelism week was early in the semester because this gave us an early insight into the practical implications and importance of what we learn and why the spiritual disciplines – e.g. memorization of Scripture – are important. In terms of our effectiveness and confidence as evangelists, it might however be even more beneficial to have the evangelism course and practice in the second or even higher semester, when everyone has established a more secure basis and foundation of both knowledge (e.g. Scripture memorized) and faith. Concluding the course on evangelism was very instructive and beneficial for me on a personal and spiritual as well as on an informative level.

Critique of “Lifestyle Evangelism” by Joe Aldrich

I.      Summary

In his book Lifestyle Evangelism Joe Aldrich explores both the theoretical as well as the practical implications of a lifestyle of evangelism. Dividing his work into three parts, he moves from defining what evangelism should look like according to the Bible (Part 1) to the step-by-step description and illustration of how this goal can be attained in the church (Part 2) and in every believer’s life (Part 3). First of all it is very important to state that “evangelism is what Jesus Christ is doing through his church [and the individual believer] to reach his world” (Aldrich 1993, 155), not what we do for Christ (cf. Aldrich 1993, 114). On this basis, Aldrich describes evangelism as the “glorious result” of a Christian community that cultivates and communicates joy, certainty, completeness and beauty (Aldrich 1993, 21) as such a healthy community then sends out into the world believers, who live “as children of light” (Aldrich 1993, 32), making Christ’s love tangible and proclaiming the Gospel. He stresses more than once the importance of “both good works and good words” (e.g. Aldrich 1993, 78). Taking an integrated stand, and presenting three different legitimate categories of evangelism – 1) proclamational, 2) confrontational/intrusional, 3) incarnational/relation (Aldrich 1993, 73) – Aldrich promotes the incarnational/relational approach, since it is the most natural and effective type according to his experience, because it allows time for the healthy growth of relationships that enable the gradual process of cultivating, sowing and reaping (cf. Aldrich 1993, 77).

In the beginning of the book, Aldrich states that the foundation is Christ’s love, the product of which is “holiness and blamelessness” (Aldrich 1993, 26). A person who is “whole, integrated [and] balanced” (Aldrich 1993, 27) through salvation and the love of Christ will live “beautifully [...] opening [his/her] web of relationships to include the nonbeliever” (Aldrich 1993, 27).

II.    Strengths

Drawing from a wealth of knowledge of both the Bible and the world as well as from a lifetime of experience in evangelism, Aldrich has written a valuable guidebook to evangelism for the Christian community. Numerous examples and illustrations help the reader understand the topic and its implications. His step-by-step practical explanations facilitate the implementation into the everyday life and his figurative language (e.g. “music of the gospel”, “beautiful bride”; Aldrich 1993, 20; 36) appeals not only to the head but also to the heart of his readers. He often starts his chapters with anecdotes that introduce the new subject in a very comprehensible way. The book does however not lack seriousness and soundness. Aldrich confronts misconceptions and malpractices in a direct but graceful manner and illustrates how improvement can be achieved. He also challenges his readers and actively involves them by including lists (e.g. p. 40f) and an appendix with a 12 session study guide. Throughout the book, Aldrich achieves to stress, what Whitney sometimes fails to emphasize: Everything we do as Christians – be it evangelism or the practice of spiritual disciplines – is meant to be “the constant and spontaneous outflow of our individual and corporate experience of Christ” and his love for his beautiful bride (Aldrich 1993, 29). Aldrich emphasizes that we have “the privilege of delivering the best news that any individual could possibly receive”, which should result in evangelism being “one of life’s most fulfilling and sought after experiences” (Aldrich 1993, 191).

III.  Weaknesses

In comparison to its strength, the weaknesses of the book are almost negligible. For the standard reader not involved in pastoral ministry or in a leadership position in church, the second part of the book is not as relevant. I believe that the topic of the second part is important and helpful to understanding the pastor’s standing, position and function in the church but might have been addressed more concisely in this book, since it does not apply to everyone. To my view, Part 1 and 3 are more important and applicable for the average Christian reader.

            Personally, I did not like the analogy between the Gospel and rifles in Chapter 7. Even though the Gospel is compared to a sword in the Bible, I would have preferred a different comparison for quality assurance and control (cf. Aldrich 1993, 131). I felt that equating the good news with a company producing weapons was somewhat unsuitable.

            A third minor drawback is his focus on men in the second part of the book where he only talks about men and the male “model leader” (Aldrich 1993, 137). Having a ministry for men in every church certainly is of high importance but so is a healthy women’s ministry and the cultivation of feminine leadership.

IV. Personal impact

We are called to live a radical life (cf. Aldrich 1993, 39). The radicalness of our life should be love just as it was in Jesus’ life. Reading the book “Lifestyle Evangelism” made me realize in what way I am “important to the process” of God “draw[ing] people to himself” (Aldrich 1993, 198) and how I can get involved in that process.

            Three aspects stood out to me in particular. Firstly: My preference for incarnational/ relational evangelism is a shared feeling and valid: “Natural evangelism provides the most satisfying option for the largest number of believers” (Aldrich 1993, 191). Aldrich states that relating “is much more natural [...], less stressful” and also “much more effective in the long run”.
            Secondly, the book – as well as the teaching in Edmonton – challenged me in my opinion about the importance of words vs. works. Tending towards the incarnational type of evangelism, I had hoped to be able to mostly avoid speaking about the gospel. Aldrich’s repeated comments on evangelism involving both “visualization and verbalization of truth” (Aldrich 1993, 31) – or put more simply “good words and good works” (Aldrich 1993, 78) – made me realize the importance and necessity of talking about the Gospel and how works and words always need to work together, both speaking the same language of beauty and love.

Thirdly, his comment “If you do nothing more than eliminate [the] caricature [that Christianity is a religion], you will have made great progress.” (Aldrich 1993, 188) made me see the effectiveness of my evangelism this year and realize its value. Working and living on organic farms I was literally and metaphorically in the harvest field. I cultivated and sowed in both senses. The book now has also given me the tools to reap.

The main goal in evangelism is to become more and more like Jesus. Being an effective evangelist is a side-effect that follows: “The Christian loves his neighbour and evangelism becomes a byproduct of his self-giving love, not the reason for it” (Aldrich 1993, 76). Reading the book “Lifestyle Evangelism” in combination with the week of learning about and practicing evangelism in Edmonton has given me a new perspective on evangelism and inspired me to start the cultivation of evangelism as a way of living.

V.   Summary

“Lifestyle Evangelism” is both an enjoyable read and a valuable resource. With its combined theoretical and practical approach it is a recommendable guidebook that I would advise every Christian toread and start to apply in his daily life.