"I don't see the apostles hiding in their holy huddles, not going into the world to reach people with the gospel, but just focusing on the people in the church!"
"True, but I don't see them doing things that look exactly like the world, in order to attract people, and then trying to sneak the gospel in!"
Two Extremes
Thus begins the wrestling I've had with these two concepts. The two voices represent two sides of me. On the one hand, I don't believe Christians should simply complain about the darkness, but not actually do anything about it. The world beyond the walls of our church is dark, yet, we sometimes stay inside our comfort zones where it's warm and light and comfortable. We recognize that the darkness is bad, but we don't actually go out with our candles to do anything about it! Jesus said in Luke 8:16, "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light." But Paul also said in 2Co 6:17, "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,".Witnessing???
When I used to think about "outreach" or "witnessing" I'd get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. It seems so intimidating to go out and talk to people. I always associated it with preaching on street-corners, but generally that's not what people in America respond to. So in the search to find out the best way to influence people toward God, I've noticed that people tend to swing between two ends of the spectrum. And to tell you the truth, when I say 'people' I may just mean 'me.' Here are the two viewpoints that I swing between. I can either separate completely from the world, but the problem with that is that I can't win people. I want to be a witness of what Jesus has done for me, and I want them to experience what I've experienced! But to do it I need to actually have contact with people who don't know God. Which can be scary! But it IS important to bring people to a relationship with God. I read a book called, "One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven." That 'one thing' of course, is witnessing. But then how do I do it? To influence people should I go out and become friends with them by doing the kinds of things they're doing? Laugh at their jokes, don't say anything to offend them, etc.? The problem is that then I'm just like them! I'm not influencing them, they are influencing me! I see some churches adopting this strategy. To bring people they do things to attract them, and become more like the world so that people will come. So there are these two ends of the spectrum. Separate completely, or compromise to bring people in.The two Scriptures I quoted above seem to sum up the battle in my mind, and yet they aren't conflicting. But if you emphasize one without the other, the results can be disastrous. Since I've been trying to sort out the balance in my mind, I wanted to vent my thoughts somewhere, and a blog is a great place to do it!
You Have To Go Out...You Don't Have To Come Back
I read a book a while ago called, Battle for a Generation by Ron C. Hutchcraft. Very good book. And he starts out by talking about the incredible exciting stories of the Lifesaving Stations on the East Coast. Before the Coast Guard and all that, there were Lifesaving Stations for ships who went out to sea. Amazing accounts! Single-handed rescues! Committed people spending all night on flimsy boats in stormy seas! These brave men and women would go out into the ocean when they got calls to rescue people who in bad shipwrecks. One man went out on a stormy night into the ocean ten times and back to rescue the ten people who were trapped on a sinking ship. But the thing that struck me most of all was their motto: You have to go out...You don't have to come back. Ron Hutchcraft compared them to the church. What would happen if they waited for people to come to the lifesaving station? They wouldn't accomplish their goal of rescuing people. What if they became so concerned about how the lifesaving station looked and made into more of a lifesaving club spending so much time focused on the needs of the workers who were already a part of the lifesaving station and making sure they were comfortable that they completely neglected their purpose of saving people? Obviously the lifesaving station is there for saving people who are out in the ocean, and in order to do that, the workers needed to GO OUT to rescue them. It's the same with the church. Our mission is to save people, so obviously we need to GO OUT into the world to do it. Matthew 28:19 is the Great Commission not the Great Invitation.Our Strategy
But HOW do we do it? The Bible says others need to be saved with fear pulling them out of the fire. But clearly we can't literally snatch people out of Hell. Jesus said this, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16) The verse I quoted at the beginning provides an answer. I've heard the last part quoted quite a bit when it comes to sould-winning; "he that winneth souls is wise." But for some reason the first part is left out, even though that is what holds the key to the last part.Holy=Set Apart
But to explain what I mean, first let me reiterate that we are supposed to be separate from the world. We are supposed to be holy, and the very word hold means 'set apart'. The Bible often refers to us as the pure bride of Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2-4 says something that sums up this concept. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." Obviously, in order to be the kind of bride described in Ephesians 5:27, we can't compromise. Yet we are supposed to be wise as serpents in order to win the world, and it's hard to attract people with no compromise. Yet, as I once heard a preacher say, "If we dress the pure bride of Christ up like a harlot, those people who are attracted to that, will only be looking for a temporary relationship, anyway." Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.So how do we reconcile these two things? We need to go out into the world, and yet we need to be separate from the world. The answer is that we are supposed to be separate...within the world! Or as the common saying says, "In the world, but not of it."Counterculture is the Solution!
My pastor has talked a lot about counterculture. I read the definition of Counterculture in my sociology book recently. It's a subculture within a culture that does not conform to the norms of the culture its in. So its not necessarily antagonistic, but it is deviant! That's what we're supposed to be, and that's how we're supposed to win people.In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul said that he had written before to say not to keep company with sinners. But in this chapter he clarified by saying that he didn't mean sinners of the world, because then we'd have to go to the moon. (Jesus was a friend of publicans and sinners.) Rather, the ones Paul commanded to dis-fellowship were those in the church who were living a bad lifestyle, because the church is the place that's supposed to be different from the world! This is the place where people should be able to find refuge in Jesus' arms and begin living a different life. Those in the church should be very distinct from those in the world. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. When people see how different we are...that our fruit is a tree of life...they'll want to be a part of that! But if we look just like them, there's no reason for them to want to be like us. There's no difference. In our Bible study, we recently got done studying 1 and 2 Peter, which is like the counter-cultural Christian's guide! The main point is the conclusion of what I have been thinking about how to reconcile the two verses I quoted from the outset. We are supposed to be in the world, but our identity is supposed to be like that of the image of the Son of God, very different from the world, which is what will eventually win souls.
Telema-who?
Let me finish up with one of my favorite stories from church history. It's about a monk named Telemachus. But the interesting thing about THIS particular monk, was that he wasn't satisfied with staying in solitude away from everybody, and he felt God was calling him to go to Rome. This was in the 5th century, years after Constantine had died. Telemachus went to Rome, at a time when the Emperor Honorius' armies had just won an amazing victory over the Goths. They were bringing thousands of prisoners into the Coliseum to be used in the gladiator games. The monk watched in horror as the people of this supposedly 'Christian' city cheered and roared over the blood being spilled in the arena. This devoted man of God could scarcely believe the callousness of the sport in which gladiators would march up to the Emperor's box, yell, "Hail Caesar! We who are about to die salute you!" then as soon as they had a victim pinned would look up into the stands for a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. Thumbs-up meant he lived, thumbs-down meant he died. Telemachus, horrified, leaped into the arena himself, and got between two men who were trying to kill each other, attempting to stop the wielding of their swords. "In the name of Christ, stop!" But the frenzied crowd became enraged that someone would interrupt their entertainment and began raining stones down upon the poor monk's head, killing him in the process. Okay, now let's take a step back from the scene. At first glance, it may seem like he did little good. Wouldn't it have been better if he had stayed home with those other monks, continuing his separated lifestyle of prayer and worship? Or when he got to Rome, shouldn't he have gone along with what the crowd was doing, then later try to make friends with some of the people of the city in an effort to some day influence them towards Christ? What did going into the very worst place in Rome, and standing out so different, and in such stark contrast from everyone else, really do for Telemachus or anybody else? History holds an amazing testimony for an answer. When the emperor Honorius found out what had happened, he banned all gladiator contests from then on, and John Foxe writes, "and from the day Telemachus fell dead in the Colosseum, no other fight of gladiators was ever held there."I'll close with these verses from 1 Peter 3 that sum up what I'm saying.
1Pe 3:8-16 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: (9) Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. (10) For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: (11) Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. (12) For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (13) And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? (14) But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; (15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: (16) Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
God bless you!
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