Evangelism doesn’t mean imposing a belief system

The Rev. Gary Teske, lead pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, 1245 N.H.:

It should always be a part of international mission work as long as we understand what we mean by the word “evangelism.”

The word “evangelism” is the English form of a compound Greek word that means “wood/well” and “news/message.” So evangelism is being and sharing “good news.” Evangelism does not mean imposing my belief system, culture or customs upon others. It is not just another name for proselytizing.

I believe the best way to understand evangelism for today is to coin a new word that I call, “good-news-ing” people. Evangelism is the activity of “good-newsing” our neighbors, not just by preaching Christ to them, but by being Christ to our neighbors and being a blessing (good news) through who we are, what we do and what we say.

There is an old saying that is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” Good news is all about grace, not force, and that means that sharing good news has as much to do with how we relate to our neighbors around the globe as what we say to them. We do not approach anyone as proud bearers of a superior culture or a superior religion.

Good-newsing our neighbors means listening and learning, acting and speaking for the sake of our neighbors. It means seeing Christ in our neighbor, being Christ to our neighbors and humbly speaking of Christ to our neighbors because he is good news.

I am convinced that we cannot and should not isolate ourselves from our neighbors around the globe. We will be either bad news or good news to one another and it seems that at the present time, the former is far more common than the latter. The mission of Jesus Christ is to be good news and to make us to be good news to the world in which we live.

– Send e-mail to Gary Teske at gteske@tlclawrence.org.

Other cultures may see us as in need of ‘good news’

George Wiley, ordained Episcopal priest and Baker University professor of religion:

This question was important in the 20th century, but now I think it is outmoded. It assumes a situation where European or North American Christians are taking the gospel to people across the world, persuading them to convert.

That situation has changed. In Africa, Asia and Latin America, Christianity is locally led and self-sustaining. There, many Christian groups have become independent of earlier European missions. In those places, Christianity is growing faster than in the U.S. It is often Pentecostal and persecuted.

The numerical center of Christianity, as Philip Jenkins notes, has shifted away from here to the non-Western world. Non-western Christianity has become the norm, and it is something that Westerners might find hard to recognize.

How many U.S. Christians look to the Letter to the Hebrews and the Book of Revelation as devotional mainstays? How many worry about bigamy, animal sacrifice and the practice of magic? Yet for many Christians in the world, these books and issues are close to home, along with the possibility of getting killed for your faith.

In such a world, the idea of being evangelized by Westerners might seem strange indeed. In fact, it may be that non-Western Christians see U.S. Christians as the ones in need of evangelization. Such is the case in the Anglican Communion, where some African bishops think U.S. Anglicans need to be taught a few lessons.

Meanwhile, U.S. Christians do very good work bringing medical care, education and infrastructure improvement to needy persons in other countries. This work is an effective way to bear witness to the reconciling love of God in Christ. May it thrive.

– Send e-mail to George Wiley at george.wiley@bakeru.edu.