Tuesday, March 27, 2012

It's Not Hard; It's Not Horrible! It's Easy And It's Fun!


It's not hard!
It's not horrible!
It's easy and it's fun!

It's not hard!
It's not horrible!
It's easy and it's fun!

It's not hard!
It's not horrible!
It's easy and it's fun!

I just want to keep chanting it over and over and over and over and over and over and over again! I'm talking about evangelism. Somewhere along the way evangelism has developed a bad wrap. Most believers shudder and cringe when they hear a message about it. Few Christians actually do it (unless they are effectively guilted into it by a well-meaning preacher). When did evangelism become so hard? When did evangelism become so horrible?

It's not hard!
It's not horrible!
It's easy and it's fun!

This chant is especially seen in the story of Matthew in Luke 5. Matthew, whose given name was Levi, was a dreaded tax collector, hated by Jews and considered unworthy by religious leaders. But Jesus noticed him sitting in his tax booth and called him to follow Him! He did! And after Jesus changed his life he wanted his friends to meet Him. So what did he do? He hadn't gone through any evangelism training classes. He didn't have any clever literature or invite cards to use. So he opted to go with what he knew how to do best. He threw a party!

Matthew's approach to evangelism was to throw a party! Now that's fun! It was a party with a purpose. It was a party designed to allow his unbelieving friends to rub shoulders with the Person who changed his life. I love it! Evangelism doesn't being with a program, it begins with a party!

It's not hard!
It's not horrible!
It's easy and it's fun!

So where do you start? Does this mean you have to meet a bunch of new people? Does this mean you must squeeze extra evangelistic events into your already over-packed calendars? The answer is NO and NO! You start with people you know. Who do you know by name (and they know you by name) that is not a believer or who does not attend church? That's where you start!

What do you do? Easy! Involve that person into areas of your life that you already do! Most people I know eat at least 2 meals a day! Include that person in one of your meals. Do you walk? Invite that person to walk with you? Are you going to watch the big game? Invite that person to watch it with you? Are you going out for a cup of coffee or an ice cream? Invite that person along with you!

So how do we get started in evangelism? Start with people you know! Start with things you already do! And soon you too will be chanting:

It's not hard!
It's not horrible!
It's easy and it's fun!

No comments: