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 Lifestyle Evangelism for the PastorGiven a pastor’s lifestyle, is lifestyle evangelism even possible? One pastor’s refreshing discovery.
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Eleven years ago, when I became a senior pastor, I puzzled over how to encourage people to share their faith. I believed in lifestyle evangelism and wanted to be an example to the congregation. I just didn't do it. I didn't know any non-Christians. My whole world was the church. I worked with Christians, socialized with Christians, and worshiped with Christians. All of my evangelism was "official"—preaching, funerals, walk-in counseling. I wondered what sort of evangelist I would be without all the official opportunities. If I were not a pastor, would I be any good at doing what I told my flock to do? I asked God to teach me to be a "fisher of men." Since then God has given me some wonderful and painful pointers. What Unchurched Friends?I'd always assumed that unchurched people would not want to be friends with a pastor. My role would make people feel awkward. They would cuss when they hit a bad golf shot, turn, blush, and apologize to me. Or, at a birthday party make comments about having fun after I left. To my surprise I found non-religious people remarkably open, even hungry, for friendship. Some were curious about who God is and welcomed my presence. Others were lonely; they had no community. My first step in telling people about Jesus was to look for people who liked me. I made friends through common interests. We met parents of our kids' school friends. I coached sports teams. These were the same opportunities my church people had. When we purchased our home, I got to know the real estate agent. He had books all over his office and said he loved to read. He also told funny jokes, though most were a little off-color. We had a lot of fun in the process of closing the deal, and I decided this friendly contact could go beyond a business relationship. Even though he made it clear religion was not his thing, I pursued the friendship. We had some lunches together. We played golf. I found a man who appreciated other people, including me. He would say I was his "token pagan friend." Sometimes he pushed the boundaries. One night he told a hilarious story, though slightly off color. I laughed. His wife said, "I didn't think you'd laugh at that. He wanted to test you." I told them I did not tell dirty jokes but still thought some were funny. It led to an interesting conversation. When they moved, they found all their other friends dropped them because they were no longer convenient. I decided to keep our friendship going, and they noticed our loyalty. Take Time to Enjoy ItI've heard stories of skilled evangelists leading people to instant conversions as they talked on an elevator! Perhaps that happens, but not to me. I find becoming friends takes a lot more energy and commitment than short-term involvement. It takes time to know people, time for them to trust me and think about what I say. This means doing things socially, usually more than once. |             | |||||||||||||||||||
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