As a person who got witnessed upon, I can tell you it is a scary and offsetting experience.

A girl invited me to study after school, I was down. Then she whipped out her bible and I flipped out. When I told her I wasnt ready to accept jesus she told me that that is a scary choice because I might die tomorrow...Thats pretty foward - convert now or you might not go to heaven..if there is one...

I told the story to a few friends and they said they would have left right there. Dont be sneaky about it you christians! its scary! I like what you said though mike, let that come naturally I guess

I like this one too, the conversation at the bank was great, our Pastor is always
telling us just to love on 'em and just being friendly and at the sametime and to
trust God for the rest

I think we ALL are called to do this.  However, I think we all have different ways of achieving this.  Some use words, some use actions.

But for most of us in the positions we are in, we shouldn't start out by trying to close the deal to begin with. 

Thanks Cathy, yeah I was so excited after that. She accepted an invitation to church from a stranger, how cool!!

Pastor Tim, absolutely. You might get positive responses on the street, but how many of those "converts" will stick? Or worse, how many folks will you leave a bad taste in their mouths thus reducing the chances they'll investigate the faith in the future?  The Spirit is humble and meek, definitely a "gentleman". Thanks for your excellent input!

Brian, you have me chuckling here. "We tend to want to tenderize and salt them first." Well said, lol.

Norm, I couldn't agree more, I simply couldn't. 

Patti, "act first and count on the HOLY SPIRIT later", one of many mistakes we make, especially in this area. Keep callin me a kid, I'll love you forever! :-)

Thanks Janie. And THANK YOU for the message you sent, that one was special! 

Cher, thanks for your wise words. As an Outreach Dir. I'm sure you could write the book on what not to do!

very skeptical -- Wow, gotta admit, your post really adds credibility to this blog. I mean, that's the voice of experience right there. Sorry to hear about your experience though. Sometimes we are a pretty screwed up bunch. But when we get into the right place (w/God) I can tell you, there is no greater joy, no greater contentment. God bless you!

There was a scripture I meant to post, but forgot to. Peter wrote, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." The sense is that we should be living in such a way that Christ is proclaimed, such that people ask us what the secret of our joy and contentment is!

hahahaha......

hehe, Patty you are FUNNY!! Hey, I loosened up and typed w/my nose on your blog, don't think I have it in me to do it again though, lol. Hey, like wow, judging by your comment Patty, I think YOU could teach a few people how to effectively share the message of the gospel. You might know more than a lot of folks twice your age!

LaT, thanks. Yes we are all different, thank goodness. So why do so many demand a one size fits all approach?? Sorry, but I've finally put that issue to rest in my mind. I appreciate your input sis!!

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the wonderful insight into this. I would like to refer to the same marching order given by Jesus in Mathew 28: 19 - 20.

Mat 28:19  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." 

See there are four parts to this marching orders. One - Go, Two- make them disciples, Three baptize them  and Four - Teach them to observe the commandments of Jesus.

While we have always been doing the first three, We fail miserably on the fourth. The reason is we dont follow the commandments ourselves and hence we are not able to teach His commandments to the others.

This is a time to introspect ourselves. Thanks for the opportunity to check myself  Mike.

Mike,

 Great testimony and I agree. Our witness should be intentional and not forced. Jesus didn't call us to live a "forceful relationship" rather He called us to not only just live the Gospel but to live for Him. I also agree that we shouldn't feel guilty to witness but rather it should be the natural outworking of a life lived for God. When we are abiding in Jesus the overflow of His grace will shine like a star in a culture whose light is dim.

Wow. One of my friends who I have worked with for the last 6 years was relocated to a different office back in January. She knew I was a "freaky born-again" I did share some things with her and even invited her church a couple of times, but she reasoned that even though my church sounds pretty cool, and interesting, she lives in Cape St Clair near the Bay Bridge so she would not commute that far to go to church.( she has never been a member of any church) 

When she left in January, my heart broke. Working together for six years brought us close, and even though I knew she was unsaved, and even though her sense of humor on many things was unsavory to say the least... I love her early, and continue to keep her and her family in my prayers. 

I worry often, that I was her only chance, and I did not do enough to win her over to Christ, I did not preach of the end times, and what would happen if she did not accept Jesus, I simply shared some church experiences, or a word on Monday from Church the day before. I knew I may have been a decent example of what it looks like to be a christian, but I was certainly no evangelist, and everytime I see her picture here in my office, I ask God for forgiveness for not doing enough to draw her in.

Sorry this commenting is so long, but once again, you have blogged on a topic close to my heart, and pinched a nerve. So I ask you now for advice Mike.... Should I just continue to pray for my dear friend Judy? Should I press her to make the commute and visit our church in hopes that one visit will be the hook, line , and sinker ?

Like you mentioned I tried to witness to her without focussing on the point of witnessing, and yet... i am sure what I did do was not enough. It is an unimaginable heartache, not to mention and overwhelming burden on the heart to feel like you may have  been the only life line to someone who is drowning, and you did not do enough to actually save them.

Thanks for your comments Tam (prog_etc), lifestyle evangelism (a new term to me) definitely seems to be where the NT gravitates toward. So so glad you are in our camp. God bless!!

Tammy, I've dispensed with the guilty feelings after giving the issue thought. It is my opinion that you should consider doing so as well. I don't believe God is going to hold you or I responsible for the loss of even one sinner. Biblically all are responsible for themselves (although the case of children may be a different story). As for Judy, I would just keep the relationship alive if you have hopes of sharing your faith with her. If all you are interested in doing is sharing your faith with her in order to relieve your conscience, then I feel that might not go over well. (Again, in my opinion.)

Cathy...I deeply appreciate your confidence. We do facilitate a small group, sort of like a home church. It's a "marriage enrichment" small group, so we tackle a lot of marital issues.

Thank you Paul. In your analogy, I guess we're in the dirty water right up to the point where it falls? 

Amen Ed. Christ appears to have attended to people's physical needs (mainly healing) first, teaching when he had an audience. Surprisingly, people were just as amazed at his teaching as at the miraculous healings.

Dear Tammy, sorry if anything I wrote sounded blunt. I know you are a caring individual and deeply concerned about your friend and husband. I would just hate to see you fighting both worry for them and guilt for perceived failures on your part -- a double burden! I imagine as your enjoyment in the Savior increases, they'll see and hopefully believe too.

Marcella, wow. I'm looking forward to reading about your encounter with the magistrate! Sounds like it was a long time ago. Write! 

Mike,

There are millions of ways to communicate our faith each and every day.  Witnessing is a by product of who we are.  We naturally talk about things that are of interest to us.  It should be the same way in witnessing for Christ.  It doesn't need to be forced, or coerced.  One of the most important concepts to grasp is that it needs to be Spirit-led.  When the Holy Spirit opens the door it is like as you said, "natural" and the invitation is welcomed. If it were up to all of us, we would "save everyone" but, ultimately it is up to God.  No man comes to the Father except the Spirit draw Him.  Another important thing to keep in mind is that we have to earn the right to be heard.  In others words people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.  But, hey, we all skin our knuckles and knees in this thing.  No body is perfect, and we can never fault anyone for their passion or their convictions that causes them to go to extremes to reach others with the gospel. Personally, I think it takes all kinds of people and all kinds of methods to reach people.  The people who may not relate to me will relate to you and vice versa.  Take Care, Mike and keep sharing your faith.

The Spirit doesn't do the drawing, the Father does.  I don't know what difference that makes except it might have been stated that way in order to indicate that only the saved can be led by the Spirit.  If the lost had the Holy Spirit they wouldn't be lost; they'd be saved.

In general, however, I agree with your comment.  It's gotta flow from within.

Rob

More excellent comments...thanks!!!

Great to see your church is so concerned for people, LV. Outreach is great!

Tonya, thanks for the link!!

Rob...agreement, exciting! And hey, I would bet if you asked 50 people in our church about the goodness of God, you would get 50 people raising their arms and shouting "hallelujah, amen!"

Todd, yes it certainly does take all kinds to reach the world for Christ. And I don't think anyone faults those who take Christ to their friends and neighbors from a place of concern or conviction. But when it's motivated by guilt, a perceived mandate (whether they are ready to or not), or someone else's convictions, I think we might agree it's not a good thing. Thanks for your input!


LV...you said be friends first. My goal is to become friends...nothing more. (Well, if I were to be totally honest I would have to admit that my prayers for their salvation give away my true heart for my dear neighbors.) 

We've become friends with many of our neighbors. We haven't outright witnessed to even one. Well, that is if by witnessing we mean tellin 'em how to get saved. No, instead we've helped people out when they needed it, we've become involved in people's lives, we've served them, hung out with them, fed them, etc etc. (I even put out a fire in a neighbor's tree!) We have invited a couple of people to church, but mostly we're just out to build friendships. If the goal is anything other than to get to know and enjoy them, then I feel as though I have ulterior motives, and am not being honest w/them. If I really care about them, the Spirit will naturally flow when the time comes, in love and complete truthfulness. But I have to admit, the time may never come for me to literally tell them about Jesus. And if that's the case, I hope to take solace in the fact that I exhibited Christ in the way I treated them, thus at least planting seeds. Does any of this make sense?

IMHO, my neighbor is the point, it's not about getting to know my neighbor well enough that I can share certain info with them. Sharing Christ w/them should be the same as sharing me with them!  (assuming sanctification and spiritual growth take their course)

Funny thing, that Great Commission.  When I read Matthew 28, I see the words "Make disciples", not "evangelize" or "preach to".  In fact, the word in the original language isn't even the same.  I realize you quoted the Mark passage and not the Matthew passage, but Mark's word choice isn't what we normally think of either.

In Matthew, the word used is matheteuo, which as a verb means what the english translation says: "to make a disciple; to teach; instruct".  In Mark, the word used is kerruso, which means "to be a herald; to publish or proclaim openly something which has been done".  The Luke account also uses the word kerruso.

This is a bit different from "Hit and Run" evangelism, where we give people information they may or may not want, pressure them into making a decision about it, and then we both go our ways never to see each other again.  This is NOT what the Bible teaches we are to do with people!  You can kerusso what you know, or you can matheteuo what you've been taught (with preference being on the matheteuo), but doing "Hit and run" work is -- as you said -- counter-productive!

It doesn't benefit us, winning us brownie-points with God, and it doesn't benefit the hearer, who now views Christians as pushy and interested only in converts, and it MOST certainly doesn't benefit the Lord, who wants that person to come to Him in repentance and spend eternity together.  So why do it?  Because a lot of churches and organizations are driven by numbers, plain and simple; numbers of converts to them equals God moving, since they don't have anything personal with GOd to be able to tell otherwise.

I've been in these places, I've fellowshiped with these people.  It's not God's work.  It's man's pride.

God wants us to live His Word, proclaim openly His good news, and disciple others in His ways.  If we're faithful to do that, we won't have to worry about numbers; people will naturally be drawn to Him.  And we won't have to worry about false conversions either, because the only people coming will be the people He has drawn, rather than the people we have intellectually arm-wrestled into being there.

Something to think about.  Good word, Mike. :)

In His service, and yours,
jason