2024 02 04 Sermon What if Evangelism Means Being Non-Judgmental?
What if Evangelism Means Being Non-Judgmental?
(based on the book Evangelism Without Additives by Jim Henderson)
Sermon Series 4 of 4
5th Sunday after Epiphany
Mark 1:29-39; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
I’d like to start with a little story about evangelism—taken from chapter 10 of the book Evangelism Without Additives by Jim Henderson (pages 107-110)—about how one church learned to prioritize serving people in their community—and how God was at work in this.
There was a church in Seattle with a low-income apartment complex in their neighborhood called Whispering Pines. The church asked their county housing authority if they could give away Thanksgiving dinners to the households at Whispering Pines. This is what unfolded: The housing authority welcomed our efforts, but with two conditions: 1) A housing-authority staff person had to go with us; and 2) we had to agree not to mention that we were from a church unless a recipient asked. This was disappointing because we wanted people to know why we were giving groceries away. But we decided that God had directed us, so we agreed to the conditions. A couple of church people asked if we could sneak cards into the baskets saying “this is brought to you by a church because it’s our way of showing God’s love.” But we resisted this suggestion and respected the conditions.
Then as Christmas drew near, the apartment managers asked if we would help with the annual Christmas party for the residents. Again, we weren’t able to mention that we were from a church unless someone asked. They later agreed to let us do an Easter-egg hunt the day before Easter. They even asked us to write an article for their newsletter, and they advertised the hunt. On all the printed material, they added the name of our church as a sponsor of the event! The following month they told us they were impressed with our efforts to serve this community. Plus, because we didn’t force God on the residents, we were now welcome to do whatever we wanted, including outreaches and bible studies. Following that, we held a back-to-school barbecue with games, and we gave away school supplies. The housing authority sent people to observe us as an example of how faith-based communities and county social services can work together.
God has opened up so much opportunity that we can’t keep up. When we launched this straightforward act of kindness, we never even mentioned God’s name to those who received the food baskets. We had to start out just by being God’s hands and feet.
Some things I notice about their experience: This church was curious about their neighbors and had loving intentions for them. They offered a small kindness by providing Thanksgiving dinner groceries. They accepted their limitations in a non-judgmental way. They continued to be motivated by kindness and serving others, even when they could not actively evangelize (at least according to traditional evangelism methods). You might say that they sacrificed their evangelism strategy in order to do what God was calling them to do—to love and serve their neighbors. Even though they agreed not to mention they were from a church, they could still talk about it if someone asked them. Over time, because they didn’t “force God” on anyone, it was God himself who opened up “so much opportunity” that they couldn’t keep up!
They were like St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 2—they embraced the limitations that were imposed on them, and by not forcing an agenda (other than simple kindness and love), the Holy Spirit showed God’s power! Like Paul, they didn’t use big words or try to explain religion with great wisdom. They didn’t even mention God’s name (at least at first). They left just enough room for the Holy Spirit to be at work, and Jesus did the heavy lifting.
We see this, as well, in today’s gospel from Mark 1: The disciples didn’t go around telling people the message of God’s kingdom (at least not at first, not in this story). They just went out looking for ways to serve the needs of their neighbors with love and kindness, and Jesus did the heavy lifting—he cured the sick and cast out demons. We see in this story that many people had this spiritual openness to Christ, even though they didn’t fully understand who he was or what he was all about. But the connections they made with the disciples provided an entry-point, an on-ramp, for people to eventually learn more, and to begin experiencing the deeper spiritual reality of Christ—and perhaps, in time, to put their faith in him.
As Christians, the connections and relationships that any of one of you have with another person might become an entry-point, an on-ramp, for that person to begin a journey to deeper faith. But we know how difficult it can be to share your faith, or to talk about God or Jesus with others. There’s less cultural acceptance of doing this than in the past, perhaps. Sometimes it’s actively discouraged or forbidden (which is what we saw going on in the story about Whispering Pines). And while we might be disappointed by this, or complain about it, the simple fact is—this is reality. And true spirituality always needs to be rooted in reality. So then the question becomes: “How can we work with the situation we’ve got?” How do we work within the limits of reality as it is, and with all of our own limitations and weaknesses—so that we leave enough room for God to show God’s power? Because, you know, God is present and active whether we realize it or not!
Recent research by David Kinnaman and the Barna Group (https://careynieuwhof.com/episode623/) shows that “3 out of 4 Americans say they are spiritually open [and] want to grow spiritually. 44% say they are more open to God today than they were before the pandemic. And that [percentage is] even higher among young people… Additional data [suggests] that as many as 84% of Americans are spiritually open in some way. They believe the possibility that God exists. They’re open to growing spiritually… They’re open to Jesus, but they’re open to a lot of other things, as well.” But they are open to Jesus.
Let that sink in. 84% of Americans are spiritually open in some way. This is really amazing. 84%. So I’d like to try a little experiment. In just a moment, I’ll ask you to pair up with one other person. One of you will ask “in your opinion, what is the difference between religion and spirituality?” The other person will answer, very briefly, in one minute or less. And remember, there are no right or wrong answers; this is strictly your opinion.
Here’s the catch: If you’re the one asking the question, you are not allowed to share your opinion. You are only allowed to listen. This is an exercise in simply listening without judgement to the spiritual and religious perspectives of another person (for one minute). Ok, go. [1-minutes pause]
Ok. Now you’re going to switch roles, but first I’d like to share that I recently asked a friend of mine (who is not an active church-goer) this same question. I told him that I was just interested in hearing difference people’s perspectives, and then I asked him. Not once did I share my opinion; and over the next several minutes he gave me a very thoughtful answer. He even started talking about Jesus, and about positive and negative experiences he’s had with evangelism and evangelists, and even his own hopes for growing spiritually. I didn’t bring up any of this; he brought it all up on his own, because It was on his mind; and, he’s one of the 84% of Americans who are spiritually open in some way.
So now for part two. Switch partners, and the same rules apply. Ask “in your opinion, what is the difference between religion and spirituality?”, and you as the questioner are only allowed to listen (for one minute). Ok, go… [1-minute pause].
If you didn’t have enough time to finish sharing your perspectives, I encourage you to continue your conversation after church! And then this week let me suggest, that if evangelism means just being yourself, that we should apply this same mindset to the people we meet; to allow them to just be themselves. Try to ask one or more person, in their opinion “what is the difference between religion and spirituality?”; and then let them just be themselves, as you simply listen. Don’t correct or interject. If they ask you later what your opinion is, then like the Whispering Pines story, you are free to share it. But don’t feel that they have to ask you, in order for this to be a success. And if the other person doesn’t want to answer, or doesn’t have an answer, that’s fine, too—that’s their perspective; don’t force anything.
But, with up to 84% of Americans being “spiritually open” these days, we have this great opportunity to have conversations with people in a non-judgmental way (that’s key), with curiosity and kindness. Through you, the Holy Spirit just might be at work drawing people towards God, and letting Jesus (who did the heavy lifting by going to the cross) do the heavy lifting for us now, too. Amen.