Evangelism

High hopes

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I sometimes wonder if I let my enthusiasm be something that sets me up for disappointment.  I wonder if I set my goals too high.  I wonder if I am being overly optimistic about how people will (or should) respond to something.

About a month ago I started teaching a class on evangelism.  I had advertised the class well.  I mentioned how important it is to be a church that shares the Good News with one another.  After all, that is what the church is about.  I told people they would leave this class with tools to help them share their faith.  I then used this line:  "If you care about the future of the Church, then this class is for you."  If felt I hyped up this class enough that I could realistically expect a couple dozen people.  I had six people the first day with only four of them continuing on.  Needless to say I was disappointed.  I know I am serving two small SW MN congregations, but I somehow expected more people to care about evangelism and the Church.

I know it is not about quantity but rather about quality, but why can’t people have the same enthusiasm as I do about sharing our faith?  Why do people place sports and work and play time and etc. above God?  I ask this question a lot and I never seem to give myself a good answer.  Some days I feel like banging my head against the wall and wonder why I keep doing this.  Why bother…no one cares.

Then I think about those four people who have been faithfully coming to a class about evangelism.  Maybe they will be a catalyst in the Church.  Maybe others will see their efforts and want to learn more about how to share their faith.  Maybe their example will start a ripple effect in the church that will cause Salem and Belmont Lutheran Churches to explode with members causing us to have to add more worship services and eventually more space.  Maybe because of the massive increase in members we will need to add more staff maybe even another pastor.  Maybe…hold on a second…I am getting too excited (honestly, my heart is beating a mile a minute now).

<Pause to catch my breath>

Am I setting my hopes too high…maybe.  Will I get disappointed…maybe.  Will I stop being enthusiastic…HOPEFULLY NEVER!  -edh-

A reminder

/ The Pastor

I think it is safe to say that a marriage would be in trouble if you needed to remind the couple to love each other.  After all, one would hope that the couple is together because they love each other.  But I should careful because that is not always the case.  Either way…if love is not at the center of the marriage, it is in trouble and divorce is probably close behind.

A healthy marriage has TWO people who love each other.  They say those three, sweet little words daily; words that can dramatically change the course of one’s day.  It is like a little reminder.  But what is even more powerful is when those words are followed up with some actions.  Actions such as a kiss or a hug, some random act of kindness, just being there to listen, etc.  Actions do indeed speak louder than words.

In Scripture, the relationship between us and God is described as a marriage.  God is the Bridegroom and we are the bride (or the church is described as the bride).  But too often the love only goes one way (and I should not have to remind you which way it goes).  We too often need to be reminded to love God.  We also need to be reminded that God loves us and that God’s love never leaves us.  So since we need to be reminded to love God, God sent his one and only Son to live among us. Jesus journeyed to the cross and died for the forgiveness of our sins and then three days later rose from the grave defeating death forever.  The ultimate display (and reminder) of love.

Now it is our job to remind people of this great gift.  If we won’t do it, who will?  If the church does not engage in evangelism then who will?  But more importantly, if the church needs to be reminded to love people and to share the Good News with people…well…the church has a problem. 

Evangelism is what the church is about.  It is wrapped up into the very definition of the church.  It is the essence of the church.  You can not separate the two.  If the church is not about evangelism it is just a glorified club with special tax privileges.  Be who you were created to be.  Remind each other of God’s love and be reminded at the same time.  God needs each one of us and we need God.

So when you leave your computer from reading this exquisitely written post (O.K. who am I kidding) tell someone that God loves them and then follow that up with someone random act of kindness. 

God loves YOU!  (See me sometime for a random act of kindness) Praise be to God and Amen! -edh-

John Wayne

/ The Pastor

A parishioner of mine got this in the mail from a friend and I thought I would share it with you.  The author is unknown.

Most of you know John Wayne as an actor.  You may not know what happened to him before he died.  This is a true story.

Robert Schuler’s teen-aged daughter, Cindy, was in a motorcycle accident and had to have her leg amputated.  John Wayne was a big fan of Robert Schuler.  He heard Dr. Schuler say on one of his programs that his daughter had been in an accident and she had to have her leg amputated.  He wrote her a note saying,

"Dear Cindy, Sorry to hear about your accident.  Hope you will be alright.  Signed, John Wayne."

The note was delivered to her, and she decided she wanted to write him back.  She wrote, "Dear Mr. Wayne, I got your note.  Thanks for writing to me.  I like you very much.  I am going to be alright because Jesus is going to help me.  Mr. Wayne, do you know Jesus?  I sure hope you know Jesus, because I cannot imagine heaven being complete without John Wayne being there.  I hope, if you don’t know Jesus, that you will give your heart to Jesus right now.  See you in heaven!  Signed, Cindy"

She had just put that letter in an envelop and sealed it, and written across the front of it "John Wayne," when a visitor came into her room to see her.  He asked her what she was doing.  She replied, "I just wrote a letter to John Wayne, but I don’t know how to get it to him."

He said, "That’s funny.  I’m going to have dinner with him tonight at the Newport Club at Newport Beach.  Give it to me and I will give it to him."

She gave him the letter and he put it in his pocket. 

There were twelve of them sitting around the table for dinner.  They were laughing and cutting up when the guy happened to reach into his pocket and felt the letter.  He remembered John Wayne was seated at the end of the table.  He took the letter out and said, "Hey Duke, I was in Schuler’s daughter’s hospital room today and she wrote you a letter.  She wanted me to give it to you.  Here it is."

They passed it down to John Wayne and he opened it.  They kept laughing and cutting up and when someone happened to look down at him, he was crying.  One of them said, "Hey Duke, what is the matter?"

He said, "I want to read you this letter."  He read the letter.  Then he began to weep.  He folded it, put it in his pocket, pointed to the man who delivered it to him and said, "You go tell that little that little girl that right now, in this restaurant, right here, John Wayne gave his heart to Jesus Christ, and I will see her in heaven."

Three weeks later John Wayne died.  You never know how your witness to another will effect their eternity. Be a witness for Jesus.

In my coming blog entries I will be writing about my experience at the Western Iowa Synod School of Evangelism I attended in Oct.  I have made mention of this in previous entries, but I have not fully flushed this out.  Now I will.  I will have other blog entries mixed in that deal with Christmas so go the menu on the right hand side of your screen and click on the catagory heading "Evangelism" to easily find these evangelism entries.

"If the church is not about evangelism then it is not a church at all."  That is one of the many quotes from that weekend.  Please keep checking back and lets learn together how to be an evangelizing church.  There are people out there that need YOU.

God bless and Merry Christmas.  -EDH-