We discussed Chapter 6 today. This chapter suggests that service and evangelism are both possible at the same time, that the salvation of those we serve should be our ultimate, but not ulterior, motive.
We discussed our personal discomfort with overt evangelism. None of us present today (Stacey, Karen, Stephanie, Blake, Nicole, Rachel) were raised in churches with a strong emphasis on converting the unconverted. We would feel uncomfortable if someone tried to convert us, and it might actually push us away from a church. We worry about offending those who have beliefs different from our own.
Rachel shared a discussion she'd had in one of her classes about the role a teacher's religion should play in the classroom. Since we are all educators, we shared our thoughts on the role of religion in the classroom. We believe it's important to respect the beliefs of everyone in our classes, even if we don't agree with them. Although we feel it's important to model Christian behavior, we don't think it's appropriate to discuss our beliefs in the classroom. We believe it's important not to push our beliefs on others.
We discussed the diagram on page 44 of the book. We decided that we are externally focused in terms of service, but internally focused in terms of sharing the word. We like the quote from St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Christ at all times and when necessary use words."
Some books Karen thinks we might find interesting:
unChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons
Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Politics, and Morality by Adam Hamilton
Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity by Adam Hamilton
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I like the concept of lifestyle evangelism in which we share our faith in a natural through both actions and words. Basically, when the opportunity to share naturally comes around, then we share out of our own experience. This approach is contrasted with evangelism programs in which certain questions are posed to the "target" and a sequence is followed in order to achieve the desired responses. These approaches seem manipulative and unnatural.
ReplyDeleteI left out a word-- "share our faith in a natural way..."
ReplyDeleteStephanie has purchased three of the four bunches of eggs we'll need for the big hunt, and Stacey has pledged to look for one more as well. We'll need to make sure that the Chamber reimburses them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Rachel and I discussed buying the prizes at Dollar Tree in Liberal versus ordering from Oriental Trading where shipping can run fairly high.
Trena has pledged the youth to help with Easter Egg Hunt project, which got me to thinking that our class should probably offer to serve one of their Wednesday evening meals. Doing so might give us opportunity to speak with them about Leanne's community improvement day. Just more to think about ...
Ryan