A New Kind of Evangelism?

I must confess, I stand among the many who have criticized Brian McLaren without actually have read much of his work. He has published many books at this point and is not short of critics. He essentially takes the heat for being representative of a new kind of liberal Christianity. I have merely trusted the evaluation of others whose work I admire. I now can at least count More Ready Than you Realize among works of his I have actually read. I have long suspected that he was not as bad as some make him out to be, and I think my suspicion is on target. I do not agree with everything he says, and that is the case with this book, but for the most part he is advocating something many Christians should take very seriously.

I became a Christian within a circle of people involved in Campus Crusade for Christ, a group known for its enthusiasm for evangelism. Ironically, I did not get the standard presentation the group has made famous, the "Four Spiritual Laws". I was merely invited to check out a Bible Study and gradually introduced to the church and eventually God through a relationship with Jesus Christ. I was "born again" and became a "Jesus freak". I became involved in Campus Crusade which has a very pervasive culture to evangelize to the extent that one feels inadequate if they don't do it always. It was a culture within the group that spoke louder that individual assurances otherwise. If you didn't evangelize, something was wrong.

The way this worked is familiar to nearly everyone is our society. A stranger approaches you and almost immediately jumps into a sales pitch about how you are messed up and far from God you are and the only answer is Jesus. Just this last week, Cassie and I are walking out of Target and two Green Peace proselytizers were outside. I was hoping they wouldn't bother us but there was no escape except into the mall full of hundreds of other peddlers. This guy was good, many could learn from his evangelism techniques. He said how messed up the world was due to pollution from technology and that most recycling is really just us passing our trash on to third world countries (which is basically true). The solution, the savior, for this great sin problem and barrier to a Utopian world, was to become a Green Peace member and have faith in their political lobbying (kind of a let down for such a dramatic build up). He was a smooth and confident talker. His transitions were great. He didn't waste time. He had his pen ready for us the moment he was done. It was very impressive and I was tempted.

I knew better; and it's not because of Green Peace and its fundies (they do have their own brand of terrorists). Its because I don't think that is the best way to reach people. I don't make friends that way and I didn't make peace with God that way. I got to know God like people make friends. It was a bit indirect because God works primarily through his people. I came to know Jesus through getting to know Spirit-filled Christians helping see how the Father is was trying to reach me. This is what I think McLaren is attempting to get at in More Ready Than You Realize.

His method is the classic "emerging church" lingo of being conversational. At this point in all the latest trends in church "conversations" has become incredibly cliche. He basically argues that many people are craving to have deeper conversations about their life and what that may have to do with God. He uses the example of years of emails he exchanged with one young women in particular and the genuine listening he did. What he should answer and what he should not and just give her questions to help her think about it. He provides an excellent example, and to my delight, uses Acts 10 with Peter and Cornelius as an example. He comes to many of the same conclusions I did in my recent sermon. He argues that evangelism should not be an event but a process of helping people move closer to Jesus. A great question he asks, is not if you are a Christian or know Jesus as your personal savior, but "How would you describe your relationship to God at this point? Are you strangers, acquaintances, dating, engaged, happily married, unhappily married, separated, divorced, or something in between?" (p. 113)

Chapter 17 is the closest you get to a synopsis or systematic explanation that suits a blog. However, like many recent books like this (a cultural trend it seems) its chapters are not indicative of its content. They are like song or movie titles which are usually apropos phrases from some line in it. Anyways, here are his 7 elements:
1) The relational factor - count conversations, not conversions
2) The narrative factor - listen to their story, share your story and God's story, not just propositions or formulas.
3) The communal factor - expect conversion to normally occur in the context of authentic Christian community, not just in the context of information.
4) The journey factor - see disciple making as a holistic process and unending journey, not just a conversion event.
5) The Holy Spirit factor - believe that God is at work "out there" in everyone and not just "in here" at the church.
6) The learning factor - see evangelism as a part of your own discipleship, not just their's.
7) The missional factor - see evangelism as recruiting people for God's mission on earth, not just people for heaven.

I cannot agree enough with all of these. McLaren is right and a gifted evangelist, pastor, and writer.

If you are looking for a critique I am afraid I will disappoint you. In general, I don't think he is a particularly great theologian. I could nit pick here and there for some of his conclusions about why this works and is the healthiest way to interact with people but it would be counter productive. I do not agree with all his reasons and explanations but I cannot critique his method. It is exemplary.

Instead, I want to simply commend this book to Christians who desire to see what effective evangelism looks like regardless of a "modern" or "postmodern" cultural climate. That is, authentic Christians loving their neighbors in a way that faithfully reflects the triune God. Plus, you can read it in no time.