October 2007
 

The E-Word                                                                            from the Pastor

e`van´gel   Pronunciation: ė`văn´jĕl

n. 1. Good news; announcement of glad tidings; especially, the gospel, or a gospel.   –Webster’s

Example #1: Her funeral anthem is a glad evangel.     –Whittier

Example #2:  You.

The greatest proof of God's love is a life that needs God's love to explain it.
                                                                                                            --Arthur McPhee
           

            Some folks are down-right shy when it comes to sharing their faith, thinking that they must have the faith of a saint, or otherwise downplay their doubts or questions in order to share with others about how God has become a part of their lives.  Evangelism is a tricky word.  It comes from a word that means “good news,” but the term tends to conjure up images of over-exuberant, plastic-smiling people who are standing at our door ready to “sell” us their religious wares, or tell us why their way of approaching God is superior to someone else’s. 

            Sometimes we become quiet about God because we realize that we are speaking about an entity that is wider and deeper than any single explanation, our own included.  In the face of such Mystery, we respectfully and carefully choose our words.   Sometimes we become quiet about our faith because the subject is so deeply personal. Just the mention of our relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit brings our own questions, uncertainties, and sometimes hard-won convictions and experiences to the surface. Sometimes we resist sharing our testimony about God because we understand that someone else may not have experienced the Presence quite the same way.  So we keep these things to ourselves, not wanting to offend, or not knowing if what we have experienced “qualifies” as legitimate. Now, add to this that little piece of folk wisdom that says that the three subjects we should avoid talking about in conversation with strangers are politics, sex, and religion. 

            For all of these reasons, it is a miracle whenever and wherever we are able to talk to others about our faith, or God, or the church at all.

            Yet, if we can work through our resistance, we might discover that we really do have something in our spiritual lives worth sharing, something to pass on to others or to the next generation beyond these church walls.  Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ always begins with a story—yes, the story of Jesus, but also our own story. Talking with your friends (or even your own family) about why you choose to get up early on a Sunday morning to spend time with God is different from talking with them about the church itself.  That is, when we talk about “church-life” we tend to speak differently than when we talk about our “faith-life.”  When we speak about the church, we might say something about Sunday worship, what activities are happening, about the music, prayers, or preaching, about the energy present in the church school, or about the church’s mission and role in the community.  And all of these are great things to share!  But when we speak about how God has moved in our life story, our sharing takes on a different tone; it is a song which is sung in a different key. (No, you don’t actually have to sing your story!)

            Sharing how God has been a part of our lives is one of the great gifts that we can share with another human being.  What helps you to begin another day with faith and hope?  After you had a stressful day (or a stress-filled life), how did you manage to look into your children’s eyes and dare to believe that God was, even then, working with you and in you toward some greater good? After you and your spouse came across those deep and churning waters, altogether frightening, how did you learn to trust finally that the sand on which you walked was indeed solid?  Have you ever experienced a “dark night of the soul” when it appeared as if God was absent?  How did you cope?  How have you been challenged by God to be in community with others?  How did you truly learn to “love thy neighbor as thyself”?

            When we share how we’ve found life in a dark corner, or discovered a moment of joy in the midst of suffering, or found something that we didn’t know was missing until we discovered it, we give other people the courage and space to share their faith journeys as well. There is strength in our stories, testimony, and individual witness.  We may have learned how to overcome an addiction, learned how to love in the midst of complexity, or found meaning and purpose in challenging times.  We may have witnessed the miracle of new life beyond the grave, or learned to reach beyond ourselves in small, but profound ways.  Or maybe we were finally able to lay aside the burden of a past that deeply hurt. 

            Take the risk to share your story with someone outside this church this month.  You don’t have to share the whole thing, maybe just share a chapter, or a few sentences. (We don’t share God’s story—the bible-- in just one Sunday either). Don’t worry so much about using “churchy-sounding” words, or about saying “the right” thing.  Trust the Holy Spirit to move in you.

            While you are at it, take the risk of getting to know someone else’s story.  You might be surprised at how much you have in common.  You might discover that you have another option where there seemed to be no option.  You might discover a new spiritual friend.

            At the very least, you might plant a few seeds. 

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Dee

            An observer asked Lyman Beecher how it was that he had so many converts. Dr. Beecher answered, I preach on Sunday [but] I have 400 members who preach every day, and that is the way, with the blessing of God, that we are doing so well.              --William R. Key