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evangelism
that does not work
by
punk monkey
recently
we have been bantering around the idea of evangelism on the
postmodern theology egroup (plug for you to think about
joining). we have bee questioning the idea that the
current idea of missionaries, missions giving and evangelism in
general is broken and in need of major fixing. the fact
was brought to our attention that while evangelism is not working
in the usamerica it is working in other parts of the
world. well, that is when i wrote this:
"i
hate to be the one to says it - (not really) - but i do not care
about what is happening outside the usa - big whop - the church
in usamerica is dieing on the vine - big time - so my question
is if we cannot get the church to grow in here, what right do we
have to transport our brand of Christianity to the rest of the
world? if the model is not working here - how long do you
think it will work over there?
i am not impressed with any church that sends money
overseas while the churches around them die - i am not impressed
with "church planting movements" that spend millions
overseas and not one penny here - i am not impressed with people
who want to plant churches in the heart of africa but will not
step foot in the south loop of Chicago - i am not impressed with
churches who boast a missions board but have no idea what is
happening with the people down the block - i am not impressed
with the hearts of people who claim to be sharing the gospel
with the world but refuse to share it with the people who live
next door. we have zero right to "spread" the
good news when we have no idea what that news is - we need to
practice what we preach."
we
look to others to share our faith with the world - we
shamelessly leave behind our greatest joy, sharing our faith,
because it is uncomfortable for us to do so. we look to
others to do what we are required to do - we will write a check
to bring the good news to the deepest parts of the world, but we
will not even invite a friend to church - go figure. if
our faith is so important that we strive to bring it to the
world, why are we afraid to share it with those we live with?
go
figure.
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