From the Pastor’s Pen
January 2012
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19
Happy New Year! And now, with the beginning of a new year, we have new opportunities to make disciples of Jesus. I know that that is probably not on your list of New Year's resolutions—but we are in the business of discipleship. As a church, and as individuals, we are called to witness to our world about the Gospel message of grace and new life in Jesus Christ.
Last month, I shared with you about one of our goals for the next four years. These goals were drawn up during a planning retreat which was held a few months ago. We used a resource from the United Methodist Council of Bishops as our guide. We had a very open discussion about our church, about the direction it was going and our hopes for the future. Out of this came a consensus on our goals—one of these goals focused on evangelism.
Now, when we talk about evangelism, mainline Protestants usually pull themselves back. I'm not sure why. It could be because people have visions of huge evangelistic crusades, with charismatic leaders preaching to thousands and thousands of people. It could be because, we're from New England and we just don't do that sort of thing. Or, related to this, we were taught that polite people never talk about politics or religion.
But, evangelism is a part of the Christian experience—it is a part of who we are as God's people. Evangelism comes in many forms. It could be as simple as a word of encouragement or an invitation to a church supper. It could involve leading a Bible Study or holding a special worship service. Evangelism could involve simply offering a kind word to someone you've just met, or it could involve sharing the reason why you are feeling joyful. Evangelism comes in many forms and reflects the diversity of our experience as a congregation.
So, one of our goals is to simply talk about evangelism (It is a Methodist tradition to study a subject, make it our own and then go out and do it!) and its implication for our lives. We will be talking about evangelism in our worship services, and hopefully we will come to see it as a natural extension of ourselves and our personalities. Instead of something that we "must do" on a long list of things we need to do, evangelism should flow freely from us all. And, in addition to worship, look for Bible and book studies that will focus on evangelism later this year.
And, related to this, we will start having "low pressure" alter calls periodically during worship. If you would like to commit or recommit your life to Christ, you can do it in a safe, non-judgmental, environment. Or, if you would like to have me pray with you over something which is important to you, the alter rail is good safe place to have it happen.
Evangelism is an important part of our Christian experience. We need to move beyond the stereotypes to find the authentic heart of sharing our faith.
Grace and Peace,
Bob Sorozan
