Evangelism - Is it Good News?

Family,

When I was back east reminiscing with some friends, an old buddy of mine approached us (out of nowhere) and stated, "Andy, I don't trust the church! When me and my fiance', well she was my girlfriend at the time, had an abortion, those we know who were "Christian" looked down on us and gave us the silent treatment!"

Whoa. You should have seen his eyes. Yeah, there was some anger, but underneath.... there was a lot of hurt, and pain from rejection. With those two sentences he shared, I had a doorway into my buddy's heart that I had never seen. I could see he and his fiance' finding out about the pregnancy and feeling the weight. Then, there was the decision to have the procedure, the drive there, the drive back and all of the the conversations that occurred before and after. All 5 of us were captured in silence as everyone waited for me to respond. I prayed the fastest prayer ever before responding.

My reply was quick (I remember it like it was yesterday). I said,"I am sorry that you had to go through that tough choice, dude. That is hard.... I do know that God loves all life, and that definitely includes you and your girlfriend (now fiance').

I tell you. Please don't substitute the Church for God. It can be very easy to think that those people are a direct representative for the heart of God. Many times this is not the case. We (the Church) aren't perfect bro. We are one of the main reasons God came to the earth...

I am sorry you had to experience that tough decision."

My boy looked at me and said some stuff to think about.

Like countless times before, this was a chance to share my faith and trust in who God is. It was an "evangelistic" opportunity.

Evangelism is a term for "sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ." But do many of us believe it is "Good News"? "Good" enough to tell other people? Before we swallow that guilt-bomb, we need to consider what it really means to evangelize.

Again I could write on and on, but I wrote a sermon on this. Check it out: http://diveintoflood.com/media/1119/heirs_evangelism.mp3

Seminary Thought # 127 - Leadership that Transforms.

School Thoughts:

I am taking a class called "transformational leadership." That's a big name that can mean a lot of things. In my studies, I have found in Jim Collins' book, Good to Great, that the difference between a Level 4 Leader, the top tier of transactional leadership, and a Level 5 Leader, the Transformational Leader, is the depreciation of Ego. An executive leader that is immersed with himself operates transactionally, i.e coping with complexity, in lieu of being an agent of transformation, which really means creating waves of change. To be the complete leader God intended, we must negate self in the promotion of others. Elevate everyone else (This provides another clue to what "submission" looks like in relationships).

In Kouze and Posner's The Leadership Challenge he states that "Exemplary leaders have a passion for something other than their own fame and fortune." It is this passion that inpires a shared vision for others to fully own. Again, others. Rad.

By definition, this philosophy from secular sources points to something higher than oneself. Ultimately, there has to be a universal picture of a "diminished Ego" in order to elevate others. And there is. The Cross of Jesus Christ is God not only reducing his Ego, but crushing it, so that the world that He loves would be elevated to a place that we could not attain on our own. So much more to write... but I am finding that the loudest message of Transformational Leadership [Ego - down, World - up] is found in the cross of Jesus Christ.

I like studying,

AK

~ The art of leadership dwells a good deal in the future. ~ Max Depree

~ If you and I name the sacrificial realities to those we lead, we as a team have an opportunity to recommit to the vision we share together. ~ Andy Kelly