Musings: Notes From My Daybook

Northlake staff is currently reading Robert Webber's Ancient Future Evangelism and it is offering a perspective that is healthy and wholesome. Webber is asking the question--one that haunts every church leader--why does evangelism seem so stilted and why do many people make a faith decision and then disappear?

Webber does not offer simple answers; rather he heads back into the first four centuries of the church to explore what what was going on in early Christianity. That move alone gets my attention. Before Constantine, Christianity grew and flourished in a pluralistic and diverse culture. As a minority "religion," Christianity had to find its way around without the power of governmental resources.

In a nutshell, that sounds a lot like today!

What do we find? First of all, conversion was not a moment or one time event. Conversion was a process, marked by teaching, growth, and rites that marked the way. Evangelism was not something the church did; it was, quite simply a way of living. Remarkably, Christianity did not grow because of great preaching (though great preaching was occuring!) or large evangelistic campaigns. Christianity grew through the social networks of people.

Relationships. Families, households, conections through the trade or guild, at every hand, faith in Jesus came through the connections of people. Inviting persons to worship, to gather in study groups, to hear preaching was happening. But more importantly, non-Christian people was invited into the communal, relational life of Christian people where they witnessed first hand the power of God in the Christian community.

Much more could be said about this. But what I am struck with is how disconnected our lives can be. And although it may work for long time Christians, I doubt very much that the gospel can be evidenced up close by a five minute conversation after an assembly on a Sunday morning. We need to consider the reordering of our lifes and lifestyles--if for no other reason than to intentionally model the truth of the Christian faith in relationships to others.