Category: Commentary

Well, I’m not really a very good one either, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

The title of this post is a sentiment that I’ve heard from time to time over the last several years. I’ve heard it expressed in a few different ways, but several people have told me something that goes like this:

You don’t understand… Not everyone is like you and can do the things that you do. We aren’t all evangelists.

Or they might possibly connect the discussion to spiritual gifting:

You know, I just don’t have the gift of evangelism, so sharing with others isn’t what I do.

Or finally, suggesting the same about others:

God doesn’t give the same gifts to everyone, so we can’t suggest that everyone should be able to share with others in the same way that you do.

These concerns – really, objections – typically come up with Christians that I’ve spoken with as we’ve discussed that being a disciple of Jesus means making a disciple of Jesus. In fact, based on this experience, I would even dare to say that some reading this post will likely say that I raise this issue because I have a gifting of evangelism and am sensitized to this, thinking that everyone should go and constantly evangelize others (I’ve heard that one too! ?).

But please hear me when I say that this is not who I am. Yes, I do go to evangelize. I do walk up to people on the streets, start a conversation and ultimately share my testimony, the Gospel, or both with them. And there are times that I walk away from those conversations having truly enjoyed how it went.

But I promise you that each time that I do, it is a matter of decision. I’ve scheduled that time because I know that I need to specifically set aside the time to go, or I won’t go. I’ve put together the things that I need for that time and walked out the door, obligating myself to go and do it…because it doesn’t come naturally to me.

Instead, for me, the truth is something quite different. I have needed to learn from others the importance of going, how to share, and what to do as a next step after I have completed the initial steps of connecting and sharing the Gospel. And it is this process that I have been through that I believe the scriptures speak of and teach us.

Just before returning to heaven, Jesus told his disciples that they would speak for him locally and beyond. He said:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

So we see that Jesus intended for us to share with others, yet I wonder where the confusion comes from about whether or not we are called to share with others, to be evangelists. Personally, I think that it is related to a fear of rejection for our faith. We think that by sharing with others we will no longer be in relationship with those that know what we truly believe. And it is possible that this is true, that we might be rejected.

But I think that the most difficult part is that we might use the listing of the spiritual gifts that are intended to build up the church as an excuse why we shouldn’t do one of those things because that is currently not one of the areas where we are strong.

Let’s take a look at what that scripture says:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

We can see clearly here that there is a reason that Christ gave these gifts. Of course, it should be the case that those with these gifts are exercising them regularly, but that actually isn’t what Paul says here. Instead, he says that it is to equip the people to serve!

If we are to follow the plans and commands of Jesus, I believe it means that we need to bring forward those who have each of the gifts and allow them to teach so that the body will be equipped. Some of that teaching may not look like what we are used to in our churches, but I believe that it is very important if we truly desire to see the body of Christ around us built up into maturity and the fullness of Christ.

I’ve moved around quite a lot in my life. Because of my Dad’s changing job situation and some other factors at the time, I went to a different school in each of my four years of high school.

That was followed by my first and second years of university at different schools.

Gina and I were then married and moved near Louisville, Kentucky for my student teaching, only to move back to Indianapolis for a couple of years, living in two different apartments there.

I was then offered a new job in St. Louis, where we went to live for 11 years and were in two different houses and an apartment there.

Another job offer and we moved to Denver. Two different houses there as well.

And finally (or at least “finally” up to now), our move to Catania on the island of Sicily.

By my count, that is 11 cities, in at least 15 homes, in 2 different countries and 3 US states over the last 30 years. It makes me tired just doing the counting!

So you might think that I would be the last person to talk about growing where you’re planted, but I prefer to think that having had these experiences helps me to see the significance of what I read and saw while in Israel last October:

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

Mark 1:14

This seems like a fairly innocuous verse, at least until you take a look at the context of what had just happened. Jesus had just seen two very significant things happen in his life.

First, Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist, was given the Holy Spirit, and God Himself speaks from heaven, telling Jesus who he is and that he loves him.

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Mark 1:9-11

Second, the Holy Spirit takes Jesus into the wilderness where he would be tempted by Satan. Satan speaks to him to offer him food to overcome his hunger, tests his identity, and offers him power over the kingdoms of the world. In the end, though, Jesus defeats Satan and doesn’t fall victim to his temptations. Satan leaves and the angels are watching over him.

Given this context, it puts that first scripture in a completely new light for me. For most people, I think that, if we know that we have been called and blessed by God, and especially if we sense that we have any power whatsoever – both of these things happened to Jesus prior to him returning to Galilee – we would be thinking of the most strategic location in which we could be setting up a ministry work. In other words, my guess is that we would be thinking of the best way to grow the largest ministry to affect the greatest number of people. In Jesus’s case, if he were to follow this path, I would have thought that he would have immediately entered Jerusalem. That is the capitol, the seat of power, both religiously and in the government. I would have thought that is where he would have gone.

But here, we see Jesus return to Galilee. Do you know what is in Galilee? Outside of the “Sea” that we read about in the scriptures (really, a large lake), there are some small towns, but even today, there isn’t much. 2000 years ago, there would have been a lot less!

Just to give you some perspective, here is a picture that we took on a plateau that overlooks the northern side of Galilee.

Somewhat strangely, we see that this is the area where Jesus calls and teaches his disciples. This is the area where he teaches most of the parables and performs most of his miracles. It isn’t in Jerusalem. It is here in Galilee, where there aren’t a lot of people. There isn’t a seat of political power. In fact, among the Jewish leaders, there is at least indifference, if not disdain, for this area. There was even a saying amongst the Jewish people that no prophet would come from Galilee, even though the scriptures didn’t say this. The Jewish people’s dislike for this area blinded them such that they couldn’t see what God was doing through their own nation.

As I’ve thought about this over the last couple of weeks, I was reminded of something that we learned while on this trip to Israel, seeing this area, and understanding that this was Jesus’s home for most of his life. The lesson that I learned was that, regardless of where we are, God’s desire for us is to be faithful, to live lives that honor God, to make disciples and teach others to do the same. There is no need to do what seems heroic to other people. The primary thing that we should do is figure out how God is working around you where you are and be part of that work, being faithful to follow Him throughout our time.

On Thursday, Paul and I met a good friend from Gambia after not seeing him for several months. As we were catching up, we learned that he had recently baptized another young man and was now going on to disciple him to follow Jesus. It was great news, and it seemed that he was developing a vision for making disciples of other guys.

At one point, I asked him, if he had to teach his new friend to share the Gospel with someone else, would he know how to do it? He thought for a moment and said, “No, I don’t think I know what I would teach him.”

I asked him if I could quickly show him a way to share the Gospel and he said Yes. We walked through the Three Circles in about five minutes, and then, without preparing him that he would need to do anything, I asked him to share with me the same thing that I showed him, meanwhile hiding what I had shown him. He missed a few details, but certainly was able to explain the primary gist of the Three Circles, and thus the good news of the Gospel of Christ.

So, why is this story important? I think there are two main reasons:

1. Our friend now knows at least one way to share the Gospel with other people.
2. He now has a simple way to teach his new disciple how to share the Gospel.

This is critical because we now have the ability to duplicate our efforts.

Very frequently, we talk about wanting to do what Jesus told us to do, to make disciples and teach others to do what Jesus taught us to do, but we miss making it practical. Somehow, it seems that we believe that we’ll learn to do it someday, but if we are truthful, that day rarely comes for most people. And because it never comes, we have millions of Christians who could be sharing with others, reaching their friends, their family, or others across their community or across the world, but it doesn’t happen because they simply don’t know how.

At one point in our conversation, I asked my Gambian friend, if I gave him a cup, if he would know what to do with it. Of course, he said. It was a hot day, and we were sitting outside, drinking a lot of water. The cup was a simple tool that allowed him to take a drink of water. We discussed that the Three Circles is like the cup. It is a tool that, because of its simplicity, you can easily understand how to use it to do what you want to be able to do.

I believe that it is very important that we both read and understand the scriptures, but I believe we must also find ways to put them into practice in very practical ways. And beyond this, we must teach those around us to be able to do the same themselves. We shouldn’t wait to find the “right person” to share with our friends or family. We shouldn’t need to wait until we think the time is right and invite them to our churches. No, instead, for each person to be both ready and able to share in simple ways what God has done through Jesus in our lives and for the whole of humanity.

To do this, we need to use the power of simplicity. We need to be able to share this amazing message in a way that someone else, within a few minutes, can learn and understand, and be ready to turn around and teach it to someone else. If we do this, then I believe that we can see the good news of Jesus travel from one person to the next, moving ahead without limits.