In high school, my youth group participated in a weekly evangelistic study titled “The Way of the Master,” hosted by the former child star turned corny Christian movie star, Kirk Cameron.

 

In each episode, we were taught to approach strangers on the street and ask them questions such as “have you ever told a lie?” and “have you ever stolen something?” and “have you ever looked at someone of the opposite sex lustfully?”

 

These questions were all designed to get people to admit that that they were lying, thieving, adulterous reprobates.  At that point it was assumed that no one could deny their need for a savior.

 

I wish it wasn’t true, but I was hooked. I couldn’t wait to convince people that they were deplorable human beings who deserved condemnation in order to get them to convert!

 

Unfortunately, I missed the youth group trip to the mall where we were supposed to put these evangelistic techniques into action.  In retrospect, for the benefit of those unsuspecting shoppers, it was probably a very good thing I didn’t go.

 

But, there were other things I did to “plant seeds.”

 

I went through a Christian t-shirts phase. My favorites tended to include a quote from God such as “Don’t make me come down there” or “What part of ‘Thou shalt not…’ don’t you understand?” I wore them with pride because I knew that wherever I went I was actively shining the light.

 

But t-shirts and street evangelism hardly even scratch the surface.  Christians will do anything to peddle Jesus: stunts, tracts, bullhorns, door-to-door proselytizing, hell houses, etc. We say that it’s because we love people and that we don’t want them to go hell, but can this truly be love?  Is it possible to love someone if your love is based on an agenda?

 

I worked at a Christian bookstore for several years.  The section of the store that contained our books and materials on evangelism was identified as “church growth.”

 

This moniker is regrettably appropriate because it demonstrates how Christians are more concerned with their agenda—such as growing churches and converting unbelievers—than they are about simply dialoguing and enjoying the company of those who are not like us.

 

Force feeding Jesus to those who are not Christians never sets people at ease. While there is a place for explicitly preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, reducing evangelism to persistent conversations and arguments all designed to lead to someone’s conversion dehumanizes people, because they are only important insofar as they are possible converts.

 

Daniel Radosh, a secular Jew who plunged into the world of evangelical pop culture and wrote a book about it (”Rapture Ready!”), reflected on his interactions with Christians and concluded, “The people who made the best case for Christianity were the ones who were genuinely unconcerned with whether I ever decided to become a Christian or not.”

 

In our culture of tolerance and religious pluralism, the message and person of Jesus Christ are best proclaimed through a life of loving service and sacrifice.  Evangelism is found in simply being a Christian.

 

We must never deny our Savior, but we need not throw Him in the face of those we are called to love.

 

Rather than approaching unbelievers with hidden agendas, we must all learn to rejoice in fellowshipping with others simply for the sake of love.