yesterday we had a table at the universities activities fair. we just so happened to have a table right next to a new club on campus...the croquet club.
as our time there went along, i noticed a couple of things about the people representing the croquet club. one...they were very passionate about the "product" they were selling. a good thing for sure. you could tell that they definitely loved croquet. two...they were very open to anyone and everyone joining their club. most of the day they were out in front of their table talking to all kinds of different people. and three...(and this is where i think i have a problem)...as they were standing out in front of their table...they were basically forcing conversation and interest on people as they walked by. it often seemed quite apparent that people really had no interest in croquet...but these guys would continue talking and trying to get them to put their contact info on a sheet of paper.
as i watched this continue to go on...i realized something. these guys are basically evangelists for croquet. they are evangelizing people to croquet.
and as i had that realization, it first left me feeling guilty. guilty because these guys seemed to be "more passionate" and talking to more people than we were. however, as i pondered on it more, i realized that the last thing that i want to be personally...or that i want us to be as a ministry is pushy and in your face. i just don't feel like that is a good method.
and it is there that i feel lies the difference between evangelizing for the croquet club and evangelizing for God. because the bottom line is that i am sure that a number of the people that were somewhat cornered by the croquet guys were fairly annoyed...but there is really not going to be any lasting damage from that. it will probably be forgotten by the end of the week. however, that is not the case for the church and for God. if we were to start cornering people and pushing Jesus on them...i would propose that the damage that would be done would far out-weigh the positives. the church has already done much damage in this area...people already have stereotypes about the church and christians and they already carry a lot of baggage.
i was reading this morning in mark and i came across the parable of the sower. in the past when i have read this story, i have always assumed that it is to make us aware that not everyone is going to receive the message...that there are going to be different types of people...and that is okay. but this morning as i read it, it left me wondering if part of what we are to take from it is that not everyone is good soil and part of our responsibility as Christ followers is to be seeking Him out to know where the good soil is.
the croquet club guys were throwing seed wherever they could...but could you imagine a farmer doing that...we would think he was absolutely out of his mind...spreading seed on the middle of the highway?
maybe part of our responsibility as Christ followers...and part of our responsibility as evangelists...is to be in tune with the Spirit to the point where we are able to begin to discern where the good soil is...and throw the seed there.
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