RABBONI...which is to say, Master

Someone once told the story of a mother bird that built a nest each season like all other birds, but hers had a hole in the bottom. This mother bird and other mother birds were talking one day and someone ask, “Why do you build a nest with a hole in the bottom?” Her reply was simply, “I love laying eggs, but I hate raising little birds. They are so much trouble.”

My tribe’s efforts in evangelism over the years have reminded me of this story more times than I like to think. Campaign trips to India, Africa would tell stories of great victories and how numbers, sometimes in the hundreds, were baptized.  Many of those would never be seen again. I know of local churches that through various means would baptize folks on a regular basis and then lament how that they could not get them to remain “faithful”.

I think that one reason for this problem is that we have thought of evangelism as an event, or that our efforts lead to THE event. If I can just get a person to accept Christ and be immersed…done! We made it! Job accomplished! Now all we have to do is get them to continue to learn and grow. All of our energy to this point is on the event, not on developing a relationship. The reason that I believe that evangelism is best accomplished in the context of relationships and community is that there are relational ties established before a person makes the big step. I really believe this is what Jesus did. He taught and brought people along; all the while letting them know what it would mean to follow Him. They literally fell in love with Jesus through this process, and when they made a decision to be His disciple they just simply kept follow Jesus.

Through relationships in which you share your journey with Christ with others and invite them to just follow with you as a learner, you are building the context for their future growth while you are leading them to understand more about Jesus and make a decision to be His disciple. Even before your new friends make a decision for Christ they may in turn invite others to join the journey. Noted missiologist Jim Engel says, “There is widespread agreement that the western-driven agenda of the last 50 years to “finish the task” of world evangelization has tragically missed the mark in its narrow focus only on conversion. As I have often said, the Great Commission has become a “great commotion” of proclamation in virtual disregard of spiritual formation (doing the business of making disciples) and social transformation (righteousness and justice).” (Development Associates International, Vol. 4 no. 2 [August 2001]: p. 5) I think this comment is so on target.