GETTING PAST THE AWKWARD STAGE OF EVANGELISM

by   Mark Coppenger                                                                                                                               Vol. VIII, No. 6, June/July 1995

[Dr. Mark Coppenger has been serving as vice president for public affairs on the staff of the SBC executive committee. He has just been elected president of Midwestern Baptist theological Seminary. See separate article in this Banner. Each year just prior to the Southern Baptist Convention an evangelistic effort, known as Crossover Atlanta, Crossover Houston, etc., is conducted house-to-house in the convention city by messengers who come a few days early for that purpose. In this article Mark tells of the experience of his wife and himself as Crossover door-to-door participants. If you are interested in being part of Crossover New Orleans in June 1996, watch the Banner for an announcement as to how to apply.]

I'm not wild about strangers appearing at my door, wanting to sell me something, and so I'm tempted to shy away fro door-to-door evangelism. You know, the Golden Rule and all. But it doesn't take much thought to see the difference. First, the evangelist is not a salesman. He's more like the fireman who goes house-to-house warning of a chemical spill down the road or pointing disaster victims to fresh food and water. He has life-saving, not-for-profit truth to offer. Second, proper application of the Golden Rule would tell me to risk a visit to the spiritually needy, whether they've asked or not. After all, wouldn't I want someone to look for me if I were lost, even if I didn't know I was?

I'm grateful to the Crossover planners for setting up this sort of thing in the convention cities. They invite us to come early to witness, and I'm embarrassed to say no. Actually, it's more than embarrassment. It's a kind of holy fear. I know how bureaucratized, homogenized, procrastinated, turfilated, and dispirited denominational workers can get. It's hard to keep yourself toned-up on witnessing to cab drivers and airplane contacts. And when whatever you do at your desk takes months to bring fruit, you can lose a sense of the immediate power of the gospel.

I confess, then, that the main reason I sign up for Crossover is fear of becoming a spiritual couch potato. Of course, this fear is appropriate to pastors and laymen as well. We're all perfectly capable of filling our lives with bland, comfortable and fruitless drills and diversions. A lot of us need jump starts.

So Sharon and I picked up our packets and hit our street of 29 houses. How did it go? Were we successful as well as edified? Well, yes. I mean, there really were folks who needed us to stop by, and they knew it. No conversions, but there was the unchurched British lady with the baby on her hip. She heard the gospel with teary eyes.

There was the newly arrived young couple from West Virginia, raised Methodist but spiritually AWOL. He didn't have a job yet. Both had been discussing church probably for their kids. They invited us in and heard us out. They gladly received our offer to pray for them, that God would draw them close, that they would enjoy the treasures of Christ, that the Lord would protect them and provide employment.

You know, the gift of prayer is something a lot of folks seldom or ever get. I'm talking about the prayer of a child of God, the prayer of one who can walk into the throne room by the mercies of Christ and ask the Father for a personal favor, naming names. More often than not, when I intercede in these witnessing situations, the prayer brings tears to the eyes of the intercedee.

Then there was the little Cambodian man who came around the side of the house, struggled with the language, and had prospect written all over him. I figured that somewhere in the Orlando area, there was a Cambodian congregation, or one would soon appear.

Sure there were the brusque "We're Catholics," and, of course, there was a "We're not interested" or two, but on the whole, we were taken seriously and even gratefully. Six or seven let us present a short form of the gospel. Even a New Age lady who believed in reincarnation. It's amazing how many folks think salvation is a works operation. Many said they thought they had a shot at heaven, and identified their basic decency as the source of hope. We told them the way of grace because they didn't have a clue.

Once we got into it, we felt like ambassadors of mercy and peace. It was invigorating, sort of like a swim in cold water. You know how it is when you come to chilly water. You do this little toe dance, a sample here, a tentative splash there, a retreat or two. When you do finally take the plunge, you're glad you did, at least a minute or so into the experience. You feel more alive than you have in awhile. But, man, was it hard to make the leap.

I think this is the main reason that "confrontational" evangelism has fallen on hard times. We much prefer to temporize, citing the sensitivities of the lost. Fact of the matter is, most of us are evangelistic wusses. We hope that if we have a certain glow, then after a year or so, a colleague will ask us what makes the difference, and then we'll invite them to church or give them a tract. No wonder so few folks are coming to know the Lord.

You can fault the technique until you're blue in the face, but would anyone have found the British lady, the Cambodian man, or that West Virginia couple in need and receptivity if we hadn't been out there that night? Sure it's a little awkward, but I bet those folks are glad we didn't wait around for something smoother.

So I thank the Crossover folks for standing up for awkward evangelism and for jumps into the bracing pool. To those swathed in towels I say, "Come on in. The water's fine." [BP]