I have been trained in multiple evangelism techniques over the years, and although I am not a gifted evangelist, I try. It has become clear to me over the years that my work and gifts function better in the second wave than in the first. I am most effective when I follow evangelists and teach the new, the young, and the immature what the bible says and how to interpret it correctly. My goal is to teach them how to read it through the eyes of the author and the original audience and then apply that truth today.

Evangelism always seemed to be about convincing people to believe. However, there are times in the bible when it seems that Jesus was not really trying to convince people as much as to offer them the truth and ask them to follow. To illustrate what I am saying, let’s look at a couple of typical instances of Jesus interacting with would-be followers.

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him,

To Follow or Walk

In both of these stories, the similarities jump out at me more than their differences. In both cases, they had lives, jobs, and possessions. Yet, Peter and Andrew walked away from their possessions(and family), and the second young man walked away from Jesus, even though this unnamed young man was actually given better promises than Peter and Andrew.

Let’s think about this from the standpoint of Jesus first. In both cases, Jesus did not try to coerce them. He simply invited them. It seems Jesus did this a lot. Some followed him, and some did not. However, Jesus did not shape his message or his ministry based on the results of any one individual. He obeyed his Father, spoke the truth, and walked on. People either followed or walked away.

As a teacher and a missionary, I find this challenging. So many forces are constantly trying to push you in one direction or another. You have literal crying needs constantly tearing at your heart. You have people back home expecting specific “results” pulling in another direction. Then, you have your own insecurities as a human being pulling at you in yet another direction. Your ego wants its own results. Finally, you have your most basic human desires, wanting nothing more than to sit on the porch with an iced tea and play with your grandkids. In the middle of all this noise, you have Jesus, through his Holy Spirit, asking you to simply follow him.

The question is, will I follow or walk away? We all make this decision many times a day as we walk along. It’s challenging to follow Jesus, but when we walk with Jesus, we never walk alone. What’s more, as we walk with him, we learn that most of our fears are baseless. Jesus miraculously supplies the strength we fear that we lack.

So, what makes a person cling to their possessions while another walks away? Only the one being asked to follow can really answer that question. Are rich people really more attached to their possessions than poor people? I’ve never been rich, so I don’t know, but I have been poor, and I don’t remember any urge to dump what little I had.

So what is it — really— that holds us back? Is it the urge to control our own lives? That feels most likely, if I’m honest. Is it that I don’t actually trust God? Am I struggling to believe God loves me and wants what’s best for me? Or do I believe that if I need it, I will have to get it myself? That “grab it if you want it” attitude didn’t work out too well for Adam and Eve. Life, at its core, really is basic. The choice is the same as it has always been ever since Eden. Trust in God’s love or walk away and try to grab it for ourselves.

The Body of Christ and Following

My first point was personal and individual. My second point is more about our collective ministry as the body of Christ. As the body of Christ, we are the physical manifestation of Jesus on the earth today.

What is our message and our method? Is it the method of Jesus? It should be if we are his body. Do we demonstrate the truth and invite people to join us? Or do we threaten and coerce with fear and reward? Do we look for ways to demonstrate the love of God, or do we look for ways to demonstrate our political power? Do we point to Jesus as the answer, or do we point to the government as the answer? God’s power or human desire and effort? Put in these extreme terms, these questions may not even seem fair. But is this extreme, or is it fairly accurate? I think about this a lot. We should all think carefully about how we handle the gifts and opportunities that God has given us.

The history of the Church is and has been deeply colored with human error. Today is no different. However, throughout history, there have always been those who simply follow Jesus, loving each other and showing the love of God to a world that does not know what love truly is and inviting others to follow along the way of Jesus.

The Body of Christ has succumbed to the temptation of using compulsion and coercion many times in the past, using slick marketing, fear, threats, or even co-opting political power to get people to comply. Sometimes well intended and sometimes not, but all of those times are black eyes for the Body of Christ as we look back. We must follow, and as the current Body of Christ, we must demonstrate the reality of the Kingdom of God and simply invite people to join us, just as Jesus did. Some will follow, and some will not, and we need to be OK with that. We must learn to trust God with the outcome of the truth and our love.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. To follow him is to follow in his ways. This week, we will not change the world, but we can change our world and the lives of those in our world by following Jesus when he calls. Then, as we follow, we can invite those we meet to follow along with us.

Join me this week as we prepare our hearts to drop what we are doing when Jesus calls and simply follow.

Have a great week!