This morning on the subway, I'm patiently sitting out the usual RT 'sit and wait' routine on my way in, and suddenly the guy beside me just starts talking to me. He's probably my age, normal dude. Understand that this is a patently uncommon occurance when it comes to the usual subway routine.
There's no way to describe it other than that I was 'evangelized'. His lead was to politely say, 'excuse me, but I was wondering if I could suggest that, if you're ever going to read one book in your life, that it should be the Bible.' He told me that he would recommend the Bible because of the fact that it would give me a reason for living. He suggested that, at the end of the day, living a life in pursuit of possesions, money, and personal gain was bound to leave me feeling empty, and that the Bible gave me a greater purpose. That purpose, he suggested, was two-fold. One was to love God, which, he admitted, wasn't something he fully understood. The other was to love others, which, he figured, was profound, and worthy of living for.
He was a totally normal guy. He seemed pretty genuine, and I didn't really dislike anything about him (he wasn't a greaser or anything...) He said he first started to learn about God a few years ago, but had grown up thinking it was all a joke. I didn't tell him anything about myself, and I tried to ask him questions that would give him an opportunity to explain himself and say what he wanted to say. It all took about 10 minutes... right up until we got on different buses.. him to school (I think) and me to work.
So, it's an experience that raises all kinds of thoughts and questions for me. I suppose I respect the guy for taking a shot. You know, he was nervous, and he was probably phsyching himself up for a few minutes before he actually rounded on me and started talking. Good for him for deciding to approach me about something that he clearly felt strongly about.
At the same time, some things really don't agree with me about the whole scenario. Firstly, there's something about the way a guy like this inherently assumes that I'm a certain type of person, with a certain background, and that I'm specifically in need of something only he can provide. He didn't ask me any questions. He didn't want to know anything about who I was, what I thought, or what I had experienced. There was nothing conversational about the 'conversation' in the sense that... he didn't come in with any desire to learn or grow. Only to tell. I guess that isn't necessarily iherently bad.. he wasn't brow-beating me or anything. He basically just wanted to say, 'This book is really important to me, and I want to share that with you..'
But it feels odd to have somebody come into your scenario like that without any precursor. In my mind, it was clearly a case of me humoring him. I wasn't thinking.. 'I need this right now.. he's got something that I don't..' And how could I be? I don't know anything about him. What do I know about what he's got? Why would I have any insentive to dive into any sort of existential discussion with this guy without knowing the first thing about who he is as a person? In the end, it felt more or less like it was about allowing him to do his thing. He was the point of focus, and the purpose for my lending an ear.
So it makes me wonder where the general public stands with stuff like this. They see it all the time, right? I mean, it isn't like it's particularly surprising when somebody knocks on your door wearing a suit or carrying a pamphlet. How do you respond? Go ahead and comment.. share your thoughts!
I've learned that I tend to respond like I did this morning, with a sense of wanting to let this guy have his say, and do his thing. Because clearly it's important to him, and I can respect that. But I don't particuarly come in hungry for knowledge. I equate it, in my mind, with shopping at Future Shop or some other similar place. I don't go in there and just stand around until somebody comes up and tells me what I should be buying. I go in knowing what I'm looking for. If I want info, I find somebody I feel like I can trust, and I ask specific questions. The point being that I'm the one who does the work of gathering the info, evaluating everything, and then making a call. If anything, the first sign of a salesman stepping in my direction to make an unrequested pitch results in my hasty exit. It's almost a bit insulting... sortof makes me think... "what, so you assume that I don't think about this stuff? You think that I'm just floundering around waiting for you to come along with your silver bullet? I'm thinking about it dude.. fear not! I, too, consider the mysteries of the cosmos on a regular basis!" There's something about the fact that this person knows nothing about me, and still feels like he's in a position to step into my life in this way, that seems off.
And of course, all of this is made that much more interesting by the fact that I am who I am, and my background is what it is. So, really, this stuff is sortof 'par for the course' for me. I've seen this drill... heck.. they taught me to do this in youth group! I can half imagine this guy coming off a sermon on Sunday where Evangelism was the topic, and this is his way of trying to live out what he learned. I wonder what goes through the minds of people who are less accustomed to this type of talk when he gets to them? I wonder what the guy sitting across from me was thinking on the subway this morning (he was watching this whole conversation with fairly keen interest.)
So, this is up for discussion. Where do we stand on this stuff? My relationship with God is something that is so pivotal in my life.. and I'd love to see others share that sense of purpose, and benefit from that relationship... but at the same time, this morning wasn't particularly positive for me. How does this all fit together?
JB
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4 comments:
Compelling thoughts Jon. I think I feel similar to you about that situation and situations like it. I gotta give the guy props for stepping up, but at the same time I feel that his/her courage may be motivated by eternal gain and this could be an absolutely rediculous though, but maybe not. We are called to love our nieghbours, but for myself personally, I find it difficult to say I "love" someone whom I have no connection to. Who knows, maybe the guy likes to start his relationships by letting people know what's most important to him, and there wasn't a selfish or prejudice thought in his head.
Regardless, good post.
I would agree with Jake and say that it's hard to know what his intentions were from the recieving end of the conversation. Had this guy been really praying hard about this stuff? Had God lead him to you. Did he really feel like you were the guy he was supposed to talk to? Does he do this stuff all the time?
I mean it's tough to know any of that. But i give him credit for stepping up to the plate.
As for "is this the best way to reach people" debate. I doubt it...getting to know a person and them getting to know you first is probably better. But that was never going to happen between you and this guy....so as for him reaching YOU with his message...his way was probably all he could do right?
-chuck out
It's Dave not Mel!!!
A few very quick thoughts:
1) We need to define "sharing The Gospel" from a Biblical perspective. Is the gospel the sharing the four spiritual laws, the Bible, or something else. Then sharing the gospel will take on the form of how Jesus laid it out. For me, it is much more than walking someone through four simple steps. God's word needs to take root.
2) Jesus looked at the city and had compassion - did he have any sort of relationship with the people he saw? probably not, yet he had compassion.
3) we've done some door to door stuff in our training, which has been a huge growth curve. The most important lesson for me has been being intentional about sharing my faith.
4)Jesus had the whole package...he was point blank like your subway friend, he was relational, he was miraculous, he would deliver people from evil spirits. I think when you have the whole package it gives you authority to shoot point blank.
5) I also think that the church and we as church goers need to rediscover the authority of Christ. This has been lost in many ways today.
That's some thoughts I have on this topic
Dave
Has anyone pondered that if Jon had not been a "believer" but a regular person or lets just say an atheist, would the subway evangelist have planted a "good seed" or would he have damaged this person perception of who God is, and who his followers are? Is Evangelism always beneficial?
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