Out of the Saltshaker Lesson 1

OUT OF THE SALTSHAKER and into the world

Adapted from the book by Rebecca Manley Pippert

Lesson 1

“Jesus came to them (us) and said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Christians and non-Christians have something in common: we’re both uptight about evangelism. Our fear as Christians seems to be How many people did I offend this week? We think that we must be a little obnoxious in order to be good evangelists. A tension builds inside: Should I be sensitive to people and forget about evangelism, or should I blast them with the Gospel and forget about their dignity as human beings? Many Christians choose to be aware of the person but then feel defensive and guilty for not evangelizing.

“ I knew Christians were called on to do hard things. I thought evangelism had to be spiritual. The result was that I put off witnessing as long as possible, then I would overpower the nearest unsuspecting skeptic with a nonstop running monologue and then dash away thinking I had taken care of my duty.”

Paradoxically, I also knew that unless I really cared for my friends, they would never really be interested in the gospel. I was deeply moved by the way Jesus demonstrated compassion to the people He met. I wanted to do the same, although it didn’t occur to me that this had much to do with evangelism. So I tried to reach out and care for the people God had placed around me. But I felt guilty for not giving a gospel outline to every nonbeliever I met.

Our problem with evangelism is not that we don’t have enough information—it is that we don’t know how to be ourselves. We overlook the fact that God has already been at work in the hearts of people He directs into our lives, long before we find the right time and place to share our faith. We forget we are called to be witnesses to what we have seen and know, not to what we don’t know. The key on our part is authenticity and obedience, not a doctorate in theology. We haven’t grasped that it is really OK for us to be who we are when we are all seekers, even if we don’t have all the answers to their questions or if our knowledge of Scripture is limited.

Somehow we find it easier to talk about religion than about God. We try to separate conversations about life from conversations about God. The people we rub elbows with want to hear about our lives, just like they want to share about theirs. If God is part of who you are, then you will naturally share that relationship also, without having some super ‘Gospel’ presentation. We need to learn from experience what scripture teaches in 1 Thessalonians 2:8: to share the gospel we must share our life, our very selves.

OUT OF THE SALTSHAKER

Food for Thought

Describe the tension some people feel between the desire to be sensitive to people and the desire to blast them with the gospel.

How would you recognize someone who is spiritually ‘open’?

The author says our uneasiness often does not stem from not knowing the gospel message well but from not knowing how to be ourselves. Can you give an example of what she means?

What sorts of things have you shared easily with another person (skills, books, hobbies, information) and how have you done this? What can you learn from this in doing evangelism?

What are some ways we can turn evangelism from a project into a lifestyle?

Make a list of three non-Christian friends you expect to be with this coming week. How can you be more free with them?