Unashamed- the London Women's Convention

Yesterday I went to the London Women's Convention at ExCel in the Docklands. The theme of the day was 'Unashamed'- how we, as Christians, can overcome our fear of sharing the gospel with others.

Di Warren spoke very engagingly on why we can sometimes feel ashamed of the gospel. Showing the famous X-Factor clip of Susan Boyle, she drew the lesson that looks can be deceiving! The gospel looks powerless to the world. It looks irrelevant- God seems a million miles away. It looks weird- Jesus is not the modern idea of a hero. It's offensive- the gospel tells us we are wrong. It doesn't make people feel good about themselves. And the gospel is intolerant- it says boldly that only Jesus can make us right with God.

However, Di then encouraged us wonderfully that the gospel is dynamite! (This is the Greek word for 'power' used in Romans 1:16 when Paul describes the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes). The gospel, simply put, is that Jesus died for you so that God would not be ashamed of you. It's not irrelevant- it shows us God's purpose throughout history- to redeem men and women- and it opens our eyes to the perspective of eternity. It's not weird- Jesus is a shameful hero because He takes OUR shame upon Himself. It's not offensive, it gives a message of hope. It's not intolerant, because there is no discrimination: the gospel is relevant for everyone.

As Christians, we are like the manager of Susan Boyle: we need to create opportunities for the gospel to sing! We mustn't lose our nerve, thinking that our friend is a 'lost cause' or that the message needs to be made more palatable. The problem is not with the message, but with people's hearts.

Di reminded us that the gospel will be rejected. WE will be rejected. This makes evangelism the hardest task in the world. And yet the gospel will be ACCEPTED, too. Not who we choose, not in our timing, but God is at work all around us.

The third session at the conference showed inspiring testimonies from women who had taken the initiative to start up a discussion group with their friends, and seen them come to Christ. Then finally, Rico Tice addressed us with Colossians 4 and told us to devote ourselves to prayer, serve others, and cross the 'pain line'- in other words, get out there and do it! He challenged us to carry around a short passage (eg. Psalm 103) and ask people 'Would you like to look at the Bible with me?'

The conference was very well run with long breaks to chat and look at the bookstore. I was particularly chuffed with buying 'A Taste for Life'- an evangelistic recipe book with gorgeous pictures and very well presented- for a dear friend of mine. They were selling like hotcakes!

If there's one thing that I felt the day missed, it was an emphasis upon community. I don't think the New Testament gives us any warrant for church being a once/twice-a-week meeting, and then we all disperse and live out our lives individually or as families doing our evangelism separately. The picture of the early church is one of community (Acts 4:32). We don't have to live in a commune, but there is a sense of the church being local. Christians who live in the same area, coming together regularly- not just for a formal Sunday service, but in and out of each other's lives. In 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Paul writes:

'We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.'

If we as Christians live as a community, transformed by the Holy Spirit, then our 'evangelism' simply becomes introducing outsiders into that community. It is less about setting up a formal course (which is quite middle-class), and more about integrating the different spheres of our life: work, church, family etc. Evangelism wasn't really meant to be a solo pursuit- Jesus sent out His disciples in pairs in Luke 10, and that was for a special mission. Most of the time Jesus and His followers lived in community, eating together with outsiders (often the outcasts of their society like the tax collectors and prostitutes), and those outsiders were drawn in because they saw Jesus, they heard the gospel, and they saw it lived out in all its power and attraction.

There is nothing more attractive to people today than the idea of a community where they can be accepted whoever they are. Why do you think people are drawn to the local pub? Or the golf club? Or the boules network? Yes, they may enjoy drinking, golfing, etc, but it offers them community. It is unfortunate that church today makes many outsiders think of judgmental people, cold people, unwelcoming people, rather than a warm community infused with the love of Jesus.

So what can we do? Well, there's one simple suggestion that isn't a very popular one:
Move to live in the surrounding area of your church!
So many people 'commute' to church, which is incredibly destructive to the outreach of that church into the local community. If the Christians are not naturally a part of that local community, why should the people pay any attention to leaflets or posters or even those who come door-to-door? Having recently moved into the estate of our local church, my husband and I can testify of the incredible difference it has made to live in the community which, as a church, we are trying to reach. People know us. People trust us. We are able to show that we care for people on a daily basis, and we are able to live out our Christian lives in front of them.

It involves sacrifice. It involves being ready to have an open door and for people to see you when you're not on top form. But it involves the amazing privilege of sharing the gospel with people- through words and actions as well.

I'm not promoting a social gospel- that we should just love people and not bother with speaking the gospel to them- because Romans 10 makes it clear that people aren't saved by simply seeing actions. They need to hear the gospel and understand it! But as James argues, if we do not accompany our gospel-sharing with gospel-living, then our witness is often weakened if not totally ineffective. You could be a very sincere Christian in all aspects of your life, but if Mrs X never sees you in any other context than when you are witnessing to her door-to-door, she has no reason to believe in what you tell her.

I want to recommend Joshua Harris' 'Stop Dating the Church'. In it, he points out that we are so often willing to move house for a new job, or for a new school for our children. Why are we not willing to move for our church, which is so much more important in terms of eternity???