Evangelism is a Duty

A final perspective on the duty to share your belief from my good friend Alfred Louis Cedeno. If you haven't read these start here and then read this before continuing.  I just watched a video sent to me of John Cena—the WWE wrestler known for hustle, loyalty, and respect—announcing that Osama Bin Laden was killed. The professional wrestling crowd unsurprisingly chanted “USA, USA,” and he said that he was damn proud to be an American.

As someone who has tried to understand professional wrestling from students and coworkers this past year, Cena’s popularity initially stumped me. He seemed boring and straight-laced for the theater of professional wrestling. Perhaps it lies in the simplicity and consistency of Cena’s mantra:

Hustle/Loyalty/Respect

On a mission’s trip, I spoke with two struggling alcoholic men who had lost faith. We prayed I spoke truth to them more passionately than I would to any acquaintance. We engaged in a dialogue of men of similar faiths. I was broken before them and they were with me. We cried and prayed in a park in Pittsburg. I don’t do this normally, but I was on a trip. I was elsewhere, and I had agreed to being a knight on an errand for Christ. I was being dutiful. I gutted a church (literally), and shared the gospel. I have never felt (to borrow a phrase from the previous post by Kevin) that HE IS GREAT so much until after becoming dutiful (very reluctantly because I was laid off and recently diagnosed with depression).

Hustle, Loyalty, Respect

Obedience and duty are too old-fashion to have sex appeal. They are too steady for the ironic quips of the blogosphere. They smack of nationalism and worse, but maybe, once we find someone worth following, once we know “he is great” as Kevin remarked, then as in marriage we can mature into the next stage, the stage that is filled with duty. It sounds unromantic. I love my wife because it is my duty. I am faithful not because I always think she is great but because I am dutiful. I go to work because it is my duty. I try to live with

Hustle, Loyalty, Respect

Except when it comes to sharing my faith. I don’t really try anymore. I kind of want to give the reasons that I don’t follow my duty as a person of faith, but they don’t matter. I am called to share. Lane is right that the gospel may not be wanted, may sound like a scam, may be insulting, or excessive or any other number of things. But I am called to do it. I don’t have to do it in the ways that make me cringe, but surely I can share the freedom of Christ, surely I must share his peace.

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Lane Severson
  • #Alfred Louis Cedeno
  • #Doubt
  • #Evangelism
  • #gospel
  • #Hustle
  • #Jayber Crow
  • #John Cena
  • #Loyalty
  • #Respect
  • #Wendell Berry

I don't want to hear about it: 3 reasons why sharing your beliefs is the worst

In Christianity we are supposed to spread the faith. Jesus asked his disciples to be "fishers of men". The typical "we need to evangelize" sermon you will hear at church goes something like this: God has given us a great gift in Jesus Christ. This gift is life changing and gets you into heaven. To generalize, if you believe X is either essential to living life or essential to avoiding harm why would you not share X with everyone? I can think of a couple of reasons.

1. Some people don't want X. I'm not just talking about Jesus. But that fits. I don't want to hear about Jehovah from a Jehovah's witness. But I also don't want to hear about Kirby vacuums, or Trugreen lawn services, or weekend only delivery of the local newspaper. If I need a vacuum or lawn service or a newspaper I know where to find it. I've never been more interested in any of the above after talking to their representatives.

2. X sounds like a scam. I can see why someone wants to become a Christian and join a church about as much as I want to get involved in Amway. Sure its amazing and it changed your life. But you are weird and obsessed with stupid things that I don't care about. And I like my job. I don't want to earn a living going to all my friends and getting them to buy things from me.

3. Lastly, an offer of X is insulting. If you tell me about a better way to parent I'm going to thank you, maybe look into it, probably I won't. And that's where it will end with most people. But if you keep badgering my about your cure-all book or DVD collection I'm going to get the impression that you really think I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm also going to stop talking with you.

Maybe the main reason I don't like to share my faith with others is that I feel like what is actually getting shared is not the message of the gospel but the faith of the presenter. I am not going to claim a lack of faith. But I spend most of my time mulling through questions about my faith. So when I talk to other people about God or Jesus what comes out is not a strong dogmatic declaration. It is a winding, pedantic, quagmire. In the end I share more of my doubts than my faith.

I'm a believer desperately. I don't have all my answers lined up. I believe because I want to and I'm willing to let the loose ends be loose ends. I believe because if there is no redemption then I think we are all screwed. I believe because I think Jesus actually did die and rise again. That seems compelling to me. But I also totally understand why people don't want to hear about it. To be honest, I don't want to hear someone else talk about it either.

Lane Severson is a recovering child-prodigy, father, and Anglican. Follow Lane on Twitter @ljseverson

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Lane Severson