My friend just e-mailed me to say, "I was listening to the radio and heard that 80 to 90% of the people who share the word of Christ have been a Christian for less than 2 years. Where are the people who have believed longer?"
I have trouble fact-checking this statistic [if you can, please leave a comment] but I know the general observation is true.
Why? Why are the long-term-churched people holding back from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ? What is it about new believers that makes them so willing to share? As sad as I am that old timers are holding back, I am unbelievably excited that younger believers are sharing at such a high rate. What great news!
Here are three things young believers feel that go missing in the old timers:
1. Newness
If you recently began a relationship with Jesus then everything feels new and exciting. It's like the honeymoon phase of a romantic relationship. You love every minute of being with that person and you want to shout it from the mountaintops. Old timers get desensitized. They can finish the end of the verse before the liturgist shares it. The message feels obvious so why share it?
BUT here's the thing the old timers are missing: God's grace is infinite. We can never reach the end of new, fresh discoveries about God's character and His plan. If we're not experiencing newness in our faith it's because we stopped reaching for new experiences, new faithfulness, seeking God's presence around the bend. In other words, we settled.
Let's emulate these new believers and discover truths for the very first time. Let's be shaped by awe. Let's be faithful stewards of God's great mysteries.
2. Expectation
Someone who has been a believer less than 2 years might think, "A Christian shared the truth with me; that must be what Christians do. Since someone shared with me and it changed my life, I should share with others."
At what point does a churched person begin to believe the lie that evangelism is only for the special few? Old timers begin to think that only the pastor can pray, or the spiritually charged extroverts, or the Bible scholars with all the right answers.
Every believer has a story worth sharing. Get out there and be willing to give the reason for the hope that you have in Christ Jesus.
3. Diversity
If someone has been a believer for less than 2 years then chances are high they have a lot of non-Christian friends. When a person finds something life-changing, they want to share it with those who mean the most to them: friends, family, coworkers, and anyone else you want to encourage.
Many of us old-timers have fallen into the holy huddle. We get into our Christian cars and turn on the Christian radio to go have Christian picnics with Christian friends. Maybe, just maybe, we should extend our social circle. Because the world has a lot of interesting people and it's honestly more satisfying to be open and friendly with everyone.
Are you an "old-timer" who can't remember the last time you shared the message of Jesus with someone new? It's okay, be encouraged, and join the 80-90% my friend mentioned who are sharing the word of Christ.
How do you square that last part with 2 Cor. 6:14? It seems like widening your social circle seems to go against that injunction.
ReplyDeleteHi Josh! Great question. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that passage -- you feel like Paul is encouraging the 'holy huddle’? ((I’ve always been fascinated by 2 Cor. 2:16, which is a similar verse/idea))
ReplyDeleteI think Paul is encouraging to be in the world but not of the world. I say that for a few reasons:
First, because of where 2 Cor. 6:14 falls in the letter. At the start of chapter 6, Paul is talking about the consequences he endured by staying faithful to his message. At the start of chapter 7, he shares how he didn't take advantage of anyone or compromise his morals. Verse 14, then, is in the middle of a section that I think is about avoiding moral compromise, not about establishing new friends.
Second is the phrase “do not be unequally yoked.” Man, there are some people out there who love to throw that phrase around! A lot of times I’ll hear it quoted when people are talking about a Christian marrying a non-Christian. The word in Greek there for ‘unequally yoked’ is eterozugountes, which was a military term. It meant to leave the ranks of your army and go join another. In other words, to change loyalties. So again, I think Paul is cautioning to avoid compromise — be careful how far your heart is getting pulled in a new direction.
Third is Paul’s strategy and teachings as a whole. Throughout his letters, he talks about sharing your life and message with others. Paul served as a missionary and his entire Christian life was spent with non-Christians.
Anyway, what do you think? Are these thoughts fair or not so much? Also, Brent mentioned a long time ago that you moved, yeah? Was it to California? I used to live there (Mission Viejo in Orange County). You enjoying it?