Evangelism Conference - Lesson #1
"you have to do away with prejudice.
Everyone should be welcome into the kingdom of God."
Prejudice! I'm not prejudice! Actually...I am. We all are. How many times do you catch yourself judging someone simply because they're not like you? I'm not talking about extreme examples such as racism. It could be as simple as looking down on someone because they wear jeans & a t-shirt, instead of a suit & tie. Be careful. Prejudice is very sneaky. We have to constantly be aware of it & head it off before it takes root in our minds & hearts. For those of you that know me, I've always been a bit strange. Isn't that a prerequisite for being a musician? Even as odd as I am, I still find myself judging those stranger than me. IT HAS TO STOP! I am so thankful that, through "The Well", I have made new friends that I can honestly say, I love being around. Never forget that God is healing all of us from something.
Another stiff statement from Dr. Fish was this. As evangelizing Christians (which we should all be):
"We want the good guys to come to Christ...not the Lee Harvey Oswalds of this world."
What can be said about that? It's incredibly convicting to me. I'll let you process it on your own. No need to flesh out the obvious.
Lastly, Dr. Fish basically made the cry that we have to strive to be students of our culture. "Cultural relevance is a fact in building God's great church". I don't think this means that you have to change who God made you to be. For that matter, I don't think that's what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians. We just have to allow God to help us relate to those that may not be where you are in your journey, but nonetheless, we are all on the same journey. Being prejudice towards someone is absolutely not going to bring them to the cross. Sitting with them & listening (even though you don't have a clue about what they're going through), could very well move them one step closer.
Labels: evangelism conference, prejudice, The Well
3 Comments:
Good stuff, all of it! I am partial to that particular scripture in Corinthians, makes me think of really getting in the trenches to share the gospel, which I should do WAY MORE.
Thinking about that Lee Harvey Oswald comment.
Convicting, but, hmmmmm, well...yeah, hmmmmmmmm....
I was so surprised when God gave YOU (of all people!) the vision for the recovery ministry, because you have the most squeaky-clean past and the purest heart of anyone I've ever known! IT HAD TO BE A GOD-THING! But I knew your heart was right for the job when we started having our planning meetings, because another church leader always referred to the potential members as "them," but you always said "us." That was very humble and hugely important to The Well's success, I believe.
Hey, I bet the reason that particular speaker had so much wisdom to give you was because he was so OLD. It's very important to hang around old people, especially people 58 and over. :)
My prejudice has always been toward those who do seem to have it all together. I always felt that they had no right to judge people the way that they do so openly. Yet I was doing the same in thinking the way I did about them. I still struggle with that one. I actually let some of our very own youth get to me.
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