Christian Living

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I’ve always found the topic of evangelism somewhat of a puzzlement. Yes, Christ calls
us to evangelize. His Great Commission tells us to preach the gospel:

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature:
Mark 16:15

But, what does that mean, exactly? I know that we are to let our light shine. Christ
spoke about that in the Sermon on the Mount:

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot he hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it
giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Matthew 5:15

When I look at all the things that are done in the guise of evangelism, I realize how
dangerous the whole practice can be. I’ve heard TV evangelists say that Hurricane
Katrina was an act of God as a punishment for a Gay Pride parade that was scheduled to
be held in New Orleans. Is that what evangelism is all about? I surely hope not.

What is our responsibility in evangelizing? Many years ago in my confusion, I asked
my Pastor if he would devote one of our adult bible study classes to the topic. When he
broached the subject to our class and asked how we thought we should evangelize in our
lives, a friend of mine was the first to speak. He said that he didn’t like talking
about religion with non-believers. He just tried to live a good life, believing that the
way that he lived would draw people to God. Certainly, people measure our words by
our actions, and we all pray that others might see Christ in us, but there must be more to
evangelism than that. I commented that I had friends who lived exemplary lives who were
Atheists. I certainly wouldn’t consider converting to Atheism because of the good that I
saw in them.

Everyone has had the experience of trying to discuss religion with non-believers, only
to end up frustrated and hurt. Worse yet, it seemed that the non-believer was even
further from Christ after the conversation. Not speaking about Jesus doesn’t seem to be a
viable response to that experience. Not speak about Jesus?

If I cannot speak for Jesus, I’d rather die… Oh, help me, Lord
If I cannot speak for Jesus, I’d rather die … Oh, Lord
If I can’t stand with a folded arm
Tell you how God bore his cross alone
If I cannot speak for Jesus, I’d rather die
“Speak For Jesus” as recorded by the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi

Part of the problem, I believe, is that we are not saviors. There is only one Savior. It is
not within our power to “convert” anyone, either. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit.

After the bible study class, I felt that I had more questions than I did before we went in.
When I expressed my uncertainty to my Pastor about how we are to evangelize, he gave
me the wisest advice of all:

Don’t go looking for evangelism; evangelism will find you.

And he was right. Evangelism finds us in the most unlikely places. It can be the sharing of
just a few words. If they are put on our heart by the Holy Spirit, He can use us to help
others come to Christ. “Therefore, be ye always ready, Matthew 24:44” is sound advice,
too. You never know when God will place someone in your path that will be receptive to
His Word.

Evangelism is serious business. It takes constant prayer, and study of the scripture.
We are all called upon to evangelize, whether we are Ministers, or ministers. We need to
pray that the Lord put the words in our mouth, that we may speak with His wisdom, not
our own.

So, how do we evangelize? That depends upon how the Lord uses us. We all have
different gifts. Some may evangelize by their actions, doing to “the least of” others what
they would do for Christ. Some have the gift of speech and may be called to the ministry.
For some, writing or music may be a talent to be used for evangelism. Others may be
moved to reach out through phone calls, cards or even e-mails. Call it e-vangelism.
Sometimes, just a hand resting gently on the shoulder of someone who is distressed can
be an act of evangelism.

On this particular morning, a casual conversation I had with a total stranger naturally
led to talking about Jesus.

Dump Trucks, Hoboes and Jesus

. He was standing there at the fence, with his hands on the upper rail, bracing his body,
with one foot up on the lower rail. He was engrossed in the activity before him, and
didn’t notice me as I approached. There was a steady stream of large dump trucks
that were hauling loads of fill up the slope of the hill, and a bulldozer that was grading
the area.

After almost a week of rain, everyone was out enjoying the first signs of spring. The
magnolias and cherry trees were in full blossom and a pair of Baltimore Orioles were
busy building their nest in a small grove of trees near the walkway. A couple of boats
were anchored in the river, and the men were leisurely casting their lines into the water. It
didn’t look like they were in any hurry to get a bite. The only sound you heard was the
rumbling of the trucks disturbing an otherwise peaceful morning.

As I approached him, he turned to leave his watch, and I called out to him, “Good
morning! They’ve got a mighty big job, there.” He answered my greeting and
said, “What are they trying to do, fill the whole area?” “Naw, they’re building up the
slope so that they can widen Main Street to add a third lane,” I said. And the
conversation was rolling. He resumed his spot at the fence, and I joined him. We stood
there for awhile, talking about the plans for rebuilding downtown Derby. The man asked
if I’d lived in Derby all of my life, and I told him, “No, we moved up here six years ago.”
“I grew up here,” he said. “I remember when this whole area was still wild, and there
was a hobo camp down on Sullivan’s Island. My Mother used to warn me about going
down there, but the guys were all friendly, and they were always happy to take the time
to sit and tell me stories. They used to have gardens down there, and they sold their
vegetables alongside the highway.”

“I’ve noticed that it is often the people who have the least who are most willing to
share,” I said. “In the hobo camps, everyone had a colorful nickname. They called Jesus
Jerusalem Slim. I guess they figured that Jesus would feel right at home in a hobo camp,
because he spent a lot of time on the road. I’m a musician, and I wrote a song about
Jesus,” I said; and I recited a few lines of the song to him.

You could find him by the campfires late at night
Or wading in the water in the morning light
He always took the time to lend a hand
He was kinda slow moving for a traveling man

No sooner did he come, and he’d be gone
And he never had a home to call his own
So if you get in trouble, you can call on him
‘Cause you never had a friend like Jerusalem Slim

Jerusalem Slim by Jerry Rasmussen, copyright 1992

And as we stood there in the early morning sunlight, I found myself talking about dump
trucks, hoboes and Jesus.

Evangelism had found me.

by Jerry Rasmussen

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