When Leadership Becomes Evangelism
by Church Consultant, Dr. Barry Winders
It is true that people parrot what they’ve heard. This is a small gift for the big sacrifice one makes and points in the right direction. However, people will not only parrot what they hear but what they see a leader do.
In this polarized society where we live, it is easy to engage and hang out with only people who we think agree with us. More than that, this leads to blame and denial and complete lack of persuasion of new ideas and building friendships. Building new friendships with people who have diverse opinions and views is when leadership becomes evangelism.
The early church in the book of Acts moved from its home base of Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the other parts of the world. This concept of simple evangelism moves us to build new friendships and make decisions that are beneficial to all concerned. How is this
done?
My ministry career of 50 years was intentionally spent building bridges that led to better friendships and to hundreds of new converts solely because they were engaged right where they were and worlds apart from me. It was not necessary to know their political persuasion, their core values or their practices. It was only important for me to intentionally engage them, notice them, and appreciate them right where they were. Jesus said in Acts 1:8: “You shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the other parts of the world.”
Leadership becomes evangelism when we notice where people live.
I don’t mean a zip code or geographic location. More importantly, we should notice where they are living life and how they are living it. For example, I once became a friend to a struggling alcoholic. In an effort to see his world and where he was living, I attended an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting with him in a neighboring town from where we lived. At the meeting, as the other attendees did and as was expected, I stood up, gave my name, and said I was an alcoholic even though I don’t drink. This self identification deepened our relationship as friends which later led, over time, to serious discussions about Jesus. This man was later baptized and joined our church. To do all this was not easy. It took courage for me and management of my emotions, but nevertheless, with God’s help, leadership became evangelism. Not in one moment. Not in one week. But at the right time, a soul was saved.
Leadership becomes evangelism when we listen to others.
Listening is something that is missing in our society today. The problem of extreme talking points in a polarized society leads only to shouting matches and neither side can hear what the other is really saying. To be honest, both sides have more in common than they realize. In many instances, extreme views hide a person’s insecurity and fail to cultivate critical thinking skills. Let’s be honest here. We share this planet. We share this life. Not alone…
As John Maxwell once said, “The people who are closest to us determine the level of our success.” We need people in our circles to share our faith with so we are not always “preaching to the choir”.
From The Mission Filter
Westbow Press, 2021
Available on paperback on Amazon
