I hate that word, the way it’s used most times. Consider this example (I just did a google search for the word ‘evangelism’). Not anything like the way of Jesus, according to the Gospel writers anway.
I like the way Paul Munn helps us understand a crucial and happy part of Jesus’ life in the kingdom: the invitation to follow. Paul takes a problem-saturated word like evangelism (i.e., “there’s a gap between you and God”) and, by contrast, points all of us, nonbeliever and believer alike, into Jesus’ radical dependency and trust on God. And he never actually uses the above abused word to describe the invitation, but shows us an alternative way:
From this we can see how others can be drawn in to Jesus’ way. People first see something in the faith of Jesus’ followers and also see their vulnerability and need. So they are inspired to offer some help. This gives them the experience of God’s love, God working through them to support his own children, and also exposes them to Jesus’ way of life. If they then open themselves to this life, they will progressively give more, becoming more vulnerable and dependent themselves. And so they too will become inspirations to encourage giving, both by their example and their need. As people grow in this way, their gifts change. They have less material possessions to share, but their lives become a more valuable gift, both as an inspiration calling others to enter into God’s love and help care for his children and as a model for faith by which we become (and live as) God’s children.
This progression is like a cycle of life which continues to draw others into Jesus’ way.
