Spiritual Headhunting

"Belief is a beautiful armor, but makes for the heaviest sword."

-John Mayer


Are we focused on ministry or converting? Further Research by the Barna group showed that only 1/3 of non-believers believe that Christians genuinely care about them (34%). And most Christians are oblivious to these perceptions-64% of Christians said they believe that outsiders would perceive their efforts as genuine. Only 1/4 of non-believers firmly believe that Christianity offers them "hope for the future" (23%). 81% say that Christianity teaches pretty much the same basic ideas as other religions. Are our current ways of evangelism, our methods and ways of reaching non-believers really effective? Let's take a look at some of them:

Myth: The best evangelism efforts are those that reach the most people at once

Reality: When asked young Christian adults to identify the activity, ministry event, or person most directly responsible for their decision to accept Jesus Christ, 71% listed an individual-typically their parent, a friend, another relative, or a teacher. A majority of those decisions were described as conversations and prayer, while about 1/3 were instances in which their friend or family member took them to a church service or evangelistic event.

Myth: Anything that brings people to Christ is worth doing.

Reality: In Barna Group's research with some of the leading "mass evangelism" efforts, we found that often these measures create three to ten times as much a negative response as positive. As Christians, we have to keep in mind that response rates are not the ultimate goal but rather the wise and careful stewardship of the image of God. Today's media and technology create unparalleled opportunities, but they also wield the potential to harm the Christian image among many outsiders. If you create more barriers with outsiders because of your tactics, you have not been a good steward of the gospel. How we choose to share Christ is as important as our actually doing it.
Myth:We cannot worry about the possibility of offending people when sharing the truth about Jesus.


Reality: Obeying the command to make disciples does not give us license to offend people, especially when those offenses are actually inhibiting us from fulfilling that very commandment. Jesus used strong language, but who was he most likely to offend? Religiously arrogant people, not non-believers. Yes, the cross is offensive to people, but that gives us no extra motivation to be harsh or spiteful. True repect for people is a key factor in effective ministering to non-believers.

Myth: People embrace Christianity because of logical arguments.

Reality: Most people, by nature, are not logical thinkers and are not likely to change their beliefs because of elegant argumentation or apologetics. When asked non-believers what the most important factor is in their faith, they said it is something that "feels" right to them personally (69% of non-believers said this was an important facet of their spirituality). Before you start lamenting this reliance on feelings, you should realize that 67% of Christians between the ages of 16 and 29 said that this was important as well.

Myth: We just need to help outsiders find a connection with God.

Reality: Nearly half of young non-believers (42%) said they are skeptical and distrustful of faith and religion. Part of that skepticism is fierce independence. They don't want to be whipped up into a state of emotionalism and reliance on faith. Only 1/4 of non-believers siad they are looking for a faith that helps them connect with God. By comparison, this was the top motivation of young Christians, which confirms that this is a huge area of dissonance between those of us on the inside and those outside of the church. We have experienced the presence of a living God, but outsiders are wary of feeling brainwashed or manipulated. If we really want to help non-believers see the unique freedom available through Christ, a simplistic get-saved message is an insult to their intelligence. We may think people just need a quick spiritual transaction, but this kind of overhaul does not happen without a person's permission and the activity of the Holy Spirit.





I remember my senior year of high school I met a friend name Kristin. We had the best time hanging out, watching movies, watching Olympic curling, going to the movies, to rock shows, playing monopoly, and then having her get mad cause I would quit withing less than an hour, just being ourselves, and spending time as friends, as human beings. And for the record I was not close to receive the "best saint" reward. I made mistakes, I cut class (even with her cuz we liked Chinese food), I cussed, I lied, I was imperfect. But even with imperfection, I never stopped wanting to seek God, wanting to know God, and be known by Him, to have a genuine relationship. But I didn't try to tell Kristin she needed God, she needed to be good, do right things, be moral. I just loved and accepted her. I'll never forget the time she came to my youth group and the pastor asked if anyone would like to share his/her testimony of how they came to accept Christ in their life. She raised her hand and began telling her story of a friend she met earlier in the year. This friend of hers never tried to preach or judge her, they just accepted her for who she was. She watched this friend live their life, live out their faith, and from the way this friend was genuine with who they were, not trying to be holy or religious, she saw that having a relationship with God was possible for her, and she so accepted Christ into her life. On the ride home she broke the silence, "by the way, that friend I was talking about that led me to Christ, was you." To this day I am still imperfect. But I have realized that exposing my flaws in a humble and honest way doesn't repel people from wanting to know me, nor when they find out that I am a Christian, does it make them look at Christianity negatively. Instead they are touched to see someone who believes in God, who is a human being, not a human doing, who shares his stories of brokenness and redemption, who doesn't try to preach at them, but wears His belief in God like beautiful armor, loving them for who they are, not judging them for what they are not.

Our lives are a Bible, and if so, are we showing them the critically religious parts, the stories of Pharisees and Scribes condemning people for the specs in their eyes while they have a plank in theirs, forcing their morality upon others? Or are we showing them the stories of compassion, stories where 5,000 hungry people were fed, stories of people who were beaten and robbed, left for dead, who were rescued by someone that saw someone in need, stories where people fellowshipped, laughed together, cried together, served one another in an intimate community, where thieves and murderers sat down and broke bread with a man who mended the broken heart, binded wounds, and healed miraculously.
We rarely defend the things we love. We enjoy these things and share these things, invite people to join us, we don't try so hard to convince people, that's something for that person to do for themselves. We are called to preach the gospel at all times, words are not always necessary.


Does it sound like we're patting ourselves on the back, insisting on our credentials, asserting our authority? Well, we're not. Neither do we need letters of endorsement, either to you or from you. You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it.

-Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 3:2