[re]imagineering evangelism

im-ag-in-eer-ing: verb 1 the art or science of using imagination to intuitively make practical applications from knowledge: m_dizzle is [re]imagineering what it means for him to be a follower of the Christ

As I reflect on some of the issues that were brought up during the the emergent theological conversation, there was one in particular that continues to be a struggle for me (as a recovering evangelical) and for many of my friends (who are also recovering evangelicals -- so does that make us a church or a support group?!).

During the last day of the conversation, Dr. Volf was pushed to firm up a comment that he made in Free of Charge, where he seems to hint that people (regardless of their choice in this life) will get a second chance at salvation. A “theology of second chance” if you will, where all people (regardless of whether they recognized Christ as their savior in this life) when faced with the undeniable reality of God at the end of time will be able to choose (again) whether to accept Him. Only those who still will not believe are doomed to an eternity apart from God (hell).

This is an extremely provocative/problematic statement for someone (like me) with an evangelical background. It is problematic, because once you go there (theology of second chance) then all (current) evangelistic programs are out the window; AND throwing out evangelistic programs is very troubling to someone who has designed their whole life (work, school, friends, etc.) around finding opportunities to “share the gospel.” The very term “evangelical” was coined to describe the emphasis on evangelism for crying out loud (and I often do).

So if getting someone to understand the “four spiritual laws” and pray “the sinners prayer” is no longer the goal (because everyone will get a second chance anyway) then what does a young evangelical do with the next 40 years of his life?

To begin to formulate an answer to this question, I want to start off with a quote from the great British theologian John Lennon who once asked us to:

”Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky...”

Imagining that heaven does not exist has actually been a very helpful exercise for me. It is helpful because it led me to some important questions about my faith that I had never considered. A couple of key questions for me have been: “If heaven does not exist, then is there a point to christianity/following Jesus?” and “If there is still a point to christianity in the absence of heaven -- what is it?”

Wrestling with these questions has given me a renewed desire for/more robust understanding of -- the Kingdom of God. When my focus was on heaven being the kingdom it was too easy for me to write off the injustices perpetrated in this world (including the ones that I am guilty of perpetrating) as just “the symptoms of a broken/sinful world.” In fact not only are they the “symptoms of a sinful world,” but “they really aren’t all that important, because when we get to heaven, everything will be all unicorns and rainbows anyway.” This line of thinking is of course okay if you are in a position of privilege/power, but if you are the one suffering the injustice, heaven seems a lot further away. (This line of thinking is also what led Marx (that’s Karl not Groucho/Harpo) to his most famous description/critique of religion as being the “opiate of the masses.”)

So, where am I at now?

I can honestly say that the existence (literal or otherwise) of heaven (or hell for that matter) is not all that important to me. I see the goal/focus of Christian faith as being love (love God and love neighbor). Not the cheap “I’ll love you if you do this” kind of human love. I’m talking about full on “I love you not just in spite of your short comings/failures, but because of your shortcoming/failures, because that is what makes you you,” kind of God love -- agape.

Where does evangelism fit into the picture?

For me evangelism is no longer about getting people to believe the same things that I believe, instead it is about getting people to join me in living out the Kingdom of God, right here, right now. “Sharing the gospel” now becomes sharing my life/money/time/resources/love with people not just my beliefs. Heaven can wait, there is too much to do right here and right now. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” is no longer just a wish, it is a command for me to get off my but and do something about the injustice that I see everyday. Will we ever live in a utopian society, of course not. Sin will always be around (until this age ends), but I don’t think that God intended us to use that as an excuse for inaction.

What about the great commission?

Action not belief is closer to a faithful obedience of the “great commission.” We are called to “make disciples” not “believers” and for me the two terms are not interchangeable. I want to be a disciple, an imitator of the Christ. I want my life to be a reflection of His life (all be it a poor and sometimes distorted fun house mirror kind of reflection). For me, heaven (if there is a literal one) is just icing on the cake -- the true gift and reason for being a follower of the Christ is because I get to have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe right here and right now. I am being freed from the shackles of this world (the need for status/power/money/consumption). I have been given a countercultural way to live that emphasizes love/giving/forgiveness/grace/humility and not lust/greed/revenge/anger/pride. This freedom from the “powers and principalities” of this world has become the Kingdom for me and now being a christian means truly being not just believing.

Or as Thomas Merton so wonderfully puts it in his classic New Seeds of Contemplation:

...For Christianity is not merely a doctrine or system of beliefs, it is Christ living in us and uniting men to one another in His own Life and unity. “I in them, and Thou, Father, in Me, that they may be made perfect in One...And the glory which Thou hast given me I have given them, that they may be One as We also are ONE.” (pg 77)

Creador, give me the strength of faith to believe there is another way to live other than the accepted models of this world. Make me one with Your Son and one with the people You put in my life. Teach me to live as Your Son lived. Teach me to live love. Use me to bring your Kingdom to this world. Make me an instrument to “do your will on Earth as it is in heaven.” Amen.

Comments

[tony jones]

great thoughts and questions, mike.

TJ

[Casey Burns]

How does the idea of eternal life fit into your theology? Is it an afterthought, i.e., icing on the cake, or is it fundamental to our hope as Christians in addition to the current inbreaking of the Kingdom of God?

________________

Elder B-Shnizle,

A most excellent question. For me (right now) I would have to say ALL OF THE ABOVE and THEN SOME. As with most things, my answer is complicated. On the one hand an eternal afterlife is “icing on the cake,” because when/if it occurs for me, it will hopefully be an awesome ending to an already full life of single minded “Kingdom living.”

Do I have hope in heaven? Only in the sense that I know, no matter how much we live the Kingdom life, things will still be screwed up because sin always enters (but that does not mean that we should not work as if we could bring the kingdom).

On the other hand, when does eternity start? When most people talk about eternity there seems to be an implication that it begins after we die, but I don’t see it that way. I see eternity occurring right now. In that sense Heaven and Hell exist right now today, and we choose everyday where we want to reside.

m_dizzle