evangelism

As I was walking to the office today I noticed a group of people who were in a line along the 16th Street Mall, standing on chairs, and all wearing shirts that read, "Religion is a lie." There was also a link to this site on their shirts.

I figured out fairly quickly what they were doing. They were marking religion as a set of man made rules and regulations and promoting a relationship based Christianity. However, a lot of people along the mall weren't sure what was going on and would engage them in conversation, giving them an opportunity to share their faith.

While I'm not sold on their definition of religion and think that, at some point you need some kind of lens to view Scripture through (the Early Church called this the "rule of faith"), I can say that their approach is a step up from the hunt people down and beat them with Bible verses that occurs far too often along the mall.

Of course, you still have the challenge that it's a one time hit that lacks clear opportunities for follow-up, but at least it's less inclined to build up walls that prevent future conversations.

I've said quite a bit about evangelism on here over time, for example, don't do this, or this, but this, or this, or this, would be good ideas. Well here's another idea on something women could do ... I don't guys could get away with it without being accused of just trying to cop a feel. It's nothing new or radical, actually, there are books on the topic, but something happened yesterday that prompted it when I was walking home from work and ran into this gal on the 16th Street Mall:

She made the comment that, right before she hugged me, she'd hugged a huge crowd of people who were on their way home from a funeral and it just added a bit of joy to their day.

So, what if Christians just engaged in giving free hugs, or doing other random acts of kindness along the mall? Just little things to bring some joy to people's day or make their life a bit easier. Some people would just accept the gift and walk away, but others would want to know why, which would prompt a simple opportunity for Christians to say, "I just want to share a bit of the love Jesus has shared with me." If pressed, maybe give out a card that points people to a site like the Fishbowl or something like that.

Thoughts?

For the past few days, I've been using pray-as-you-go as one of my daily devotional readings (I'm also following a track that will have me read all of the Lutheran Confessions in a year). Today, they brought up what is, to me, one of the most frustrating passages of Scripture, Matthew 25 and the discussion of the sheep and the goats who were divided based on their treatment of "the least".

The thing about the passage that causes my frustration is that, "the least" is typically interpreted as the poor because they are hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned strangers. However, if we follow the logic there, then we are saved by our works (our treatment of the poor) rather than by grace through faith. So, in attempt to figure out what was going on here, I spent some time with the passage this afternoon.

The first thing I noticed is that these verses take place in an ongoing private discourse between Jesus and his disciples that begins in Matthew 24, where he is helping the twelve to understand the end of the age. This immediately causes problems with the "the least" being the poor because the full line says, "the least of these my brothers". That little pronoun creates an image of Jesus pointing to the very people who are the least which, in that context, would imply "the least" being the disciples, aka, Jesus brothers.

So, how could this be important in our understanding of works vs. faith in Matthew 25? Back in Matthew 10, Jesus sent his disciples out to share the faith. They were to go without extra food, clothing, or money, and visit various homes in the villages to see who would receive them and who wouldn't. In homes where they were received, they were to share the Gospel, and in homes where they weren't, they were to shake of their feet knowing that that place would be cursed on the day of judgment.

So, here's what I'm thinking. "The least" in Matthew 25 are actually the disciples who went into towns as strangers in need of food, water, and clothing. Those who received them are among the sheep, not because of their works, but because they were the ones who heard the good news. The goats on the other hand, are damned because they rejected the ones who brought the good news of Jesus (and this is their curse on judgment day). This also makes more sense with the visiting in prison line.

I know it challenges historic interpretation, but it makes a whole lot more sense in the broader Biblical picture. Thoughts?