An Opportune Time

1 Peter 3:15: but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

Most Christians I know would say evangelism is hard and that some people just have a special gift for it. On some level, they’re right. Ephesians 4:11-12 singles out evangelism as being a particular gift along with prophets, shepherds, and teachers. But the call of the Great Commission in Matthew 28 tells us evangelism is a job for us all. 

There’s no precise formula for this despite the many pamphlets and guides out there. There's no one size fits all. One of the cool things about the book of Acts is that you rarely see two people coming to Jesus the same way. In fact, I bet if ten of you told me how you became a follower of Jesus, we’d get ten different stories (no really do that, I’d love to share them). 

Evangelism isn’t a job to be left to the “professionals.” You don’t need the perfect pitch nor do you have to worry about “closing the deal” in one conversation. What really happens is that we’re so pressed to find the perfect opportunity that we never actually get around to sharing the good news.

Another Option

Instead of looking for the perfect moment, what if we were just always ready? What if we saw all of life as related to the life saving message of Jesus and therefore didn’t need to wait for the elevator pitch?

A few weeks ago I talked a kid out of seminary. Not because I think seminary is bad (I hold my masters proudly) but because we need a better vocational imagination. He wants to go to seminary because he wants to do something good for God and reach people with the message of Jesus. Noble and good but a little too reductionistic. 

There is good glorifying work to be done in nearly every sector of vocation available to us. The call to be salt and light in this world can’t happen if we refuse to participate in it. Yes, we need pastors and ministry leaders but we also need people out in the world.

There are opportunities for our lights to shine that we miss when we lock ourselves in Christian bubbles. As someone who started his career in finance, I can attest to the need for more Christians there impacting the culture. We live in an age where sex and the twisting of desires is used to sell everything. What could marketing look like if Christians were the ones influencing promotional materials?

Golden Moments

No matter your domain, opportunities will always arise. Like Peter said, always be ready. 

An excellent example of this comes from sportswriter Jonathan Tjarks. He writes for one of the biggest sports and culture outlets in the country, The Ringer. At the age of 33 he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. After a few weeks he was able to write about his experience. 

In his piece, he shared about the anguish of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and the gentle reminder of Jesus in Matthew 6 that worrying will not add a day to our lives. This is huge. Attitudes at The Ringer generally range from agnostic to openly hostile towards Christianity. And yet, Jonathan Tjarks was given an opportunity to influence millions through the telling of his story. A chance that may not have come if he’d never gotten sick. 

Another good example is Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams. After clinching their trip to the NBA Finals he was interviewed by Scott Van Pelt. When asked about his leadership and coaching style he responded with this: “The essence of my coaching is to serve, as a believer in Christ that’s what I’m here for.”

These are not small moments. This is what we look for: chances to share the hope that we have in this world. We think we have to be perfect but we don’t have to be. Undoubtedly people will poke holes in both of these examples and think of all the things that could have been said or done differently. I think that mindset is one that feels salvation is up to us, it’s not. 

Salvation still belongs to the Lord. Both Tjarks and Williams planted seeds that prayerfully God will water in some people’s hearts. 

You don’t have to have an NBA level platform to share the Gospel. Consider your sphere of influence. As the world opens back up and we slowly start to go back to some version of our pre-pandemic routines and see some of those old people in those old places, how will we seize the moment?

When you hear the stories of how your co-workers, fellow gym goers, the regulars in the grocery store, etc. coped or struggled with the pandemic, will you be able to share the hope you’ve had in this time? Even if you barely made it out, can you tell of how Jesus met you in the darkest moments of this long year?

When the time comes, are you able to give a reason for the hope you have?