Overcoming Obstacles to Sharing Our Faith: FEAR

I've been trying to think of ways to motivate people to get involved in evangelism having just come back from an awesome Christian Answer team in London at the weekend. 

I realised that the first step for some people might be removing hurdles or perhaps having a change of perspective about any obstacles in the way. So, I'm going to do a short series of posts dealing with these issues that we all face to one degree or another.

Today's subject and probably the biggest mountain for many of us to scale is fear. 

It might be fear of failure, fear of saying the wrong thing, fear of being seen, fear of what others might think, fear of people getting angry or shunning us, or even fear of the unknown. Let's face it, we all struggle with fear and for some it can be paralysing. 

Can it be overcome? With God's help all things are possible. Here are some pointers:

• Pray! It will come as no surprise that prayer is top of the list for overcoming any and all obstacles to sharing our faith. If we don't pray then we can't expect to see results or have any expectation of moving forward. God knows our fears and He wants to help us move past them so that we can get on with the task. He promises to use us if we ask Him.

• Training. It helps to be prepared and can give us confidence which can negate any fears we might have. There is plenty of online training and organisations like the Open-Air Mission can provide training for you and your church. Living Waters offers a week long training course in evangelism and apologetics. However, training is not always required as it can result in Christians falling into the trap of thinking that they can't evangelise because they haven't been trained or even that they need to learn everything before they can share their faith. Choose your training wisely and intentionally and if possible get involved with those who offer practical training during the course.

• Know what you believe and why you believe it. This one can be especially relevant for those who've grown up in the church and have never really looked at the details of their own story. Read the Bible passages that speak about evangelism (Acts and the Gospels for starters). This will help you catch the vision and should negate fears about saying the wrong thing. You can't really say the wrong thing unless you say something totally heretical as people are already lost!

• Start small. This one is really about managing your own and others expectations. Most of us are not going to be Billy Graham or Amy Carmichael. Much of the evangelism in the Bible is one individual to another. Nowadays, we have tracts (Christian leaflets) and the internet so it's even possible to be anonymous or to have very little contact with the person we are witnessing to. Start by leaving tracts where-ever you go. Then, try to give them directly to people with a short comment. Then, when you are ready, ask the person if they have thought about the question. Take your time with each stage and your fears should lessen.

• Read stories. Read and watch stories of conversions in books and online. You'll be amazed by how many people mention a street preacher, a Christian friend, a book, a tract etc. If you can see that it really works, it can help to overcome your fears as the benefit outweighs the cost. Real Lives is a good series on Saturday nights which may encourage you.

• Go with others. Lone evangelism can be scary and it shouldn't be the norm. We need our Christian friends to encourage, motivate, inspire, rebuke etc. Most of our efforts should start with our local church. Find out what is being done by your church and join in or suggest a joint activity. Alternatively, if your church isn't doing anything, find an individual or several within the church who are keen and approach the leadership together. If the leaders aren't receptive to any forms of evangelism, it might be time to think about joining a different church as evangelism should be one of the main activities and purposes of the church.

• Join local evangelism teams. This shouldn't replace evangelism from your church, but can supplement it and provide people to work with. It's always easier to overcome our fears when we are part of a team. There are several city missions that still do direct evangelism (Birmingham and London) and others that bring you into contact with non believers through projects. The Open-Air Mission may have an evangelist in your area that you could join. Good News for Everyone (formerly Gideons) go into schools, prisons, hotels etc and try to leave Bibles as well as more formal Scripture distributions. You can get involved and learn from others. Start by observing and then take more responsibility as you feel able. 

• Join mission teams/camps. There are several organisations that run mission teams around the country including United Beach Missions and the Open-Air Mission. There are specific missions for student outreach, street evangelism and children's work. Other organisations like Yorkshire Camps and Foundation Matters offer residential camps and allow volunteers to join and serve for a week or longer term. Then, there are the annual youth camps. There are always plenty of opportunities and full training is usually given. Serving together allows you to learn on the job and watch others share their faith/give their testimony until you are ready to participate.

• Talk to someone. It's a well known saying that "a problem shared is a problem halved". If you cannot overcome your fears, share them with a church friend or church leader. Be specific and maybe they will be able to help you get new perspective or suggest some other ideas. Likewise, if you have had a negative experience with evangelism, don't let it put you off, speak to someone straight away so that it doesn't become an insurmountable problem as it festers. 

• Don't overthink it. With some things, the longer we leave it before we actually do it, the harder it is as the possibilities and the "what if's" can become overwhelming. I used to remember the Dr Pepper advert with the slogan "what's the worst that could happen?" before I went out to share my faith. It can help to write down any fears as they may seem less likely and less threatening on paper. Sometimes, we just have to face our fear and get on with it. 

I hope this list will help some of you to take steps to overcome your fears and to get involved in the work of the Great Commission. As you can see, many of the ideas involve working with others, it's amazing how much easier it is to get out there when we go in a group. I always come back encouraged and have never regretted going out when I've taken the plunge.

As an old-timer said recently, "a little bit of courage and a little bit of obedience are all that is needed." We are in a spiritual battle. Don't let the enemy win!

Next time I will deal with overcoming the obstacle of funding/finance.

(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)

Should Christians Frighten People During Evangelism?

 

I’m guessing that most people, whether Christian or not, will respond to this question with a loud “no!” Scaring people is not part of our evangelistic work and puts people off rather than drawing them to God.

In the past, I may have agreed with this natural response but a few years down the line, my perspective has definitely shifted.

Most of us would agree that Christians motivated by hate, anger and condemnation, preaching fire and brimstone with no hope of escape is an ugly spectacle. Perhaps, though, in seeking to avoid being associated with this type of behaviour, we have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

We may tell people that God doesn’t want us to be afraid, as in terrified, of Him because of His great love for us. Whilst this is true for believers who should instead have a healthy fear (awe, reverence) of God leading to wisdom, non-believers should be afraid, even terrified. They are urged to repent and believe, to flee from the wrath to come and warned that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.

I was in Halifax this week talking to a man who claimed to be an atheist. He had some religious background but was pretty dismissive about the whole idea of God, laughing at various points and wasn’t exactly taking the conversation seriously. I persevered as, despite interjecting with unhelpful comments, he was listening and looking thoughtful at times. When the conversation was reaching a conclusion, he accepted a church leaflet.

Then, I felt prompted to urge the man not to appear before the God of the whole universe on Judgement Day with unforgiven sin like a giant rucksack on his shoulders because God would then have to punish him. Fear crept across his face as he quietly asked a slightly odd question for an atheist, “What will he do?”

We had already spoken briefly about Heaven and Hell so I just as quietly told him that God would send him to Hell. Usually, after saying something so sombre, I immediately revert to the Good News, desperate to remind people that God doesn’t want them to go to Hell which is why He sent Jesus to rescue us. However, the man began backing away saying, “You’re frightening me now!”

My first instinct was to apologise and say that that wasn’t my intention but instead I found myself saying “If that’s what it takes” and again urging him to think seriously about things as he mumbled his thanks for the leaflet and walked away.

Afterwards, I thought about the conversation and spoke to others in our small team. It was felt that the man’s response at least showed that he had understood the warning and was taking it seriously. I had no doubt that he would be thinking about things further as a result.

In evangelism, our task is to communicate the Gospel as clearly as possible which should include warnings of Judgement which may result in people feeling afraid. We are not responsible for a person’s final decision about whether or not they will trust Jesus or choose to face the wrath of God, but only telling them half the message ultimately does them a disservice. It’s almost impossible to get people to see the danger and urgency of their situation without talking about Judgement and Hell.

I was reminded of the time when Paul was before Felix in Acts 24. It was as he spoke about righteousness, self-control and the judgement to come that Felix became afraid and dismissed him.  Surely, like Paul, we want people to seriously consider their eternal destination.

Related to this topic, there is an ongoing discussion in my circles about street or open-air preaching. There is a perception amongst some Christians that people view this type of evangelism as “a bunch of old men shouting at people in the street”. Some wish to phase it out completely in favour of more modern methods. 

Whilst not a preacher myself, these discussions do have an impact on my work of supporting street preaching and seeking to speak to those who listen.

Whilst I would agree that not all street preaching is done with the right motivations or in the right manner, surely what’s needed is to train preachers so it can be done better rather than abandoning it completely. It is biblical and with the right tone and volume reaches the most people many of whom would never darken the door of a church.

The preaching needs to be loud enough that people can hear it so they can make a decision about whether they want to hear more but not so loud that they cannot escape it if they wish to do so. The tone shouldn’t be aggressive, angry or condemnational but it should be heartfelt, sincere and persuasive. As well as an appeal for a response, it should contain warnings for those who refuse.

Asking for a response, or asking people what their barrier is, is not the same as trapping people into praying the Sinner’s Prayer or similar before they really know what’s happening. I rarely pray with people on the street and would not be comfortable putting words in their mouth. I usually advise people to go home and pray to God by themselves. If they don’t know how to pray we can offer guidance.  

Some of those who are resistant to open-air preaching feel that question boards, book tables, children’s programmes, church events and things of cultural or historical interest are more fruitful. It may be that we have nicer/more pleasant conversations with people through these means. It may even be that people are converted. I’m not advocating stopping any of these other things which all have their place.

We may not see immediate fruit from street preaching but we know it works as God promises that His Word doesn’t return void. A rejection of a warning delivered by a street preacher can be a better response than a long conversation with a person agreeing with virtually everything that is said yet remaining unmoved in their mind and heart.

We are called to be courteous/respectful (as we were reminded in a recent sermon) but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be direct with people. It also means we should challenge people when they say things that aren’t true. We can disagree without being disagreeable, as the old saying goes.   

I believe street preaching should be central in our evangelistic efforts because it has such a wide reach. I would go beyond this and say that in an apathetic society like the UK, a more direct and bolder approach and tone is needed.

A preacher visiting the UK recently from another country was appalled at what he found and asked his friend, “Why aren’t Christians standing up in tube stations and at bus stops urging people to repent and respond to the Gospel?”

We should be seeking to wake people up and pleading with them to make a decision for Jesus before its too late. Sometimes, this will frighten them but if by the power of God's Holy Spirit, it leads them to repentance and faith that can only be a good thing.