Recently I have been confronted with a cultural trend that I haven't really realized or understood because I have grown up with it. For now, I'm going to call it the "Quick-Fix-All Cultural Trend."
I spoke a few weeks ago with some missionaries from France, and we discussed, in part, relational evangelism*. Loving to give safe, smart-sounding responses, I piped into the conversation saying, "And that's the kind of evangelism that never goes out of style." I was quickly correct as my missionary friends told me, "But oh, it has." They proceeded to inform/remind me of the Billy Graham crusades and other televangelists who focus on evangelizing the masses. To say that this is wrong would be silly, but ineffective would be perhaps a better term.
I was reminded of a small group time in Argentina where our leader took a poll to see how the different members had met the Lord. Out of about 13 people, one was saved as the result of preaching evangelist. Everyone else was lead to the Lord by friends or family members. In case you weren't paying attention, that's relational evangelism.
This topic has been on my mind since beginning college and it sticks out to me that I have seen it exemplified on a couple other continents.
Obviously, that's just one small part of this whole cultural decay.
I ran across another piece this afternoon while reading Money, Greed, and God by Jay W. Richards. He was addressing the ineffectiveness of the welfare system in America. One of the biggest problems with it is the "blanket doctrine." I made that one up, I'm referring to a type of welfare that is managed by the federal government that needs a magic formula that solves everyone's problems. It's the only plausible M.O. for a national organization of any type. False. Grass roots government and private charities are better equipped to handle the specific needs of specific areas, simply because they have to first-hand knowledge of the problems and solutions.
But, how do they relate? Helping out poor people and sharing the Gospel are best done by the people closest to the situation. In general, people who care, do the most effective work. This is why, in my opinion, big government welfare programs and televangelists are not the answer. And these are only two out of countless examples of our "Quick-Fix-All" schemes.
*Will's quick definition: evangelism that focuses on building connections and friendships that after time (sometimes a long time) lead to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
For my more dedicated readers, please excuse the fact that I haven't posted since May. For everyone else, thanks for reading.
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