Part 1: Evangelistic and Missional Living

The word "evangel" comes from the Greek "euangelion", meaning "good news" or "gospel". Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the "good news" and in that sense, is the Evangel. Although some are formally sent by the church (Evangelist) to establish initial or increased knowledge of the gospel in a specific place, every believer is responsible for living an evangelistic life according to the unique gifting, time, and place of God's design. To say, "I want to live evangelistically" is the same as to say, "I want to be Christ-like". Living evangelistically is not a choice, it is a way to be as an obedient response in love, to emulate Christ's way of being (Philippians 2:5; 1 John 2:6).

How Christ is reflected to particular individuals, groups, or situations varies greatly. To live evangelistically is to introduce and/or deepen the understanding of others toward the Good News of Jesus Christ, in deeds (acts) and words (interactions): to everyone, everywhere you are, and in all situations. Evangelism is not the sum of contrived scenarios, situations, or strategies toward those we believe are unsaved; although scenarios, situations and strategies are helpful for growth and expansion in evangelilstic living. Evangelistic living is the result of transformational growth toward the similitude of Christ in all interactions. It flows from the heart of what you are: a sinner saved by the fullness of Grace and Truth in Jesus Christ.

Definition: Evangelistic Living is a conscious, intentional, progressive, Biblically based attempt to reflect the grace and truth of Jesus Christ into an uncountable number of unique life scenarios designed by Almighty God. To say, "in this area of life I don't have to be evangelistic, is to say that in this area of life I don't have to reflect Christ".

The words "evangelistic" and "missional" are not synonymous. By grace we desire to share the good news of Jesus Christ (live evangelistically) in all life scenarios and interactions. To live missionally, is to identify specific areas of planned, focused, sustained evangelistic work by considering God's design in the personal gifts, resources, circumstances, and placement of our lives. Missional focus includes the efforts of the mind, the sacrifice of time and talents, the sharing of resources such as money and durable goods, and targeted prayer. Evangelistic living includes all interactions of life with all those we love and all those we hate, and everyone in between. Very simply it is to love our neighbors, that is, all those that God in His grand design causes to cross our paths.

One of my missional focuses is in Haiti, this does not relive me of the responsibility to live evangelistically when I go to the grocery story, get a haircut, talk to my neighbors, interact with the church body, with my covenant children and grand-children, or in my vocational placement within the boundaries of God-given prioritized duties and responsibilities. Formerly, I spent over 25 years within the missional (also vocational) focus of Christian educational leadership. Case studies have been taken from that experience. I have chosen some extreme examples to make particular points.

Case Study 1: A young girl entered the 7th grade at a Christian school. It was her 6th school of attendance. In the admissions interview the father (no mother in the picture) stated that the previous schools were not "good enough for his princess", and that his princess was his "pride and joy" and "his world" and if she were hurt or sad he "would die". According to the father's flattery, this (6th) school would be "good enough" and "never hurt her or make her sad". I considered the charactarization of the father-daughter relationship to constitute emotional incest and the flattery to be nauseating. How to evangelize in that meeting? I opted to communicate, minimally, the following :

This school cannot be a castle for your princess because the school is Christ-centric and exists to teach about His kingdom, and all He has done to build an eternal family. No student or staff can become the center, but we do teach all students about being sons and daughters (princes and princesses) of the most high God in Christ.
This school has only sinners in it, the administrator and your daughter included. As such we cannot guarantee your child freedom from hurt and sadness because sin always has and always will cause pain and hurt. That was followed by a short synopsis of sin/fall and the gospel Good News.
The father was urged to re-consider his decision to enroll (or not) his daughter in this school based on the what he had just told him. He was further assured of how the school staff and faculty would interact with his daughter in the grace and truth of Jesus Christ and that sometimes that would certainly cause hurt and sadness.

The father enrolled his daughter. Over time it became clear that initial concerns were correct. The girl consistently acted out, looking for love in all the wrong places. She was confused because the father's worship of her was excessively dominant over love for her. And being a human, the young girl was not able to carry the weight of responsiblility for the father's emotional health. One day after school (8th grade) she and a boy were found in a vacated bathroom in a sexually compromising situation.

Needless to say, the first thing I needed was prayer on my own behalf because my first emotion was revulsion and my first reaction would have been to avoid the truth (hiding like Adam did) and progress in the meeting with a self-righteous, sarcastic tirade (blame-shifting like Adam did). To have this meeting I needed:

love toward the fallen image-bearers (whose need of Christ is not less than mine),
the grace to set aside my personal reactive and emotive tendancies (which afterall will not be reflective of my Savior), and
the wisdom and courage to tell the truth that was most needed in the situation.

That situation had presented me with a God-given new opportunity to point to the good news of Christ. I opted to communicate the following:

a review of the enrollment interview and the connection to this new incident
a loving and gentle probe into how the relationship might be impacting the daughter
the nature of Christ's love, as well the identity and worth found in Jesus Christ.
a recommendation and requirement of Christian professionl counseling.
an outline of the consequences for the bathroom incident, which would and should lead to hurt and sadness for father and daughter--but which by the grace of God could lead toward repentance, hope and healing
prayer with and for the father and daughter along the specific lines of the need

Speaking truthfully with grace in this case, drove the father and daughter to counseling and ultimately to growing in spiritual and relational health. I have had several contacts from them over the last 15 years in which they were eager to express thanks and report their progress.

Some Important Points:

Every evangelistic act or interaction has one of three results: some are repelled, some draw closer to Christ, and some continue in compliant company. The results of evangelistic living are God's results. Our job is obedience in reflecting Christ.
Personally, I try not to pre-judge whether someone is "saved" or "unsaved" within acts and interactions of evangelistic living. I do try to discover their level of knowledge though. The acts and interactions differ in content between say, fellow church members and the grocery store clerk, but there is not a single person with whom we interact that does not benefit from a reflection of Christ in grace and truth, motivated by love toward God. The saved (whom God knows) are aided in their transformation through Christ-like interactions, and the unsaved (whom God will work in according to His will) are receivers of the Good News! Our job is obedience in reflecting Christ.
My extreme example is from a particular missional focus of my evangelistic life. The acts and interactions of evangelistic life are as many as the grains of sand because every image-bearer of God is uniquely created and in unique circumstances. Never assume that one evangelistic act or interaction is of less importance than any other. God can and does use every act and interaction in His grand plan, whether we consider it tiny or enormous. Our job is obedience in reflecting Christ.
Some evangelistic acts and interactions are easy, some mildly difficult, and others extremely so. Growth in evangelistic living requires regular devotional Bible study, prayer and self-examination. This is true when witnessing to your children about obedience while lashing out in anger, and when witnessing to your neighbor while exhibiting your own superior attitude. Growth in evangelistic living is constant re-formation of self toward Christ which increasingly clarifies your reflection of Him. Is it possible that this is partially what it means to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12-13)?
All of us fail at many times and in many ways to reflect Christ, even when we are intentional about it. Failure causes fear and guilt, which in turn causes hiding and blame-shifting and therefore no evangelistic growth. God says, "there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ" (Romans 8:1). The point of re-formation is to grow toward Christ, not to be Christ. Failures shouldn't dissuade us from taking "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). "His yoke is easy and His burden light" (Matthew 11:28-30). Continue a repentent life, of course, but don't drag fear and guilt with you--it prohibits spiritual growth in all areas of life.
Often our lives require "on the spot" acts and interactions. I have failed miserably in many of those situations. But thanks to God's faithfulness, the more we are regular and intentional about Bible study, prayer and self-examination--the more we are re-formed toward Christ in those unexpected situations, which afterall, God has designed minimally, for our growth.

Important Question for us: are we continually and intentionally equipping ourselves to speak the truth fitly and in love, making the personal sacrifice necessary in grace to get over ourselves and address the deepest need and highest good of those with whom we interact? No one gets it right all the time, but that isn't the question. The question is are we intentional about learning and growing in a reflection of Christ, in grace and truth, in all areas of life?