Author: Jim Henderson

As a Christian, what if you were told that simply being yourself was enough - That the attractiveness and power of YOUR life in Christ was a potent tool for exposing others to Jesus. The 4th chapter of Evangelism Without Additives is titled "The Gospel According To You." Jim Henderson observes that Jesus left us with two primary models for communicating the good news of the gospel. The first model is to speak the gospel (Mark 16:15). The second, serve the gospel (Matt 25:40).

At first glance, these two models may seem like contradictory practices, opposing approaches if you will. Jim reconciles them in this way - "We should preach as if we are serving, and serve as if we are preaching." When Jesus spoke of His Fathers character, plan, and heart, people were drawn because that message was full of life. Jesus served people as he taught. We do this same thing when our words carry peoples hearts to Jesus instead of our words focusing on sin or correcting mistaken beliefs. Christians throughout the ages have often felt the need to "legislate morality," and in doing so, have cut off any chance of relationship with the people Jesus misses most. The Holy Spirit will do the work of convicting of sin, and He may use us in that process, but it will almost always happen in relationship. That relationship has a better chance of developing if we speak as if we are serving. How do you serve as if you are preaching? Jim states that, "we serve as if we're preaching when we do things for others, putting their needs ahead of our own." There is a caveat to serving as if we are preaching though - we need to do it in secret. Telling people that our motive for serving them is to "share the love of Christ" with them, does not always engender the good will we were hoping for. Jim encourages us to pray behind peoples backs and serve them with the same genuine heart of Jesus.

Remember that life happens in context. Jesus was our supreme example of going to, and being with people. If you're going to preach as if you are are serving, and serve as if your are preaching, there will need to be context. Jim advocates following people into their world. Jesus was not always popular when He did this, but being misunderstood or misrepresented wasn't enough reason to stop loving and serving people. My wife and I came to a crossroads over 6 years ago. We had to make changes, and real decisions to start connecting with the people Jesus misses most. Jim Henderson talks about the genetic disposition of the common deer tick to climb up grass or a brach to find a host to live on. Christians have a "genetic disposition" to expose and nudge people towards Jesus. Kendra and I have felt that effect. We have been learning how to be ordinary evangelists, and although the fruits of that choice are not always obvious or extraordinary, they are there. There is fruit on the tree. We have chosen to have a long term view instead of a short term one. That decision alone allows us to be our authentic selves. We are living examples of knowing that simply being ourselves is enough.

Joedy Zapara - book reader