It seems that we tend to make evangelism much more complicated than we have to. More often than not, people will tend to say something like, “I don’t know anyone who isn’t already a Christian.” And while that may well be true, reality often betrays the label. Asking folk if they have a “church home” will invariably prompt them to say yes. End of conversation. The more pointed question we might want to ask is, “Do you go to church?” More often than not in today’s culture, folks will probably say no, thus opening the door for us to invite those folks to “come and see.” It’s a “yes/no proposition” that has nothing to do with any of us personally; rather, inviting another person to join you at St. James has everything to do with sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, him crucified and raised from the dead, until the day of his coming. Evangelism isn’t rude or invasive. It’s not rocket science or brain surgery. Sharing Christ, quite simply put, is a gift offered without our taking ownership of what the recipient of our gift does with it. Give the Gift.

Wednesday, January 18th, began the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with the observance of the Confession of Peter. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that short of the End Time and considerable relaxation of the “turf-wars” inherent amongst most denominations, Christian Unity will remain an oxymoron. Our annual observance of the Confession of Peter has far less to do with Christian unity than it does with the apostle’s proclamation of Jesus as the Christ of God – the Good News. In the grander scheme of things, we all would do well to learn from Peter’s overt, yet quite simple confession when it comes to encouraging the sharing of Christ with others.

Andrew and Peter, Philip and Nathaniel show up in Holy Scripture. In the Gospel according to John, these four share a common experience. Andrew found Jesus and got to know him. Then he went to his brother, Peter, encouraging him to share Christ too. Philip found Jesus and got to know him but, then, it was Philip who encouraged Nathaniel to share Christ. As you are well aware, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel all came to know Jesus. Knowing Jesus, that is to say personally and intimately, empowered the disciples to share Christ. Just so, our own personal relationship with the living Christ precedes our ability to share Christ meaningfully with another. By the same token, to find ourselves incapable of sharing Christ suggests that we may not quite possess the kind of relationship with Jesus that we think we do. Start to finish, it is all about an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. Do you know Jesus or just know about him? The former will encourage others. The latter will bore them to tears!

One of the joys of being part of St. James is getting to read the thoughts of those who express themselves each week via the Stewardship and Evangelism messages that show up in the online and printed announcements. If nothing else, these efforts give us all opportunities to think about our care and feeding of the gifts with which God blesses us, as well as, our willingness to proclaim Jesus as Lord. As regards the latter, I know how very difficult a time most all of us have sharing the faith within us. Interestingly enough, that difficulty gets fed by the erroneous notion that our relationship with Jesus is a very private matter. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course. In the grander scheme of things, aren’t we fortunate that those who came before us were under no such allusion? If you simply cannot bring yourself to tell the Story of God’s saving grace through the Lord Jesus and your experience of it at St. James, let me suggest that you at least be willing to mention the web site (www.saintjamesonline.org) to family and friends alike. Our web site speaks volumes, in print and visually, about almost every facet of the life and times of St. James Episcopal Church and School – no door knocking or Bible thumping required. Perhaps they will like what they see and will want to come and see…