We had evangelism training the other day as a leadership team. It took place at the community center in the middle of our French city where we all have chosen to live in proximity to each other. What was amazing about this training is that it was actually sponsored by the mayor's office. And the entire town came out to attend!
Before I mislead you into thinking we have had great revival in our suburb of Grenoble, let me explain that the "training" was actually the annual Forum des Associations. Every year in September, to coincide with back-to-school, most towns and cities in France organize a fair where all the clubs in each locality promote their cause or activity and invite people to join as members and volunteers. The tables at this year's forum in our commune had sign-ups for everything from the Friends of Palestine to hiking to Qi Gong.
We asked each of our team members to check out the offerings at the forum and commit to join a club that interested them in order to be more involved in our community, make friendships and rub shoulders with unbelieving, unchurched people. We have also asked each of our student leaders to launch an affinity group among their friends and classmates that gathers regularly around a shared interest, such as role games, scrapbooking or movies. We still have our weekly worship gatherings and discipleship groups. But we don't necessarily expect your average French person to just walk in our doors.
This coincides with some pretty interesting statistics I came across the other day:
- 73% of French say that religion plays no importance in society
- 45% of French do not believe in any God, higher being or life force with only 25% believing that a God exists.
To most in France, the church is not relevant and God is not real. So we need to do a better job of living and believing together as Christ-followers among our culture in a way that pleasantly surprises a jaded and suspicious society. And we have to answer the question of how we can see God's loving presence in this world become an undeniable reality that invades the consciousness of those who have neither the room nor the need for God in their lives.
Making the church relevant is what many intelligent leaders have been trying to accomplish for quite awhile now. But it doesn't seem like our efforts are impressing our post-modern, secular culture much. Part of the problem is that many Christians have zero non-Christian friends. We know, live next to and work with unbelievers. But I am talking about spending quality time, getting deep into people's lives, and being trusted to share in their private, every-day reality. It is a fact that 65% of all Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists say they do not personally know even one Christian. No wonder these faiths contain the largest numbers of unreached people groups in the world.
The chance to invite people to love and follow Jesus often comes at a price of investment of time and relationship with those who need Him. Caring deeply, listening well and highly valuing people for who they are, as they are, takes emotional energy. No one wants to feel like a project or a promotional target, which is often what flyers and tract distribution communicate. We want to take people seriously. So as a result, some of our team will be cooking or painting or playing volleyball with others in our community most weeks. Hopefully we'll make some good friends, have them in our homes and also get the chance to hear about what is really important to them. And if we care with enough sincerity, maybe they will in turn care enough to know about Who is important to us.
Some of these "unbelieving", rational, secular people we will be spending time with are also those who have no issue with visiting a psychic or spiritual healer if they have a physical or emotional problem. These sometimes militantly secular people read horoscopes faithfully and proudly display Buddha statues, crystals, Hindu goddesses and African shaman masks in their homes. It's not that they are closed to religion, per se. They've just decided that western religion has nothing worthwhile to offer them, while remaining partially open to the enticement of spiritual connections elsewhere.
We are looking forward to one day earning the privilege to pray for our new friends when they have a need and see God's power undeniably revealed to them. Like when our next-door neighbor, and avowed atheist, ran to our door to ask us to come and be with her son who had just experienced a terrible seizure. As we prayed for Him in the Spirit and saw his symptoms subside, we also learned that this young man had a burgeoning faith in God, to his mother's chagrin.
We won't downplay our speaking in tongues or belief in prophetic utterances. We will jump at the chance to speak blessings over homes and businesses and pray for people to receive freedom from spiritual oppression, sleep disorders and addictions. Fully engaged in serving and loving our community. Fully engaged in revealing a powerful, mystical God to a community infatuated with the exotic and spiritual. All in the context of organic, authentic, daily relationship. It's our effort at being culturally connected as well as spiritually engaging.
Want to make Christ relevant? Join the club.
