Jim Henderson recovering evangelist: How to sell Christianity? Ask an atheist.
Just because I found this one interesting….oh, and this one….
Jim Henderson is a recovering evangelist. Back in his soul-chasing, church-starting days, he began hearing a grating dissonance between his faith in Jesus and the way he went about winning new converts. Henderson realized he was doing unto others what he would never want done unto him. He was manipulating conversations to set up a pitch. Viewing people as potential notches on his evangelism belt rather than fellow sojourners and prospective friends. Listening only to the extent it could reveal an argumentative opening. He realized he hated the whole enterprise.
“I told the people in my church, ‘I don’t like evangelizing, and I know you hate it, so I’ve decided that I’m formally resigning from witnessing. You’re all free to do so the same,’ ” Henderson recalls. “I said, ‘I love Jesus, you love Jesus, and we all want to connect people with Jesus. But we’re gonna have to figure out new ways to do it.’ ”
In the 15 years since, Henderson has blazed a new path as an innovator, author, church-evaluator, self-professed subversive, and leader in the creation of new ways to be publicly and persuasively Christian in the 21st century. Maybe the most subversive — and sensible — surprise of all is the population to which this well-caffeinated Seattle man has turned for partners, friends and teachers: atheists.
What could a Christian possibly learn from atheists? A lot, it turns out. As more and more Jesus followers like Henderson are discovering, taking a look at yourself and your religion through the eyes of the unconvinced can be a revelatory experience.
Although he is just north of 60, Henderson is emblematic of an up-and-coming wave of evangelicals intent on course correction for the church. Through public-opinion research, grassroots dialogue and ears to the shifting ground, they are getting the message that the old ways don’t cut it anymore.
The shift has serious implications for the age-old mission to evangelize — the focus of untold generations of well-intentioned Christians compelled to live out the Great Commission that Jesus laid out in the Gospel of Matthew (“Go and make disciples of all nations”). The standard argumentative approach — built around “spiritual laws,” A-to-B-to-Z logic, and black-and-white propositions about the one religious truth — seems more counterproductive with each passing year, more likely to repel than persuade.
Tags: Christian Life, Christianity, Church Life, Religion Society, Theology Doctrine Philosophy
July 1st, 2010 at 9:59 pm
Intriguing article, and I’m glad I read the whole thing. I think Jim Henderson has some great insights.
I’m tickled by the idea that I could become be one of God’s whistleblowers!
Was the “…and this one…” supposed to be the Job article? Wasn’t sure how the articles were connected. Interesting nonetheless, though I remain puzzled by that particular story. It seems to be so full of unresolved or unsatisfactorily resolved issues.