Recently, I read a post online. The following sentence made an impression on me. “When the Great Commission is taught inside the walls of our churches, the call to make disciples by sharing the good news of Jesus is often tied to a sense of duty, or wrapped in a pursuit of a correct presentation of a certain ordained methodology that is currently popular.” I wrote the following response.
I agree with you. That’s also been my observation. The problem with that approach is that some of those methods are methods that worked with the older generation. Many of them have written books that are currently used to guide teaching in our churches. In fact, many of them are preachers and teachers. They draw from their own experience. The remember how they came to Christ and try to use what worked for them to help others. I think you may remember the popular sentiment, “It worked for me, I believe it will work for you”. But that’s not always true. Our God is an amazingly creative God. In communicating the gospel message, it’s very important to contextualize the message while keeping the principles intact. We do that when we do cross-cultural missions. Yet we forget to remember that even though we may be Americans, different generations of Americans have different cultures. They certainly have a lot in common with past generations but their thinking is shaped by their generational culture as well.
The methods that worked for the older generation did so because they had certain beliefs and values. Those methods worked within that context.
The truth is that Generation Y and Generation Z individuals have different values and beliefs and naturally think very differently. The old methods don’t work as well. That is not to say those methods are different. I think reliance on the Holy Spirit and gathering information through relationships will help us diagnose the situation before we know which medicine to prescribe or administer to the patient. To that point, it’s good to learn how different generations and sections within our society people think.
An excellent scripture that shows a great reliance on the Holy Spirit which I think will allow us to better contextualize the gospel and reach different people differently comes from Acts 8:26-40. This is the passage of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.
It says:
“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” Acts 8:26-31
Notice from this passage that Philip seemed to have been sleeping or sitting/lying and resting. Then an angel of the Lord went to him and gave him the assignment. Then when he went to where he was sent, even then he relied on the Holy Spirit to tell him who to go to. The amazing thing is that Philip went and heard the person already reading the prophet Isaiah. Not just any passage, it was a passage about Christ. And the Eunuch is the one who invites Philip to come in and sit with him and seems very willing to let Philip explain things to him. If you read the rest of the story, you would realize that he ends up getting baptized.
I think when we learn to work in sync with the spirit, we would not have to expend too much fleshly effort sharing the gospel. That doesn’t mean we don’t study, practice how to share, prepare ourselves and be ready, but that we rely on him to guide us so that our effort is not wasting shooting at random.
Oh Lord, I pray that you will help all of us in the church to learn to hear your voice better. I pray that you will teach us to rely on you. I pray that we will tarry in prayer and plow the fields of people’s hearts and then go out in obedience to the guidance of your spirit and share the gospel with each person in a way that will meet their needs. Lord, help us not to fight a spiritual war blindly. Give us the insight to see the spiritual warfare going on in the minds of people. Help us discern the strongholds that the devil has bound people’s minds to do his will so that we would speak just the right word at the right time. In the name of Jesus, Amen!