by Betty Tesh

Created on: June 03, 2008

Are Christian evangelists helpful or hurtful to the modern-day church? As my dear old granny was fond of saying about almost every question: "It all depends."

The ability to introduce people to Christianity (helpfulness), or the ability to turn people away from organized religion altogether (hurtfulness) all depends upon the personality and the purpose of the evangelist.

Close your eyes and say the words, "Christian Evangelist." What image comes to mind? If your first thought was of a slick, expensively dressed, immaculately coiffed individual with an open Bible in one hand, oozing sincerity from every shinning pore while he offers his latest DVD, book, series of Bible studies, or pearl-encrusted 14-carat gold cross(available with a simple $100 dollar donation) or a glossy 8x10 autographed picture of the evangelist's entire family in front of their 12 bedroom mansion (for a $25 donation), then, my friend, you probably have identified a gentleman or a lady who is doing great harm to the image of Christians everywhere. This person usually preaches enthusiastically about 1)God's intention to bless those who support his or her ministry, 2)God's intention to destroy those who do not live according to the evangelist's interpretation of the Bible, or 3) how God has caused this particular evangelist to prosper because he/she has uncovered a secret to knowing the mind of God. These are the evangelists harm Christianity, because, while they may begin their ministry intending to introduce people to the Good News of Jesus Christ, somewhere along the way they turn the focus away from God and on themselves, or they fall into the trap of believing that they have a special knowledge of the will of God-a knowledge that is hidden from others.

God doesn't hide his intentions, revealing them only to certain people. The mind of God is beyond human understanding, and any evangelist who tells you he has received a "special" revelation from God is not only fooling himself, but is, intentionally or unintentionally, giving false information to others.

The image of the "Christian Evangelist" that should come to mind, of course, is of some ordinary person (a neighbor, a co-worker, a family member) who loves God and God's creations, especially his human creations; who seeks justice for the oppressed, shows mercy to the downtrodden, and makes so secret of the fact that any good he does comes from a sense of gratitude for what God has done for him. He or she doesn't waste time arguing theology, but through prayer and love of scripture attempts to learn all that he can. This kind of person has, throughout the ages, been the true evangelist-the one who brings people to meet Jesus, and allows Jesus to take the job from that point on.

An evangelist is "a preacher of the Christian doctrine." The most helpful evangelists are those who live Christian lives of purity and love; the most hurtful are those who speak the words, but fail to live the message. As Granny said, "It all depends."

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