I admit I used to love to sing "I'm in the Lord's Army" in bible school and what not, but on my way to the studio this morning I saw a big van with "God's army" on the back and it made me cringe. To use the analogy of Army you have to consider everything that the word entails. Enemies, guns, destruction, innocent blood shed, families away from their loved ones, often times of famine and increased poverty...etc. Who exactly are Christians trying to kill? Now I realise that all that is meant by this metaphor is working for Christ to "save" others (from what to what I'm not sure) but do we really want to teach our children to wage war against non believers? There are other analogies that, while they are not as horrific, are still brutal. One that is often used and sometimes over used is workers harvesting a crop. Another example is being fishers of men. What I find interesting is that all of these analogies deal with something or someone intrusively taking something out of its natural habitat and ending its purpose and its life to fulfill the worker's or soldier's needs. Knowing this, how can we help but examine Christian Evangelism? Is Christian Evangelism done solely for the good of the "lost" or is it done for selfish reasons. Beyond that, is it done because it is something we want to do or because we were told to do it?
I wish the word Evangelism would fade from existance. Many of my friends and family have battle wounds from Christians in the name of Evangelism. What the wounded need, what we all need is friendship. Pure, unconditional friendship. This is the way Christ intended us to live. Sharing life with each other.
