Brian McLaren is the founding pastor of Cedar
Ridge Community Church in the Washington, D.C., area. He is a leading
author on the relationship between the church and our changing culture.
McLaren’s books include The Church on the Other Side, A New
Kind of Christian and More Ready Than You Realize. McLaren
recently spoke with Earl Creps, director of the doctor of ministry program
for Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, about how everyday believers
can be powerfully used of God.
EVANGEL: How can the average person in a local
church, who wants to be relevant, reach out with God’s love?
MCLAREN:
Two things come to my mind. First, in the context of the local church,
most people would agree that their church is not perfect. It needs growth
and it needs change in some way. In response, believers will either
be people who make it easier for those improvements and changes for
growth to happen or they will impede it. A wonderful prayer is, "God,
help me encourage every good idea that comes along in our church. Even
if it’s something that we’ve never tried before. Even if it’s
something a little outside the lines. If it’s from You, help me
to have a heart that will encourage it."
It’s a terrible thought that some believers
can live their lives and grow old and retire and always stand in the
way of good things that could have happened in their churches. It’s
a wonderful thought, whether you are 16 years old or 76 years old, that
you can be an encourager of fresh and new growth in your church.
Second, all believers must understand that part
of being a Christian means loving non-Christians. When we wake up every
day, we should say, "Lord, help me show love to a non-Christian
today. Help me, Lord, to have the chance to speak a good word about
You to someone today." The answer to that prayer might just be
to say "God bless you" to someone, or it might be to listen
to someone and tell them you will be praying for their need. Or it might
be telling someone what you did over the weekend – including the
fact that you had a great time in church. It might be showing a kindness,
inviting a neighbor over for dinner, going out for a walk with someone
or having lunch and getting to know them better.
EVANGEL: When developing a friendship with an
unbeliever, are there ways in which personal evangelistic ministry is
different today than it would have been, say, a generation ago?
MCLAREN: Absolutely. Unbelieving people that
we meet today usually don’t have a lot of background knowledge
of the Bible and of the gospel. What knowledge they have is often filled
with misconceptions and negative impressions. We have to go a lot farther
in preparing the way for the words of the gospel by showing the deeds
of the gospel. This means being patient, listening, and avoiding criticism.
Then the opportunity may come to say something positive about the gospel.
EVANGEL: In practical terms, how is personal
evangelism developed today?
MCLAREN: So much evangelism training in the
past was about learning arguments; I think people are tired of arguments.
Every advertisement on radio or television or through some telemarketer
is an argument to buy some product. It doesn’t matter how good
the product is, people are tired of being hounded. Christians need to
see the gospel not as an argument, but as the story about God and His
love for us. It’s a story about how God has moved in my life and
a story of how God wants to move in my friend’s life. Believers
should worry less about learning arguments and memorizing outlines and
concentrate a lot more on being a good neighbor, on serving and showing
love, on asking good questions and listening and starting an ongoing
conversation where it is all right to talk about God and spiritual things.
EVANGEL: When you look at the American cultural
landscape, what are some of the big factors that you see driving all
these changes?
MCLAREN: There is talk about transition from
a modern to a post-modern world or a new emerging culture. I think a
lot of people in our church see all the negative sides to this. Preachers
can spend a lot of time talking about what’s wrong with the changes.
And there are a lot of wrong things to be upset about. At the same time,
we can be so preoccupied with the problems that we don’t see the
opportunities. For example, a generation ago people were far more likely
to say, "I believe in science; I don’t believe in religion."
Now the common viewpoint is, "I am a spiritual person." And
what I think people mean by that is they respect science but no longer
think science has all the answers. They recognize there must be something
beyond science. That gives believers enormous common ground to work
from.
MCLAREN:
Two things come to my mind. First, in the context of the local church,
most people would agree that their church is not perfect. It needs growth
and it needs change in some way. In response, believers will either
be people who make it easier for those improvements and changes for
growth to happen or they will impede it. A wonderful prayer is, "God,
help me encourage every good idea that comes along in our church. Even
if it’s something that we’ve never tried before. Even if it’s
something a little outside the lines. If it’s from You, help me
to have a heart that will encourage it."