How to engage the lost

By Greg Garner, Voices Contributor Sunday, August 11, 2019

I have opinions. Strong ones. I prefer college football over the NFL. I like Italian over Greek, Jiff All-Natural Peanut Butter over Peter Pan, and Ford trucks over Dodges. I don’t care what a Kardashian wears… ever; or what a British royal family member names their kid. I vote and I am concerned about the direction of our country. My heart breaks at the news of El Paso and Dayton, Ohio.

Tragically, my opinions cloud my judgment. They can and do become myopic lenses through which I view or interpret life, culture, and politics. How should the Church respond to a tragedy that teeters on the edge of a politicized issue? Especially one that involves a loss of life and the subsequent rooting around in another’s deeply held beliefs.

It is easy to get sucked into a cultural eddy of talking-heads, politicians and social media warriors who may or may not have ulterior motives. It is natural to want to pull out the knives, sharpen the blade and then make a point, to be right. It is easy to embrace a “we” versus “them” mentality.

Jesus prayed, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” John 17:15. This was not God’s permission to withdraw from the lostness of our neighbors; but rather an invitation to engage in their brokenness. “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” John 17:18.

And it begs an important question, “How should I engage the lost without getting lost, even when all seems lost?”

I want to begin with a reminder from the Apostle Paul.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesian 6:12

Now I would like for you to ask yourself…

1. Am I fighting the wrong enemy?

Despite this cautionary reminder we still find ourselves in a cage match with someone else. Unfortunately, I am woefully prideful and tend to firmly grasp earthly ideologies that hinder eternal relationships. I forget that I am an “ambassador for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20) not an apologist for Greg’s tiny fiefdom. I often wonder why Christians get all bent out of shape when a non-Christian behaves like a non-Christian. My behavior was (and still is on occasions) not very Christ-like. In fact, according to Jesus in John 3:18 I did not become more sinful as the years went by, I was born dead in them. That is our common ancestry. Most of the time, my enemy is not the other person, but Satan and the stranglehold he has on an unredeemed life.

2. Am I fighting on the wrong battlefield?

Social Media is a horrible platform for true dialogue. It fosters and breed’s ideological silos and echo chambers where like-minded people share like-minded posts to get a thumbs up from someone that already agrees with them. We all have access to untold amounts of information. And I can find whatever tidbit of news I want to reinforce my view. That is why social media is limited in what change it can help foster. Looking at a screen and hiding behind a keyboard is much easier than sitting across a table and looking at another human being. But face to face conversations become cumbersome when we don’t deal with the piece of lumber in our own eye. So, the real battlefields are twofold. First is the prayer closet. If I am not praying, I probably shouldn’t be responding. Second is the soil of my heart. We are in a battle but the front lines are not the dissenting views of my neighbor, it is the sin still clinging to my heart.

3. Am I fighting for the wrong victory?

People are created equal. Ideas are not. I once had the idea to jump off of a building and grab power lines. The other guy did not. His idea was better than mine. I whole heartedly believe in absolute truth. However, far too many are waging wars for their ideas or views. Not God’s glory or His kingdom. If my goal is to win an argument, even if I know I am right, I overshadow the God I proclaim to serve. If the finish line is an election or legislation we succumb to the same terrestrial view as Judas who betrayed Jesus. Judas seemed to be more concerned with a Roman defeat than a heavenly kingdom. Victory is not defined by which side wins or loses in the arena of public debate but whether Jesus has been glorified, darkness has been overcome and the lost have been found.

4. Am I fighting with the wrong weapons?

While I might think I am clever or “wise in my own eyes” (Proverbs 3:7) or that my political party has all the answers – I am not and they don’t. Poking my head out of my deeply entrenched ideological bunker and lobbing memes or thoughts at the other side too often just adds to the noise. Policy is insufficient but a “peace that surpasses all understanding” is not. Laws do little to curb evil but “love never fails”. Training can change some behavior but “truth will make you free.” And when the world seems to be crashing in around us we take hope and find our strength in the divine truth “that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Greg Garner resides in Dallas, Georgia, with his wife of 21 years, Kari, and their 2 children, Kaden and Kenli. He has served on staff at West Ridge Church for over 7 years as the Director of Local Outreach, and now as the Director of Men’s Ministry. Originally from Texas, he loves college football and the Texas Longhorns, and eating Mexican food as often as possible. Greg has a deep love and passion for God’s Word and truly believes that full devotion to Christ happens best in authentic Biblical community.