Day 1 - 40 Days of Focus: Evangelism

Day 1
Today begins the journey. 40 Days of focused discovery. What is evangelism?

When I hear the word, “evangelism,” feelings of guilt and dread start to float in. It’s amazing how one word can trigger such a fast flood of emotion. I suppose that in some ways it’s similar to the feelings that we get when we hear someone say, “tax audit or traffic jam or dentist.” Over my lifetime I have heard dozens of teachings on evangelism and experienced dozens more challenging opportunities to give it a try. I’ve seen many people come to saving faith and I’ve experienced God’s presence many times. So, why the dreaded emotional response? Does my experience with evangelism match with what God intended? Is the call to evangelize just a difficult reality of the Christian life or have we ruined another one of God’s gifts by adding human misunderstandings to Christ’s teachings?

Before I answer any of these questions, I want to give others an opportunity to weigh-in. What words come to you mind when you hear, “evangelism?”