Fishers of Men, Not Keepers of the Aquarium

A few weeks ago, I came across a simple slogan that had a huge impact on me, and I think it describes very clearly and succinctly one of the greatest challenges that we will face in North American Anglicanism in the 21st century.  The slogan, which was posted on the Alpha Facebook page, is this:  “God calls us to be fishers of men, not keepers of the aquarium.”

Whoa!  What a great descriptor of the Episcopal Church that many of us grew up in – the same Episcopal Church that has been bleeding membership for many years now.  In addition to that, Archbishop Duncan – time and again – has challenged us to be authentic Anglicans and not merely conservative Episcopalians.  What does this mean?  What does it mean to be an authentic Anglican?  I believe that part of it lies in above slogan.  For too long, our churches have made it their mission to take care of their own.  Jesus, on the other hand, calls us to care for those around us, in our communities, in our country, and in the world around us.

One of the biggest struggles that we face is that it is pretty easy to talk a big game about the need for evangelism, but it is another challenge completely to walk the talk.  Churches have embarked on all kinds of evangelism projects, usually with measurable goals, and then the members sit back and scratch their heads, wondering why in the world it did not work.

In my experience, there are two main reasons why we fail at evangelism.  The first is a lack of courage and fortitude, and the second is a lack of a specific set of tools for evangelism.  I would like to look at each of these separately in more detail.

The first challenge – development of courage and fortitude – is something that can only be given to us by God.  The strength that we need to be able to witness can be found in a scripture verse that has recently been made famous by Tim Tebow, a quarterback in the NFL.  The verse is Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me.”  The strength and the courage that we need to be effective witness only comes when we are connected with God and mutually encouraged by other disciples.  We become connected by God in three main ways – through regular worship of God, through regular times of personal prayer, and through routine study of God’s Word.  If we fall short in one of these areas, it should be no surprise to us that we are woefully inadequate in our evangelism.  On the other hand, if we commit to regular times of prayer, study and worship, we will be so connected to God that He will provide us the strength to be effective.  The bottom line is this: we cannot do it on our own strength.  We can only do it with God working in us and through us to accomplish His purpose – and that is to draw people closer to Him.

The second challenge is the development of tools for evangelism.  Many of us are in love with the idea of evangelism, but then often don’t go for it because we don’t know how.  The answer to this is simpler than we think: develop a plan, write it down, and revisit it often, making changes where necessary.  Most people who are successful, especially in business, are good at planning and they think and pray things through before they even start.  Here are some things to include in your “Living Faith Plan.”

• How I connect with God – Include in this part of your plan a schedule or a goal for connecting with God through worship, prayer and study of God’s Word.  Make sure that you include specific prayers for evangelism, asking God to show you who He is calling you to minister to and to bring to Christ.  In your studies, make sure that you are studying God’s Word and are not distracted by other things.  Consider your spiritual gifts and how God might be using them to draw other into relationship with Him.
• Practical Aspects of Evangelism – Include in this part of your plan specific actions that you will take to make yourself available for evangelism.  Some of you may want to hold “office hours” at a local Starbucks.  Some of you might join clubs or organizations that put you in regular contact with unbelievers.  Keep a list of the people that God has placed on your heart to talk about the faith.  Pray for them patiently and regularly, be an amazing example of a disciple of Jesus, and be there for them when they struggle, and pick them up when they fall.  Know your own story and don’t be afraid to share it with them for encouragement.

I believe from the bottom of my heart that if every parishioner in our congregation wrote down a plan, and then came up with the names of five people that they know to be either marginal believers or unbelievers and went out of their way to friend them and witness to them over time, using the Anglican 4th Day model of “make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ,” we would see instant growth in our churches.  When we are intentional about evangelism and witnessing to those around us, it becomes contagious and brings all kinds of new excitement.  This kind of excitement is generated by the conversion and formation of new believers in Jesus Christ, and that can only happen when we step out of our comfort zones and outside of the walls of the church.

Don’t be afraid to step out of the aquarium.  Go into the world, and be fishers of men.