My dad, an avid outdoorsman, hunted for meat. Though my step-mom had a nice buck mounted in the living room, dad hadn’t a single mount. Trophies didn’t interest him as much as a full deep freeze and having game always ready for the grill. As a result, they each had very different hunting approaches.
Merla Dean, my step-mom, would take her place on the stand. She would overlook the numerous doe along the way, any other critters that might come along, and even a buck or two if they weren’t just right. Only when she found something that bettered her last kill would she take her shot. Dad was convinced she was so selective because she didn’t like cleaning the deer once she shot it. Whatever her reason, she was selective, harvesting only a couple of deer back then.
Dad, on the other hand, if he had room in the freezer, would take doe, bucks, pigs, or whatever crossed his sightline. Let me pause here to say, if you hunt, hunt legally. Follow the game laws! But dad was a man of his time. I was very young then, so I can’t say what really happened. Let’s just say that dad never returned from a hunt without something, he was always hunting, and we always had meat.
What does this have to do with your church?
I believe one reason churches, and for that matter individual Christians, struggle with evangelism is that they share Christ like my step-mom hunted. They have a narrow vision of what they are hunting for, usually well behaved people who look like them, enjoy their kind of music, vote the same way, and don’t mind the funky casserole at the potluck. It’s a bonus when unbelievers ask few or no questions. Like my step-mom, they don’t want to get into anything too messy. And so they may pray for someone to witness to, but with few soft targets, there’s little to any harvest.
I wonder if we’d be more fruitful for Christ if we were like my dad, taking our shot with the gospel with whomever the Lord brings into our circle. Don’t misunderstand, this isn’t about quick, “all or nothing” gospel presentations. It’s about engaging those God brings near us as if their presence in our lives is not an accident. Lost people are often messy, with whatever brand of sin they bear. But that messiness, when touched by the witness of a godly Christ follower, is often what the Spirit uses to bring conviction. Perhaps the reason these people are in your circle is so they may encounter the gospel through you.
So, don’t miss your shot when you are surrounded by targets.
Until next time…
Bro. Jim