Evangelism of the Rose

Evangelism of the Rose

A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Randy K. Hammer – August 4, 2019

Matthew 28:16-20; 1 Peter 3:13-17 GNT

Reading from Barbara Brown Taylor’s Holy Envy

The story you are about to hear is true.  The names have been omitted or changed to protect the innocent – or the guilty, as the case may be. 

A certain church that we knew very well some four decades ago had the verse, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” written on the front wall of their sanctuary over the pulpit.  These words attributed to Jesus, and included in slightly different versions at the end of Matthew and Mark, are known as “The Great Commission.”

Well, this certain church met for services four times every week.  On Sunday morning there was Sunday school for all ages, followed by the worship service.  On Sunday evening there was prayer meeting, followed by another worship/singing/preaching service.  They gathered again on Wednesday evening for prayer meeting and Bible study.  And then on Thursday evenings, the preacher and 10-12 of the most zealous members gathered at the church before dispersing into the community for community visitation and “soul winning.”

Each Thursday evening, they would decide who was going to call upon which unchurched, unsaved neighbors who lived within a 3-4 mile radius of the church.  Then in pairs of two they would go forth to knock on neighborhood doors unannounced.  When those called upon answered the door, the church visitors would ask if they could come in and visit for a bit.  After a few minutes of small talk, the conversation turned serious.  “Are you saved?  Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior?” were the questions of the hour.  If the person answered in the affirmative, then they were invited to share their experience, citing the time and place that said conversion had occurred, and then encouraged to come to church on Sunday.  If they answered no, then began a well-scripted ritual in attempts to get the person or couple to pray the sinner’s prayer and be converted on the spot.  Sometimes these encounters would become high-pressure conversations that could last for two hours or more.

One such neighbor, whom I will called Denny, who had no church affiliation and could not testify to his salvation, and who had the misfortune of living less than a mile from the church, was called upon repeatedly, week after week.  Finally in exasperation, Denny agreed to give in to the pressure and say the “sinner’s prayer” in order to get the church visitors to leave and so he could henceforth be able to live in peace and not have to dread the weekly Thursday evening knock on his door.

As I said, this story is 100% factual in every detail, except for the name Denny.  But the truth is, the story I have shared was at one time common in many Bible Belt communities; and for all I know it may still be today.  High-pressure evangelism: cornering people and strong-arming them into making a decision, being saved, saying the right words and praying the right prayer to assure their eternal salvation.

Evangelism – it is derived from a Greek word meaning “good news or gospel.”  Evangel is an angel or messenger of good news.  Evangelism in the New Testament is a good word, having positive connotations.  But the way that evangelism has been practiced by some has given it bad reputation, and consequently, has left many Christians and churches wanting nothing to do with it.  But surely there are more ways than the one I have shared to engage in evangelism, or sharing the good news as we embrace it.  Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater!  Evangelism is the way we share with others our faith and the good news as our congregation practices it.  It is the way we reach out to and welcome new members and continue to grow.  And that is a good thing.  We need to reach out and continue to grow.  The alternative to that is not good!  At this point enter “the evangelism of the rose.”

The term, “evangelism of the rose,” comes from the great Indian leader Gandhi.  As noted in a previous sermon, Mahatma Gandhi at one time, it is said, considered becoming a Christian.  But when he tried to enter a Christian church one Sunday for services, he was denied entrance because he was of the wrong caste and wrong skin color.  Gandhi also had conversations with Christian missionaries.  Distressed by their missionary tactics, by the way they went about trying to win converts, Gandhi was not happy.  Gandhi reminded the said Christians that a rose does not have to preach or pressure.  A rose simply shares its beauty and spreads it fragrance, allowing people to be drawn to it as they will.  “Let us think of the bulk of your people who preach the gospel,” Gandhi said to a Christian missionary.  “Do they spread the perfume of their lives?  That is to me the sole criterion.  All I want them to do is to live Christian lives, not to annotate them.”

Barbara Brown Taylor, in commenting on Gandhi’s words and experience, says, “In a single sentence, Gandhi has given me a new way to live with the verse at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, which Christians sometimes call the Great Commission.  The way to make a disciple is to be one.  If your life does not speak, your footnotes will have limited impact.”¹ 

Evangelism of the rose – letting your kind and respectful words and Christian life and actions speak for themselves and leading others to want to adopt the same kind of Christian lifestyle, as opposed to high pressure conversion tactics in order to wrestle a decision out of someone when the fruits of your own life do not match or align with the life and teachings of Christ.

Oh, as a footnote to that church story I shared, we would later learn that the personal lives of some of those Thursday evening “soul winners” were less than stellar; some of the details of their private lives that later came to light were rather unsettling.

The writer of the First Letter of Peter encourages, “Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15-16 GNT).  As already noted, it is important that we invite others to our church and that we share our faith and beliefs when appropriate.  But if I knock on someone’s door unannounced and proceed for two hours to pressure them into making a decision, like a persistent and unrelenting vacuum cleaner salesman, which they ultimately do just to get rid of me, I have not acted with gentleness and respect.

In another place Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 ESV).

And so, as Gandhi so eloquently pointed out, a rose attracts and wins admirers simply by being a rose – through the beauty of its appearance and the fragrance it exudes.  Likewise, when it comes to evangelism (which simply means sharing good news), it seems to me that many more admirers will be attracted to the Christian Way and to a particular church, not by knocking on neighborhood doors unannounced and pressuring people to convert and attend church (which we likely would never do anyway, since that is not our church’s personality), but rather, through the beauty of our lives, actions, and example, and the “fragrance” of love, compassion, kindness, and service our lives exude.  Evangelism of the rose.  May it be so.  Amen.           

¹Barbara Brown Taylor, Holy Envy.  New York: HarperOne, 2019.  Quotations from pp. 59, 151, 152.