The Everyday Club

11/11/11 Jose, about 35
At a Home Depot I decided to witness to whomever might be near me after I found the item I was looking for. It turned out to be a man named Jose who could speak English only about as good as I could speak Spanish, which made for a labor-intensive conversation. Jose said he believes in God but not in heaven or hell, and that he believes he is probably a sinner simply because he doesn't go to church, though he didn't seem too concerned about it. He has a four-year old son so I told Jose about the responsibility he has as a father to provide spiritual guidance for his son. This seemed to hit home with him and to motivate him to take home and read some Gospel tracts I gave him...... I've been realizing as I witness that people like Jose don't necessarily feel the true burden of guilt and condemnation for breaking God's commands but rather they feel bad for failing to live up to the (perceived) demands of church. I think in our often misguided efforts to get people in the doors of our churches we then bend over backwards to make them comfortable even to the point of ignoring their sin. No I believe that the bulk of "doing the work of an evangelist" should take place outside the church, in the streets and marketplace, so that there are clear distinctions between those who are believers and those who are not. The work of the evangelist outside the church upfront can save the pastor from a lot of trouble inside the church later on.