Today I decided to attend the earlier service at my church called "Sacred Journeys." I'd always felt a pull to go, but last week my pastor actually suggested it, and that was somehow the fire I needed lit under me to attend!
I am so thankful I did!
Sacred Journeys is a service held in the Art Gallery of the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church at 9:00 on Sunday mornings. It differs from the traditional Methodist service and liturgy of the 9:30 service in the sanctuary: the congregation sits in a circle around an offering table, there is incense lit, there is beautiful folk music sung, and the attendees are an incredibly tight-knit community. I felt embraced the moment I walked in! So many people were happy I was there and interested. The story told today by the pastor was about evangelism, or as we progressive Christians tend to think of it, "The 'E' Word." Evangelizing that "sells" God and Jesus Christ, that threatens, or coerces, is not what Jesus had in mind for us when he called us to be "fishers of men." As we explored through our own stories the pain that evangelism has caused in our lives, we were left with the question, "How then can we share the love of God and Jesus?"
Not as difficult as you might suspect, actually. Wait for the place, the time, and tell YOUR story. Tell it to someone who wants to hear it. Invite. Welcome. Announce the good news! Everyone will walk their own path of faith anyway; all you can do is invite them to start down the road.
Luke 5
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