Evangelism in pluralistic culture

I still remember going to a toy shop in my hometown as a child. Usually, there t were about a dozen toys, no more, to \ choose from. Now the same shop displays thousands of different toys, thousands of different options. In one sense, it was easier to make a decision then than now.

Today, moral decisions, ethical dilemmas, lifestyle options are in many ways like a modern toy shop. We are given numerous options, a plethora of choices. The culture no longer hands down an accepted set of rules for how to live, nor does it provide a single standard for judging right and wrong. As never before, we are living in a multiple-choice era. Another word more commonly used (and loaded with connotations) to name our era is "pluralistic."

The root, "plural," is a simple term. According to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, it means "more than one." If anything describes our climate, it's this word, or more specifically its adjective, "pluralistic." We live in a radically pluralistic culture. This fact has numerous implications for all areas of our life. But for the church, one aspect stands out in particular: the confrontational styles of evangelism that many outstanding preachers used in the past are, today, in this pluralistic culture, deemed utterly offensive and in fact are rejected by almost all preachers in all denominations. Thus, we need to ask ourselves this question: in the kind of environment we now face, what is an acceptable approach to evangelization?

New methods for a new age

Enormous disagreements exist among preachers and religious institutions about the most appropriate method for evangelizing this pluralistic culture. The Billy Graham School of Evangelism, for instance, disagrees with the World Council of Churches (which holds a very ecumenical view of evangelism). But despite these disagreements, the responsibility of the church of Jesus Christ is to find the right approach to fulfill our commission.

This is possible. Through the centuries the Christian Church has always found more than one way to meet the challenges presented by changing cultures. Church history proves it possible to design more than one evangelistic strategy. Ellen G. White, in her most comprehensive book on evangelism, says: "There must be no fixed rules; our work is a progressive work, and there must be room left for methods to be improved upon....

"Some of the methods used in this work will be different from the methods used in the work in the past." ¹

The content of the gospel is, always, the same. That should never change. Pluralism doesn't imply a change in the message in order to fit the particular religious taste or mood of the culture. But responsible followers of Jesus Christ today have to present the message in a way that will reach the target audience. It's not the message that needs radical change, but the method of delivery, or the package in which it is presented.

The key

In the Bible we find a paradigm for dealing with the pluralistic mentality. In Paul's famous evangelistic meeting on Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-34), he provided a model on how to engage people to consider the gospel in a pluralistic environment.

Paul was alone in the city of Athens. While waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him, he went for a walk through and was "greatly distressed" by all the false idols. He simply started talking to the people where he found them, such as in the marketplace (verse 17). One time he engaged in debate with a "group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers" (verse 18). The ideas Paul communicated were new to them; he unsettled these intellectuals with talk about "Jesus and the resurrection" (verse 18). Intrigued, and seeking clarification (verse 19), they invited Paul to join them for a formal session in their chambers. Paul, of course, accepted.

Though Paul looked back at his Mars Hill experience as a failure and in one sense it was the crucial point here is this: Paul's attitude of respect toward others freed him to genuinely accept the Athenian philosophers, even though he did not agree with them. In doing so, Paul demonstrated how to open doors in order to effectively evangelize people belonging to a pluralistic society. Accept the people, no matter how wrong their ideas are. As in Paul's case, this doesn't guarantee that they will accept your message; what it does guarantee is that they will be more open to listen to it at least.

Acceptance, not endorsement

Many Christians today have reservations about accepting people who don't share their spiritual values. "Will my acceptance of this person," they fear, "be misinterpreted as an endorsement of what they believe?" It's an understandable fear, but one we shouldn't have.

On the contrary, consider the consequences of closing ourselves off from those who don't believe as we do. We would be committing evangelistic suicide. Below are some suggestions that, I believe, would help those who want to minister in a pluralistic society and alleviate some of the fears.

1. Acceptance is not approval. Just as Jesus loves the sinner but detests the sin, so we are called to accept the unbeliever, whatever their beliefs. We can love the person, not what the person believes. Christians, of all people, should be able to make that distinction.

2. Acceptance does not necessarily compromise spiritual convictions.

Christians need to live with guarded wisdom, but accepting and loving the unspiritual has nothing inherently in common with spiritual compromise.

3. Acceptance sets up a reciprocal law of life. In any interpersonal relationship, if you don't give it, you don't get it. If you do not accept people, they do not accept you. If you do not listen seriously to people, they do not listen seriously to you, and if they don't listen, they will never hear what you have to say about Christ.

4. Show respect. Not accepting what a person believes doesn't mean that you can't show respect for those beliefs. Respect breeds respect. Many people sincerely believe in what they do. By respecting them, and even the beliefs you reject, you will break down barriers that otherwise will greatly hinder your attempt to win souls.

Conclusion

The failure of Christian believers to accept nonbelievers has shut down the door of good relationships; even worse, it has destroyed the very ground of effective evangelism right from the start. We live in society where very few accept our values. Get used to it. The sooner you do, the sooner you will learn to accept others as they are; then, and only then, will you be in a position to help bring these people the good news of a crucified and risen Saviour who died to save everyone, even self-satisfied Christians who deem themselves too good to accept those whose taste in toys (and everything else) radically differs from their own.