on evangelism.

you know i always had my own view when it comes to evangelism, and unfortunately it is one that many others will not agree on.

perhaps it was after yesterday's short discussion on the religion & evangelism with my fellow 4g mates who are very much atheists that actually sparked off a train of thoughts in my head, before and after church.

maybe i should talk more about my background first. i come from a pretty much normal family, just that my dad's a christian, and my mum's a buddhist. my brother believes in Christ & God but doesn't attend church nor read the bible, while my sis is an atheist. pretty complicated, huh. which is why we don't discuss religion at home, and also the reason i havent been going to church much during the bulk of my teenage years. only recently this year have i resumed church-going and active praying, and that's largely because of the spiritual growth i've experienced in nias.

back to the topic. i don't believe in aggressive evangelism, which to me is the action of actively trying to convert non-believers or forcing them to come to church or what not. i don't believe such actions work, nor do i believe that any christians converted in such a manner truly accepts Christianity the way it is. perhaps it's through my mum that i've developed such an opinion on evangelism, but having seen everything first hand just simply reinforces this idea. my mum, being a non-believer, has told me about how dad's friends tried to persuade her to go to church, to convert, and even giving her pressure about how my dad's a christian and how she should follow suit as a wife. i could understand where her frustrations came about, she visited the church, gave herself a chance to believe in Him, and even after trying she still couldnt get herself to accept Christ. but if you don't believe, you don't believe.

it's really as simple as that. just like how everyone have their own values and opinions, everyone has their own beliefs. and no one has the right to force anything down into anyone's throat.

to me, as long as you tried before, as long you gave yourself and God a chance, as long as you took the effort to understand what Christianity truly is, it's alright to say no. because everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. and if the time comes, when you finally experience yourself first hand how awesome God is, come to me and i'll bring you to church. because really, you need to experience it to start believing in it, and then faith will carry you on.

and why did i become a Christian again this year? because He has done amazing things in my life, and i've seen for myself. and that's how i think it should be.

and you know, i'm super thankful when pastor prince suddenly blurted out his opinions on evangelism during service yesterday. like SUPER random! i really needed the reaffirmation on my views on evangelism (being rather different from the bulk of christians), especially after talking to the guys yesterday, and i really think God heard me, and gave me that reassurance. what he said yesterday was totally in resonance! in a very singaporean manner, he said something in the likes of "don't believe then don't believe la! i'm not harmed in any way if they don't believe what. it's their loss for not believing, not mine!" (in a very jokingly manner, and in NO WAY insulting) you know, i was totally clapping in joy hahaha. like WTH! totally what i'm thinking of!!!

and he even took a step further to say that he felt very insulted whenever he sees a christian aggressively trying to convert a non-believer, to the point of stuffing Christianity down his throat. because, simply said, God is simply AWESOME and ATTRACTIVE on His own! and by actually doing aggressive evangelism is akin to some aggressive salesman forcing people to take his brochures trying to sell some lousy products to the passerbys (okay, fine, i added that salesman portion haha). i was like "OH YEAH!!!" seriously, when something is truly good you don't even need awesome marketing techniques nor aggressive sales promotions to make it sell, because people simply go to them themselves! in marketing terms, pull techniques rather than push. (hmm, maybe that's why i'm so interested in marketing hahaha)

and i really believe that is why new creation grew so quickly even without aggressive evangelism. it is really God's word that bring people to church week after week, and it is really because of how awesome He is. not because of the whatever concert-styled worship sessions, not because of convenience, nor is it because any other reason you could think of. deep down in the hearts of every Christian out there, we go to church because we want to know more about God, to praise Him, to learn through His word, to appreciate the Good News. that's simply how it is.

and i really hate it when people say bad things about my church, simply because it's a megachurch in Singapore and megachurches are normally associated with bad things (think city harvest). not true. i've joined new creation in 2004, when the church was still relatively small, and DEFINITELY not one that you've heard of. i'm 21 going onto 22 this year, and i have my own values and beliefs. and if you are a friend you should believe that i would make the right choice in the church i go, and if you know me, i'll definitely NOT attend a church whose beliefs and values are totally different from mine (like how GAOG doesn't). if NCC ever have a pastor (omg even saying pastor is like an insult to all the other pastors in singapore) like rony tan (youtube him) one day, trust me, i'll get myself out of there IMMEDIATELY. because such people will definitely not earn my respect because they are simply not deserving of it.

so yeaps, i love my church, and i love my pastor, and most importantly, i love my God. if you don't love Him the same way as i do, then it's okay, really. just don't put Him down just like how i will never put yours down. because in the end, all religions have the same purpose, be it chrisitianity, islam, buddhism, hinduism, etc. etc., and that is to do all things good.

p.s. not that i think evangelism is bad, really. i think its good in fact, and anyone who tries to convert someone they love, be it friends, family, or lover, really only has good intentions. (think: they've nothing to benefit from if they convert you, right?) i hope that i don't step on anyone's toes here.

anyway, feel free to post a comment to express your views, even if they might contradict mine. and feel free to look for me if you wanna debate on this or even better, if you wanna know more about Christianity. but yeaps i'm still a very young christian and i'm still learning, so i'll just do my best with the little things i know!

+ guaishou's! :D