I wonder why I’m so gung-ho about evangelism. Being slightly introverted, the role (ok, the caricature) of "evangelist" doesn’t come naturally to me. I wasn’t particularly interested in evangelism during my seminary days. And I don’t find the fear of hell to be a very motivating factor—for myself or many of the non-Christians who I come in contact with. Yet I’m wild about seeing folks in my community discover the love of Jesus.
My theological tribe, the Mennonites, tend to really link service and evangelism, but if anything we are heavy on the service and lite on the evangelism. So it seems almost accidental that I’m so into evangelism.

Once I even accidentally evangelized my neighbors. My wife and I live in a row house, which pretty much forces you to get to know the people around you (the walls are NOT sound-proof.) Next door was a family, I’ll call them the Connors. They weren’t hard to get along with, exactly. Ok, there was the screaming from the front porch - "Justin!!" – when Mom wanted her 11 year old son to come home. There were the late night motor tune-ups, the occasional waft of pot smoke from the garage, the ongoing feud with the neighbors on the other side, and cops checking in on them at all hours of the day. But somehow we got along with them.

We got to know them fairly well over the years. I performed their wedding ceremony, 9 years after they started living together. When their son got into some trouble, we had the parents over to share a six-pack and prayer the night before his court appearance.

After they moved away, I found out they had started going to church. Relatives of this family would stop me in the street to say thanks for all my wife and I had done for them.

I’m telling you, I’m an accidental evangelist. I sometimes even wonder if Christianity is an "opt out" religion. I sometimes wonder if the grace of Jesus extends to everyone unless they specifically reject him. I wonder if we have to opt out of Jesus’ grace rather than opting in through the prayer we say so we don’t go to hell when we die. Now don’t freak out. I said "sometimes". And "wonder".

This is not the eschatological position of an evangelist. There must be some mistake. An accident waiting to happen, or maybe it already has!

Or maybe not. I don’t think an "opt out" position makes me—or God—soft on crime. God is still in relentless pursuit of the fulfillment of God’s purposes, through all of creation and through humanity in particular. Being willing to forgive doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care whether or not God’s will is followed.

There are in fact some ways in which I am not an accidental evangelist. I have done some evangelism training. Two whole summer’s worth: once when I was in high school, and once in college. The one in high school was a nightmare (hit-and-run evangelism, 4 spiritual laws, the works). The other—a summer in Ocean City, New Jersey with the Coalition for Christian Outreach—was really solid, relational, good stuff.

But after that, I went through a major faith crisis, and I had enough trouble just trying to evangelize myself back into faith. So I still feel like an accidental evangelist.

When it comes down to it, I think it’s how I understand the reign of God that drives my desire to bring others into relationship with Jesus. The reign of God breaking forth in our world demands both celebration and invitation. God doing a new thing in you in your community of faith, and in the world around you—that’s well worth celebrating. And it demands invitation. You can’t hide it under a bushel, no!

It’s not just personal piety and a personal relationship that we’re letting shine. It’s God’s shalom. It’s things being made right in the world in small, seemingly insignificant ways. It’s the Connors finding their way to church, but it’s also reconciliation between neighbors. It’s people being willing to get in the way of conflict and help other’s find a way out. It’s working to change systems of injustice. And it’s doing these things loudly and clearly in the name of Jesus the Christ, not just a kindly altruism.

I have a long way to go in proclaiming the good news that the reign of God is at hand. It still feels a little haphazard. Quite a bit accidental. I’m far away from my ideals about the social implications of the reign of God. I’m far from my ideals about proclaiming the good news of Jesus to poor and rich alike.

May God use the desires of my heart, and strengthen my will to serve in Jesus’ name. May I stumble along and get into more and more evangelistic accidents!

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