Shepherd evangelism

Vas Avramidis's sermon on Shepherd Evangelism is quiet dynamite. He addresses the issue of why most Christians don't seem to evangelize. He hits the nail on the head, I'm afraid, when he says that

. . . sadly these days Christians are no longer lighthouses, nor beacons. No, we are no different than the world. We have buried our light deep, not just covered it up. Nothing distinguishes us from the world around us.

Most of us aren't saved by a good argument, Avramidis says, but by meeting God. Do non-Christians see God in the church? Oftentimes, not. Popular media's views of Christians "as liars, hypcrites, and phonies" may not be that far from the truth. Christians will fight for the most trivial reason.

And believe me, you do not show love by picking on others, or deriding their ideas. You don't show love by trying to get your way and bullying others into submission. You don't show love by arguing over preferences or tastes. You show love by serving. By humbling yourself and being merciful to others. Even when it means that you have to sacrifice your own desires. If you really care for this church and want to see it grow, then make it your mission to start loving and serving, and put aside your own desires.

Avramidis's post is long, but it's challenging and worth reading.