It’s Sunday morning and the faithful have gathered. This morning at Hometown Friends Church we are talking about evangelism in the context of “show and tell.” The word evangelism brings up some uncomfortable images for me. One example is the question “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you would spend eternity?” I don’t see this as a productive question to ask a stranger.

Today I’m hearing the “show and tell” aspects of sharing Jesus not as things to keep on opposite sides of a balance scale, but as a blend that holds the showing and the telling close enough that actions and words are seamless.

This talk about evangelism has triggered an old memory from more than 25 years ago. Television evangelist James Robison was holding a crusade in Jackson, Mississippi, and I had interviewed him. The questions included some inquiry about where care for the poor was on his agenda. Within a day or two after the interview, in our home I was talking with a friend about James Robison. My critical, cynical attitude came into a new light when the friend told me it was at a James Robison meeting that she and her mother became Christians.

I try to remember that God uses people and methods that don’t fit inside my paradigms.