While Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers. One was Simon, also known as Peter, and the other was Andrew. They were fishermen, and they were casting their net into the lake. Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.”
Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him. Jesus walked on until he saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus asked them to come with him too. Right away they left the boat and their father and went with Jesus.
Matthew 4:18-22
Speaking with people this last week I’ve found a number who are motivated to follow Jesus’ call to ‘fish for people’. But there’s a shared cringe factor that’s hard to place.
The idea of friendship evangelism is appealing – building friendship networks that make it possible to share faith in a natural way. But what do you tell your friends? It’s almost like selling Amway – “I’ve got a business deal but I can’t tell you all about it in case you’re put off by the name.”
The danger we can fall into in casting out our ‘nets’ is that people become like fish – objects for our consumption.
I spoke about this with the core team at Pacific Parks this last weekend. We talked about the networks we’d developed with teenagers (youth group) and with parents of toddlers (playgroup). Some people had connected up with God over the last two years. Others hadn’t shown very many signs of doing so. But the lasting impact of those networks was positive. We’d invested in people as people, not just as potential converts or conscripts. At least we’d like to think so!
We’ve been upfront about who we are and why we offer our services. That includes making it possible for people to experience God in a positive way – without any barriers. I wonder if I could tell my friends on the edges of the church the same thing about where I’m coming from, without the cringe factor. I think so…