The Power of Sincerity

I've been giving some serious thought to what evangelism ought to look like, and how to steer our new small group in the direction of being "on mission" as well as a place for Bible study and support for one another. I think that often, our reaction to the idea of evangelism is fear, followed by excuses as to why others may not want to hear what we have to say. In fact, I wonder how often our fear kills our instinct to reach out to others in love. I think we exchange our sincerity of faith for our social comfort far more than any of us would like to admit.

Well, today my brother sent me the video I've embedded below. Penn Gillette, of the comedy act Penn & Teller, just blew a lot of those fears out of the water for me in a very convicting way. Although a devout and outspoken atheist, he chose to use a five minute video blog post to talk about the power of receiving a Bible from someone after a show. He was impressed at the man's sincerity, and said he thought that anyone who believed in a real heaven and a real hell yet refused to share their beliefs with others must be full of hatred, especially if the reason is that it might be socially awkward.

Listening to his emotion speaking about the experience prompted me to remember Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV)

While Penn Gillette stops short of giving glory to God, nonetheless I hope the video encourages you to think, as I have this afternoon, about the real reasons for refusing to let the Light shine in all your relationships, and not just among those of like mind. For me, I found his words to be both refreshingly encouraging and profoundly convicting, and I appreciate his honesty in sharing them.



Hopefully the link will remain up for a long time, as it's pretty powerful stuff.