I've heard it said that most of the ministry Jesus did was on the streets. That would be true; he taught in the synagoge, but most of his miralces were done in the marketplace. If you look at how Jesus evangelized, however, another interesting trend emerges.
The gospel accounts show that Jesus did most of his evangelism in the homes of average people while sharing a meal. This stands in stark contrast to our stadium-driven events complete with internationally known evangelist. Are things just different nowadays, or can we learn from Jesus' example?
I think we can. Here are a few points I take from Jesus' use of the table:
1. He had the potential to wow the crowds with all manner of signs and wonders, yet curiously chose not to. When he did miralces, it was because he was "moved with compassion." He chose not to perform, but to engage.
2. Presumably, as God, he could have chosen to utilize speaking abilities bordering on the magical; if he can speak worlds into existence, certainly he can hypnotize human hearts with words. Yet again, he chose not to. He spoke and he listened.
3. Not only was his intervention in our world incarnational (i.e., he became one of us), his ministry was incarnational too. In other words, he ministered in very human, ordinary ways, such as while sharing a meal.
4.When Jesus chose the table as his primary means of encountering people, he sanctified the partaking of meals and fellowship and made it holy. Even our reunion with God in heaven will be a "marriage supper," again a very regular, human event.
5. Finally, if we as the church empower the ordinary, everyday saint in the pew to engage their neighbors this way, perhaps we can see more impact in lives and number beyond the loud, flashy, event driven experience that creates spectators and not individuals.
All this is just food for thought. Not saying I'm right, but I'm just wondering if there might be a better way to engage people than some of the ways we've tried. Thoughts, replies, snide remarks and amens welcome (just be civil please).
