Pilgrim Soldier

We spent Easter Sunday with our good friend and training officer, Evie and she lent me a couple of interesting books that make up a course for missionaries. I was reading the bit about Christian Community Development last night and found an excellent piece of writing that to me sums up the debates that have been held in various blogs in recent weeks. It said:

“Asking, “Which is more important, evangelism or social action?” is a miseading question. Over the last generation it has led Westerners to spend fruitless years trying to analyze and rank which is more important. A more biblical approach, derived from studying the life of Jesus, would be to ask “What comes first, evangelism or social action?” In Jesus day, the question would have been phrased, “What did Jesus do first, evangelize or minister to physical needs?”

“And the obvious answer is “Both” or “It depends.”

“Because God is in control and engineers the opening and closing of cultural and political doors, we can feel free and confident to respond as Jesus world, without having to worry about which is more important. They both are. The real issue is timing and appropriate communication. So we follow Jesus’ lead and respond as He would.” Stephen Hock (1999) quoted on p115 Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: Study Guide

If the goal of our discipleship is to become more and more like Christ, then it is only logical that this is how we should respond to the interaction of our faith, social action and evangelism. If we strive to do follow Jesus’ lead then we will succeed in getting the balance right.