Have you ever met someone who makes you reassess your life? Just one meeting with Henry Olonga made me rethink my whole approach to evangelism.
Henry is an impressive man: a lightning-quick bowler for Zimbabwe’s national cricket team (1995–2003); an operatically trained singer with a Zimbabwean number one; a popular contestant – and sometimes winner – in multiple TV talent shows; and a shining light for Jesus. This is how I once thought of evangelism. It’s about adding more and more accomplishments to your CV, then bolting on an emphatic ‘and a Christian!’
Check out Glen, I’d imagine the onlookers saying, he’s such a great guy AND he’s a Christian. Somehow I managed to kid myself that investing in the first half of this strategy (convincing people of my greatness!) was all in the service of Christ. It’s a hopeless strategy for all sorts of reasons, and not one that Henry was engaged with. The things he did weren’t really aimed at winning friends and influencing people.
