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.
The dangers of over or underdosing the gospel
In 2023, my sister was diagnosed with Stage 1B breast cancer. She immediately underwent four months of initial chemotherapy followed …