‘I am the greatest archer in the land’ proclaimed the king. And no-one could deny it, for whenever he shot his arrow, a courtier would immediately draw a bullseye around the place where it landed. Loyal applause rippled out as the king pinned another medal on his chest.
Lest we end up like this foolish king, we should ask the question of our evangelism: What is bullseye? In other words, what are we aiming at? If we don’t get clarity on our aim, we will end up justifying any old missionary endeavour and expect a round of applause.
Here I want to share what I think is ‘bullseye’ – and it’s got nothing to do with how the hearer responds. The hearer’s response is not the job of the evangelist, we’re called to share the gospel. But as we do that, what are we aiming to communicate? It’s simple but infinitely profound: ‘Jesus is Lord.’ That’s bullseye.
The elderly and bereaved: a growing gospel need
“Let me put it this way. I don’t expect there to be many people at my funeral.”My new friend …