Evangelism

Good thought! Perhaps we need to start with something like \\"We\'re not Christianity as you know it!\\" That approach seems to work for the so-call \\"urban churches\\" among the Protestants, like Mars Hill Church in the Seattle area.

How about a nice .swf (Adobe Flash) slideshow of images and clips which depict Holy Orthodoxy with hymns playing in the background. The hope is that being exposed to \\"sacramental\\" (for lack of a better way to express this thought) images and hymns may strike a note within them...

just be a part of their life... and don\'t worry about converting them. If you\'re a good example, then they might just convert themselves. I think that\'s the best way. certainly, a gnostic or atheist - the LAST word they want to hear come out of a person\'s mouth is \\"Jesus\\".... truly. at least, that\'s how I converted... and I\'m still glad, to this day, that nobody, at that time, had the thought of forcing me in their mind.

I think you hit the nail on the head robotom. Sometimes we forget what the pervasive culture is like out there, and right now I have found the culture to be less than accepting of anything to do with Christianity. So when you say the last thing they want to hear is \\"Jesus\\" (yes I know sad isn\'t it) that totally hits the mark. Now of course not everyone is like this. There are those who are seeking and I\'ve heard the expression way too many times, \\"Orthodoxy is the worlds best kept secret\\". Well its time to get the secret out too. So what I\'m suggesting is a multipronged approach. No need to give a hard sell to everyone, yet there is no need to apologize for who you are. I think it was St. Steven who perhaps said it best, love one another for love is the best way to bring someone to Christ. (excuse the paraphrase, and perhaps incorrect credit)

I would also caution those who put groups out there (like the various Orthodox groups on Facebook) to be mindful of the fact that they are putting themselves in the position of representing Orthodoxy. That is likely going to be the introduction to Orthodoxy for a lot of folks. You have to say something about the Gospel there, otherwise there is nothing there to draw people in.

I think part of the appeal is that it IS a secret.... not in the sense of hiding anything... but the plain and simple acknowledgement that we can\'t explain everything.... then is starts feeling more like contact with something other-worldly, and not just an insurance policy unfortunately, I think the internet is no place to find the love of another person. During my conversion, it was the loving patience of the folks I met.. chats and silence on bus-rides home from OCF meetings, going to church, sitting alone, and just being clueless about all the unusual stuff going on... I think there is something wrong with selling our church to be like some eccentric holiday from protestantism.... makes it seem like a Las Vegas theme hotel...

I would agree. This shouldn\'t be about selling anything. Christianity grew, IMO, in the first place because it offered answers to the spiritual ills of mankind. It is the truth. At the same time, we can\'t be the best kept secret in North America - that seems to fly in the face of the . Many people, my nephew being one of them, are out searching for answers to numerous problems and questions, and may not have any Orthodox nearby to interact with. It would be useful if Orthodoxy was present out there in such a way that people would want to explore it a bit more. I know from personal experience that there is far more to Orthodoxy than one can glean from book (or internet) learning. But something has get people through the door. As you put it, if they think that its merely some eccentric holiday from Protestantism - then to the non-Christian it must come across as just some other variation of the \\"appease the angry God\\" bit or the \\"get out of hell free\\" game. Just older.

for me, I was trying to get closer to a greek orthodox girl I was dating... I can\'t say, for sure, the depth of her piety, except to say that she stopped going to church once she moved out of her parents\' house... but when asking her about her faith she didn\'t answer very much... but instead just said \\"here\'s the church, go to it, and ask questions later.\\" Orthodoxy is something that cannot be experienced over the internet... or in a book. my first experience was highly sensory, and that was the strongest impression... the incense when first walking in the door, the chanting in greek, watching the priest facing away from me, not at all telling me about going to hell or anything like that... just it was obvious that it was truly worship, he was doing acts of piety that I could in no way understand.... but just watch, as if an exotic bird on the nature channel. I kept going in the spirit of \\"what in the heck did I just see??\\" then, in university, I met, who would become, my spiritual father... and he never talked about converting or anything... he was just content to make sure there was food in my belly, and tell me about miraculous things he had seen with his own eyes. since that time, i realized that every time I saw someone from my church cajole their friends or coworkers to come to liturgy, that those people never returned.... and because of that, I only invited someone if there was some event, like my friend\'s wedding, or once I was going to play some music for the metropolitan on his enthronement, and invited a friend to listen... Those people came away with a strong impression of the church, a sense of mystery, and later asked me more about the church... and even if they haven\'t come back, I think it\'s more of a seed that\'s planted... it can\'t be forced to grow.... I think God will remove the rocks or thorns from the soil to help Orthodoxy grow in the heart of someone if he wishes it to be so... Because each person is different, and is dealt with differently, I think it\'s wrong to come up with some sort of \\"approach\\" to evangelism... just live it, and invite your friend for some party their, and then maybe they might get curious... if not, no big deal.

robotom, you totally reminded me of a story from college when you said, \\"for me, I was trying to get closer to a greek orthodox girl I was dating.\\" I had a roommate from Kenya and one day he asked if I thought it would be a good idea to get baptized. I told him sure (I had thought he was already baptized in his church but apparently not). For some strange reason he became argumentative and he kept arguing the point for months. In the end I finally said dude, its a baptism, if you want to do it, you get dunked in water and are one with Christ. That\'s it. You don\'t lose an arm. The devil doesn\'t inhabit you. No one is going to love you or hate you any different, we your friends love you very much and just want you to make a good decision for yourself. (or something to that effect) He left in what I assumed was an angry mood. Came back about an hour later very joyous, saying that he decided to get baptized. I asked ummmm, ok why? What changed your mind? He said OH, well, after I left here I met a very pretty girl in the library and told her what you told me and she said I should get baptized so that settled it for me. LOL so ladies, never doubt the power of the Holy Spirit working in you! As a side note turns out there were many issues he had with baptism from his culture there he didn\'t want to talk about, and eventually opened up about. He also had a fear of water from his childhood, which I helped him with, also teaching him to swim.

I always love the \\"but the Bible says\\" or \\"Jesus said\\". If you aren\'t already a Christian, why exactly would you care what the Bible says?

That\'s a great point Jonan. Save yourself (be a living example of the Faith) and a thousand around you will be saved...