Should You feel Guilty for Failing to Evangelize?

Nothing wrong with "Normal Christianity"

We all know evangelism is important. But as I’ve argued before, it isn’t everything. However, it seems the church often struggles to articulate what exists outside of evangelism (and maybe benevolence).

Acts lays out the procession of the Gospel from Jerusalem all the way to Rome, which is vitally important. But then what? Once the Gospel reached a place, what was supposed to happen?

What did generation two of the church at Ephesus or Corinth look like?

And, what would the average Christian do? We see the works of apostles, missionaries, and preachers, but what about the guy who was born in Colossae, lived in Colossae, and died in Colossae?

The generation that came up under the evangelical bestsellers of the early 2000s (Crazy Love, Radical, Don’t Waste Your Life, et al.) felt a calling to take big, world-changing actions. They had an Acts-centered Christianity. For that reason, a lot of Christians feel guilty about not evangelizing, or engaging in missions, or doing something “big” for God.

But while we all should do what we can as the opportunity arises, the reality is that most Christians are not going to be highly successful evangelists.

God knew this, and that’s why He explicitly named “evangelist” as a particular position Most Christians aren’t going to be missionaries—certainly not long-term, but not short-term, either.

In the epistles we get glimpses of Christianity beyond the missional focus of Acts—glimpses of that second generation. The focus of the letters for the average Christian was not about evangelism or mission, but about living a normal life under Christ’s control: here’s how you give up your sinful ways, here’s how to be a good husband, wife, or child, here’s how to be a slave or master, here’s how to think about money, here’s how to speak, and so forth (see Ephesians 4-6 and Colossians 3-4, especially).

We’ve based Christianity around the big event or the grand gesture—mission trips, going to camps, volunteering for VBS, etc.—that we’ve lost touch with the fact that the most common Christian duty is to live like Christ in the boring, average, everyday things.

To that end, we have a lot of Christians who feel guilty for not leading someone to Christ but don’t feel guilty for neglecting to lead their families in regular devotionals and prayer times. Or, many Christians scheme up ways they can do something big for God while going about their job or housework with a sour attitude. Plenty of Christian young men go on short term missions and come home with the same porn addiction. While these things are not an either/or, disproportionate time and energy have been devoted to the big things over the mundane.

Honestly, the big things are easy to do. Undergoing personal sanctification and showing up for Christ day-in and day-out through all of life’s highs and lows? That’s where the real challenge is.

So, while I strongly encourage you to get involved in the work of the church and take the opportunities God sets before you (Ephesians 2:10) to invite someone or tell them about Christ, don’t beat yourself up if you’re not doing “the big things.” There is a time and place for the big things, but it’s rare, and it’s not always for everyone.

Maybe your part in this operation is to build a Christian home, serve your congregation, shine your light in the workplace, and make your community a better place to live.

Maybe the Christian man who succeeds in business doesn’t need to give it up to go to preaching school or become a missionary… maybe he’s the guy with the resources to support others.

Maybe the stay-at-home mom shouldn’t feel guilty that she isn’t leading people to Christ… maybe the people she needs to lead to Christ are the ones right at her feet.

Maybe the church’s evangelism would be stronger if we had a community and a culture to which we could invite people to “come and see,” the kind of community and culture that’s only made possible by dedicating ourselves to following Christ fully in our normal daily lives.

Enjoy the grace of God that can be found in a normal Christian life. Excel still more, to be sure. But don't feel guilty about living the life God gave you.