Is there anything a grave marker can teach us about evangelism and love?

The answer is “a lot.” Take a look at the stone below that stands over the grave of Cameron Townsend, the founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Cam’s final message to his followers includes two exhortations. First, “By love serve one another.” Second, “Finish the task.” Notice that serving one another by love comes first and the task second. The order is deliberate, instructive, and biblically accurate. The great task of Bible translation is carried out by the community of believers who love one another.

There is always a temptation to put practical results first, to make “getting the job done” the first priority and then to fit in love for one another when there is time or opportunity. The problem with this approach is that loving one another gets squeezed out in the rush to catch the next flight, to get to the next appointment, to take the next phone call, to answer the next email, and–well–very simply to do “the next thing.”

Commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission can turn into this kind of high-pressured race. Let potential followers who want to gather together for fellowship go elsewhere. We “signed up” to do evangelism and the Great Commission not to love one another. This can even turn into a suspicion of taking time to love one another as if loving one another could become the enemy of the Great Commission.

Love is the hallmark
of authentic evangelism.

In reality the reverse is true. Love is the origin and energy that motivates the Great Commission. God did not take the initiative to reach out to fallen sinners because it was the next item on His divine “to do” list. It was because while we were sinners he loved us (Romans 5.8). It was his “great love” Because of his “great love” with which he loved us, he has made us alive with Christ. The sign for us that we have been saved is that “we love our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3.14). The implication is clear: if you don’t feel great love for the fellow believers around you, then you have little reason to be assured that you are truly in Christ.

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What does it take to encourage and sustain vibrant spiritual movements? Over the past months we’ve been working to think through these issues from a fresh perspective. Here’s a diagram that gives an overview of what we’ve developed.

A Movement Cycle
(Click to Enlarge)

At the core of the cycle is an experience that we call a “faith adventure.” Faith is at the heart of all Christian living. The Scripture tells us that without faith it’s impossible to please God. Faith must be active, however, and when we take steps of faith with God it really is an adventure. The larger the step of faith, the greater the adventure. Wherever you find a vital spiritual movement, you’ll find people taking adventurous steps of faith.

New birth begins with an act of faith that plants the seed of a new divine life within a person that will then grow and mature. Growth depends on experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit who provides the power to overcome sinful behaviors and to share our faith with others.

If the cycle is to continue, a significant number of believers must learn to multiply themselves spiritually. Each opportunity to share with someone else is a faith adventure all in itself. For greater impact, believers can mobilize together for active strategy development to reach out to the people around them.

Taken together, this process creates vital evangelistic movements. But we must always remember that as much as we need good methods, it’s not technique that makes the difference. At the heart of this process is the great quality of faith, the indispensable mark of an active relationship with God.