Saturday and Sunday, May 3,4, 2008

Sermon: "Jesus is Gone"

Scripture: Acts 1: 6-14

Reverend Larry Gerber

Jesus wants us to evangelize without coercion, using emotionally intelligent persuasion. In other words, to witness with woo.

The rock star Bono knows how to woo.

Back in 2000, he paid a visit to archconservative Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina. Bono was lobbying for debt relief for Africa, and he entered the meeting prepared to throw a lot of facts and figures at the senator. But on the spot he switched to a completely different language, and began to talk religion with Jesse Helms. He focused on Jesus Christ's deep concern for the sick and the poor. The conversation was incredibly fruitful, leading to an appropriation of $435 million for debt relief.

It's all about the woo.

 But what is woo? Woo is relationship  - the ability to win people over without coercion, using emotionally intelligent persuasion. Think courtship, invitation, solicitation. Charles Lindbergh needed woo in order to attract backers for his trans-Atlantic flight. Nelson Mandela used it to lead a peaceful revolution in South Africa. Business leaders practice woo every day. Motivational books urge you to "sell yourself" to your bosses and colleagues. You also have to woo with integrity.

 Christians don't use the word "woo." We use the word "evangelism." But, let's face it, evangelism involves the art of woo. Jesus urges his apostles to woo when he says, "you will [woo] in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Jesus is about to be lifted out of their sight, raised up into the heavens, and he tells them that they have a job to do. "You will be my witnesses," he says - you will tell others what you have heard me say, and what you have seen me do. You will woo. The risen Jesus wants his followers to evangelize and win people without coercion, using emotionally intelligent persuasion.

Win and woo. Woo and win. Woo, win and welcome. The task of the church.

This is a huge challenge, but fortunately there's help! "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you," promises Jesus. The word "power" here is the Greek word dynamis, the root of the English word "dynamite." This is a robust and earth-shaking force, one that can topple earthly kingdoms and clear a path for God's kingdom. This power is to be exercised in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. Filled with this Holy-Spirit-energy, the apostles are to evangelize, take the good news - the evangelion - of Jesus Christ to every corner of the world.

We need to use Woo Wonder: Use your power wisely. We all know evangelists who come on too strong, hitting people hard with the promises of the gospel. "If you die tonight," they ask, "do you know where you will be spending eternity?" Fear of hell is used as a motivation for people to put their trust in Jesus Christ.

Now there's a certain logic to this approach, and it may work with some people, but it relies heavily on rational. If I die tonight, I don't want to go to hell. The way to avoid hell is to put my faith in Jesus Christ, the one who died and rose for my salvation. Therefore, I will trust Jesus and go to heaven.

The use of rationality is a power play, and it sometimes works - but not always. When Bono was talking with Jesse Helms, he had the good sense to turn off public policy talk about debt relief, which was grounded in logical thought processes. Instead, Bono switched from the rationality channel to the vision channel, and he began to use religious talk about poverty and disease. This is what touched the heart of Jesse Helms, and ended up persuading him to support debt relief. Bono sold his idea, and in the process he created trust.

This is the goal of all good evangelism - to sell an idea, and create trust. If you come on too strong, you may sell your idea, but you are not going to build trust. Both are necessary if you are going to be a successful witness for Jesus.

So this brings us to Woo Wonder Two: Speak from experience. Bono had traveled to Africa, and had seen firsthand the suffering of infants, children and families. Bono had studied the New Testament, and knew Christ's concern for the sick and poor. In his meeting with Jesse Helms, he spoke of how AIDS should be considered the 21st-century equivalent of leprosy - an affliction that Jesus had seen and cured many times. Helms sensed that Bono was being honest and genuine in this sharing of personal experience, and before the meeting was over he promised to champion Bono's cause.

When we're trying to woo someone for Jesus, it's essential that we speak from experience. 

- We talk about the ways in which Christ's teachings have guided and challenged us in our work and family life.

- We speak of the times and places we have sensed the presence of the risen Jesus.

- We express thanks for Christ's gift of forgiveness, which has lifted the burden of our guilt and helped us to move forward.

- We share an experience of uplift and inspiration from a worship service or small group gathering.

- We tell of a time we saw the face of Christ in an unlikely person.

The key is to be an eyewitness, right along with the apostles of Jerusalem - to speak from our own personal experience.

Woo Wonder Three: Focus on relationships. When Nelson Mandela was incarcerated in South Africa, he found a way to obtain blankets and other necessities for his fellow prisoners. He did this not by crying out for human rights - he did it through developing relationships. Mandela learned the language of the guards and began to read their literature, and by doing this he earned their respect and sold them on his idea of fair treatment. Mandela was still hated by the high-ranking officials who ran the prison, but he won the hearts of the guards.

Something similar happens in the book of Acts, when the apostles gather as a group in Jerusalem and devote themselves to prayer, together with a number of women and the brothers of Jesus (v. 14). They don't practice their faith in isolation, but in a network of relationships. Then, after the day of Pentecost, the members of the community share their possessions with one another, worship in the temple, and earn the good will of all the people. Acts tells us that "day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved" (2:43-47). Later, Peter reaches out to the Gentiles and says, "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (10:34-35), and Paul makes a connection with the Greeks when he says, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way" (17:22).

Evangelism is all about making connections. Our challenge is to focus on relationships, and win people over without coercion.

Woo Wonder Four: Secure commitments.
The final stage of evangelism has to be the securing of commitments. The apostle Peter knows this, which is why he concludes his preaching to the people of Jerusalem with the instructions, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven" (2:38). He gives very clear steps for the people to follow, and the result is that those who welcome his message are baptized, and then they devote themselves "to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (2:42).

We cannot simply preach the gospel and walk away. We need to secure commitments, and then make a firm connection between converts and the Christian community. If people are going to devote themselves to teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers, then we are going to have to show them the way.

The mission of the church is to share the good news that Jesus is alive and well and active in human life. The sharing of this news requires some emotionally intelligent persuasion, and it is so critically important that we should learn to woo well.

Woo Wonder: 1- Use power wisely. 2- Speak from experience. 3- Focus on relationships. 4-Secure commitments.

As we partake of the elements today, let it be a sense of woo power. We need to woo people, excite them, engage them.

We partake in Holy Communion in order to become revitalized, refocused, recentered, renewed, and relational. Take the bread, take the cup, and enable yourself to powered up for Jesus, ready to speak out to others, and witness your secure commitment.  When Jesus woos you you can't help but woo others. Speak out and witness to the ends of the earth.


Sources:

Sachs, Adrea. Review of the business book The Art of Woo, by G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa. Time Magazine, October 18, 2007, time.com.

"?The Art of Woo': Selling your ideas to the entire organization, one person at a time." Knowledge@Wharton Web Site, October 17, 2007, http://knowledgewharton.upenn.edu.