The Gospel is Not a Sales Pitch

This article does not necessarily reflect the options and beliefs of Grace Lutheran PSL but is listed to help us grow in our faith in Jesus the King.

It felt like church in there,” my friend said as we rushed outside.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean, all that attention, those testimonies, the lifestyle they were pushing … it felt like church!” She sighed as she fiddled with her keys to open the car door.

The thing is, we hadn’t been at a church or religious event. We were quickly driving away from the business district hotel which had housed the “red carpet event,”—aka, the pyramid scheme—we had just attended. And in that moment, I had a bit of a “before-and-after” realization myself: but this “before-and-after” had nothing to do with some wonder-product. Instead, it was about how I share Christ.

I thought back to earlier that evening when the audience was released from the hour-and-a-half presentation. My friend and I were immediately surrounded by members of the company, asking us about what we do, what our goals are, and what our dream jobs are. I’m not going to lie, the attention was wonderful; but it was empty.

Every time I tried to ask them a question about themselves, they immediately related their answer to the product. When I told them what I hoped to do, they told me about someone with a similar goal who was very fulfilled by selling the product, and how doing so enabled their dreams! When I began talking to my friend about her ill mother-in-law, I was interrupted by a higher-up, asking me shallow questions.

Are We Selling Jesus?

The obvious agenda of the people at the event was not the best strategy to gain my interest. But it made me think back to every evangelism event I had participated in. Every time a new person wandered into my small church. Every moment a friend of mine who wasn’t a Christian mentioned something spiritual...............