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March, 2006 |
What Kind of Fisherman Are You? |
Posted by Brian Beers at 3/20/2006 7:20:00 AM (4 comments left) |
I donât mean, âAre you a good fisherman or a bad fisherman?â Are you a commercial fisherman or a recreational fisherman? For the first time yesterday it dawned on me that our understanding of evangelism may hinge on that question. Before that realization struck, fishing with a pole was as good as fishing with a net. I have not done much of either. Now I see that they are poles apart. Peter, James, and John were net fishermenâcommercial fishermen, and that makes for a very different relationship with the fish. |
Commercial fishermen donât use bait. The fish donât choose to be caught. The cleverest fish may escape the nets, but heâs the exception. Recreational fishing, on the other hand, depends on deceiving the fish. Use the right lure and the fish will seek you out. The implications for evangelism are probably many. I will offer but a few. If we have a commercial mindset, we are less interested in how the fish feels while being caught. We know that the right place for people to be is in a relationship with God and fellowshipping with Godâs people. Whatever else they were doing is irrelevant. We are not interested in making the Gospel alluring to one person at a time. The opinions of uncaught fish are not our criteria for success. We allow the Gospel to sweep through in all its power, altering life for vast numbers of people. Now I wonder how to work this into my life or my church? |