June 2010 Congregational Letter

On of the men who most influenced my young Christian life was John Wimber.  John, as you know, was the founder of the Vineyard Church and he had a soft spot for us Anglicans.  One of his greatest gifts was making the gospel understandable and then  helping us ordinary, every-day kind of Christians believe that we really had a part to play.  As summer sets in and my thoughts turn to the water I was reminded of one of my favorite Wimber stories – a story about fishing and evangelism:

In 1990 Larry Shaw was trying out a new outboard propeller on Ohio’s West Branch Reservoir when he saw a huge muskellunge just below the surface.  Shaw motored over to it, and cast toward it several times with no luck before the fish disappeared.  About a half hour later Shaw returned to the cove where he had first spotted the big muskie.  And wouldn’t you know, it was back!  Shaw turned on the trolling motor and crept closer to the big fish.  Suddenly, the muskie started swimming toward the boat.

Shaw quickly put on a leather glove and stuck his arm into the water, grabbing the monster just behind the gills.  The muskie started splashing and fighting to escape but Shaw held on.  It was quite a fight, but with the help of a nearby fisherman he was able to get that big boy into his boat.

The muskellunge weighed in just a bit over 53 pounds.  If Larry Shaw had caught the fish with a rod and reel, it would have broken the record for the largest muskie ever caught in Ohio.  When reporters asked him about the fish, Shaw said, “I was in the right place at the right time, and I was fool enough to grab it.”

That’s a good description of the attitude we should have toward evangelism.  Being in the right place at the right time, and being fool enough to share the good news of salvation in the name of Jesus Christ.

I’m sure you’ve read of Jesus’ call to his disciples (you and me) to be fishers of men and women (Matthew 4.19).  When Jesus used metaphors like fishing His listeners heard what He was saying in a very different way than we do in an industrialized Western world.  For most of us fishing is a hobby, a pastime.  I love to catch fish, especially big ones.  But when I’ve come home empty handed I’m content having spent a day in a beautiful setting.  And, undoubtedly, I’ll have a story or two about the one that got away.

The point of evangelism, as that original audience would have understood, was to catch fish (men and women).  For Peter, Andrew, James and John if they didn’t catch fish they didn’t eat.  It was life or death.  Failure was not an option.  As fishermen these guys would have learned how to alter their approach to various situations.  Was it sunny or overcast?  Calm or windy?  What time of year is it?  What kind of fish are you fishing for?  Some fish are very quick to respond.  Some, especially the older, larger fish had learned the fishermen’s tricks and were more elusive.  When Jesus charged them to be fishers of men He spoke in a language they understood.

Apply this to your lives.  What are the trends in Mt. Pleasant?  What do these trends mean for our community’s future?  What problems are your friends facing?  What “bait” are they hitting on?  How have you “presented” Christ?  Do you go where the “fish” are, or do you really think they’ll come to you?  Is evangelism a hobby for you?

Jesus commanded us to go, make disciples, teaching people to obey everything He has commanded.

How’s your fishing?