RE-POST: Thoughts On Evangelism In The West

...Because all Orthodox believers should see this... from a  Monday, June 09, 2014 JTO Post...

"Do we get so caught up in church battles that we forget that our battle is for the souls of men? Are we more concerned with pleasing a personality rather than presenting the person of Christ to a lost world? I am still amazed when I find Orthodox people who are so consumed with the rudiments of the faith, their own personal "holiness" that they ignore Christ's commission to us to GO into the world and preach the gospel... Our churches/missions should certainly welcome local Orthodox Christians who find us - and those who leave the World Churches - but we, like Christ, must be about our Father's business- as the Apostles and saints before us- to take the gospel of Christ to a perishing world- to the unbeliever, the Protestant, the cultists. In the West we have a unique tool. Why do we not make use of radio? Why do we not make use of T.V.? Is it too Western? Not Orthodoxish enough? Smacks of Protestantism? Do we refuse to acknowledge the effectiveness of a form of communication just because someone else got there first or because that's not how they do it in the East? The media is today's street corner, today's marketplace. "How will they hear without a preacher?" People must know that the original church exists, before they can even consider stepping into a liturgy, where we all know that the purest evangelism occurs- in the life of worship. It seems all we do is talk to each other. We must change from an inward people to an outward people. The One, Holy. Catholic and Apostolic Church is not an elitist club. Our message should not be "prove yourself worthy or sincere before approaching the Holy Church." Our message should be "Come unto me ALL you who are weary and I will give you rest."