By  April Terry (personal blog http://faithwarming.blogspot.com)

When you watch the Olympic skaters, you see that there are easier programs and more difficult ones.  Those who choose to take the more risky programs are sometimes rewarded greatly if they are able to make it through their program without errors, but those who play it safe are also taking a certain gamble.  They are gambling on the fact that the risk-takers won’t be able to translate their risky moves into a win.  I think maybe that’s the way that evangelism feels to most people.  Even as I use that word “evangelism” I find myself wanting to use more palatable terms like “outreach” or “connecting with others,” but I know that that is largely because many have a misconception about evangelism and what it is.

Evangelism can be risky, but I think it’s more about being real and being honest about who we are as an individual.  I was thinking how difficult it is when an iceskater doesn’t know their limitations and their talents.  They might take risks that are too ambitious for them or they might play it too safe thinking that they can’t do more.   A competitor has to know what they are capable of and what their talents and gifts are. 

I’m no Billy Graham.  I can’t stand in front of thousands to offer words about the wonderful good news of Christ, but I know that I am a good storyteller, and storytellers often tell their stories in ways that reach people on the other side of their brains–in the art center.  So, I don’t waste time trying to be Billy Graham as it would be a disservice to both me and Billy.  Instead, I approach things the way that is best for me.  I am just being myself and I am comfortable wearing that skin.

There was a time that I thought I had to be someone else, but I learned over time that it was too difficult trying to morph myself into another likeness and I learned that people liked me better as I was.  I was much more entertaining as a whole and open individual who accepted herself and didn’t worry about the perceptions of others.  Maybe being yourself is a kind of a risk for some people.  Maybe it’s like saying, “Hey, this is who I am and and I am taking the chance that you will like who I am.”

I often think about the Jesus that I read about in the gospels.  His honesty is breathtaking and his sincerity is flawless.  Sometimes he would say things that made others uncomfortable, but they always made an impact because they were real.  He was a risktaker, but clearly comfortable in His own skin. 

It makes me wonder how we could hope to bring the message of the good news to someone else when we don’t even know enough about it for ourselves.  That’s really it.  We have to know how our faith lives in our own lives before we can try to figure it out in the lives of others.  We need to apply it to ourselves first, and only then will we learn that it isn’t something that we can apply to the lives of others.  They also have to apply it to themselves.  Faith is an inside out kind of thing and we can only hope to live it well enough that others might see our lives and wonder why we live so well.

In that sense, then, maybe we are risktakers when we seek to live in such a way that our lives give us a pure definition of who we are and what we believe.  We don’t need to stand before thousands or even stand on a street corner with a megaphone, we only need to apply it to ourselves and live it well.  That’s a risk worth taking.  It’s going for the gold that is within each of us so that we can inspire others to find the gold within themselves as well.