In praise of ‘ordinary’ Christians

There are some words that, when used in a sermon, will efficiently catapult the listening congregation into mass guilt. ‘Prayer’ is one of them. 

Most of us feel that we don’t pray enough, and that our attempts are woefully feeble when we do. I fall asleep when I pray – which is why I do most of my praying while out walking. One doesn’t usually drift into slumber while pounding the pavement, pursuing 10,000 steps. 

‘Giving’ is another guilt bomb. But watch what happens when the word ‘evangelism’ is casually dropped into a Sunday morning homily. People bow their heads low, not in prayer, but shame. We believe that the gospel is the best news for everyone, everywhere, but being a herald of good news can be tricky – especially when others make us feel like extraterrestrials if we mention that we love Jesus. 

These days, when I hear the word ‘evangelism’, I react with crimson-faced embarrassment. As a teenager, I was rabidly zealous about sharing my faith, and mugged anyone who would listen – and a few who didn’t – with monologues about God. Realising I had been rather brash in my approach to personal evangelism, I then went quiet. 

That is, until I met Dr Jerry Root. A world expert on CS Lewis, he lectures in some of the world’s finest universities. I expected Jerry to be a stuffy academic, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. He demonstrates an astonishing passion to share the love of Jesus with everyone he meets – and does so in such a natural, unobtrusive way. 

Once, in a coffee shop with Jerry, he asked the barista’s name. “It’s Christy,” she replied. “Oh really?” Jerry smiled. “Christy, did you know that your name means ‘follower of Jesus’?” Christy’s face fell. “Oh wow, I’m in trouble then…” Jerry was quick to reassure: “No, Christy, I really want you to know that Jesus loves you very much.” In the minutes that followed, we got some coffee, and Christy experienced a life-altering conversation. 

The next day, in a shop, Jerry got chatting with a lady in a queue. Her name was Jill. Suddenly, Jerry went deep. “Jill, you have such a warm smile and a kind heart,” he said. “What is the source of your joy?”

Nervously, Jill said that Jesus was the reason. “I love him too!” Jerry exclaimed. “What a wonderful blessing you must be to so many people. How God must love to use you!” Jill, a stranger just a few minutes earlier, started to cry. 

“I’ve been feeling so useless lately,” she sobbed. “This morning, I asked the Lord to send somebody to let me know that my life has some use…”

I thought Jerry had a remarkable gift of evangelism, but he strongly denied this, saying he was simply determined to make himself available to the Lord each day – and take any opportunity to bring light and love to those he encountered. 

Could it be that, in a sense, he is unremarkable? Simply an ordinary Christian, a disciple, living and speaking good news as much as he is able? Perhaps, if you and I were that normal, we might just spark a revolution. 

Brennan Manning thought so. Writing in The Signature of Jesus  (Multnomah Press), he said: “A handful of us could be ignored by society; but hundreds, thousands, millions of servants would overwhelm the world. Christians filled with the authenticity, commitment, and generosity of Jesus would be the most spectacular sign in the history of the human race. The call of Jesus is revolutionary. If we implemented it, we would change the world in a few months.”

That’s what I want to be. Like Jerry. An ordinary, normal Christian.