Presence or Preaching?

There is no substitute for telling the story. It is necessary to say this because it is sometimes said that 'Christian presence' rather than 'evangelization' is the proper form of Christian response to pluralism. This is a confusing half-truth. It is indeed true that the message with which the Church is entrusted cannot be faithfully delivered by a company of people who do not follow the incarnate Lord in his total commitment to our human condition. The Church has both to embody and to proclaim the Gospel. . . . Mere words, proceeding from a company which is in peaceful co-existence with the world will not truly represent the Saviour. But words are not dispensable. Jesus himself preached and commanded his apostles to preach. We deceive ourselves (but nobody else) if we imagine that our mere presence is sufficient to do the whole work of Jesus. Certainly there are times when words are not appropriate, yet - even in these circumstances - our presence will be a witness to Christ only because we are known to represent a Church which does preach the gospel. And there are times when silence is betrayal. (Weston, Paul. "Lesslie Newbigin: Missionary Theologian." Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 2006 pp180-181)

We bear a message that is not deductive; it must be spoken, and it must be embodied.