Have you ever heard a pastor give a sermon on Ezekiel 33? God tells Ezekiel to cry out against the unfaithful watchmen in Israel who did not warn Israel about impending judgment. He says that because they were silent, the blood of the people who die will be on the heads of the lazy watchmen.

Every time I hear this passage preached, the application is the same: “If you don’t tell people that they are going to hell, when they die, God is going to hold you responsible! Their blood will be on your head! So never miss an opportunity to tell a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, a relative, or even a stranger on the bus about Jesus!”

I heard this passage preached just last week with this exact application.

I have always been uncomfortable with preaching this passage this way, but only last week did I understand why. First, the passage has nothing to do with eternal destinies, but only with temporal judgment on sinful Israel. So from that perspective alone, the “bloody head evangelism” application is illegitimate.

But more than that, as I listened to this pastor preach, it hit me that all he was really endorsing was “hit and run evangelism.” He was basically saying that as long as a Christian got something out about sin, hell, and believing in Jesus for eternal life, their duty to warn others was fulfilled. They were no longer responsible for that person. The pastor’s exact words were “Their blood will be on their own heads rather than on yours!”

Aside from being a terrible application of this passage, such an approach to evangelism is simply scary, and probably does more damage than good. It gives a Christian the sense that as long as they get the gospel off their chest to anyone and everyone they come into contact with, they are no longer responsible for that person. Once the other person “hears the good news” they are solely responsible for what they do with it.

With such a perspective, it is not necessary for any Christian to befriend or develop relationships with other people. It diminishes evangelism down to a simple proclamation of a few Bible facts. Under the guise of “caring for people’s eternal destinies” it reveals a heart that really doesn’t care about the person.

This is not what evangelism is or how it should be done. Over the next couple of posts, I will suggest some better options.

I went to a Jewish party the other night. I think it had something do with the Hannukah being over, but I was a little unclear about the purpose for the party. Never having been to a Jewish party before, I was a little unsure what to expect.

When I first arrived, I realized that these were not “Seinfeld/Sandler” style Jews. These were the Orthodox Hasidic kind. They were all dressed in black from head to toe. The men had long beards and the little curly locks of hair on either side of their face. I figured that this party would probably be like most Christian parties I have attended, where people sit around with cups of punch or coffee, chatting quietly about the weather, politics, and Mrs. Haggerty’s new hair style, while music from the Gaithers plays softly in the background. (I’m only kidding! …Kind of).

At first, I was not disappointed. They began the party with some prayer. It was all in Hebrew, so I understood very little of it. The prayer was complete with lots of head bobbing which is typical of Hasidic prayer.

But then things got crazy.

Let me tell you – Jewish guys can dance! The place was rocking! One guy was doing flips and head stands on chairs. It was a little odd seeing a bunch of bearded men in black suits holding hands while singing and jumping around, but somehow, it all seemed natural. It was probably the most masculine type of dancing I have ever seen. I wondered if King David danced like this through the streets of Jerusalem. They need this kind of dancing on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Also, the party with the singing and dancing was strangely worshipful. I’m not exactly sure why, but there were numerous times during the party when I almost broke down in tears over the emotion being expressed in the singing and dancing. I asked one of them what they were singing (most of it was in Hebrew or Yiddish) and he said, “The Psalms.”

I was little confused about this, since I had recognized some of the tunes, and the words I knew for those tunes were definitely not from the Psalms. I asked about this, and he said that the Psalms do not have music, only words, so they sing the words of the Psalms to whatever tune they want. Sometimes, he informed me, they sing the same Psalm over and over, but to different tunes. They pick the tune based on the emotion they are feeling or want to express.

All in all, it was one of the best parties I have ever attended. The emotion and joy expressed were not what I had expected. Also, their love and acceptance of me — as well as people of many other religions and ethnic groups that were present — was astounding. I had always thought Hasidic Jews were a closed community, but this is not the initial impression I received.

Through it all, Paul’s words in Romans 9;3 kept ringing through my head. If you don’t know what this verse says, you’ll have to go look it up.

At the end of the party, I got invited to Brooklyn for another party, and was also invited to a Jewish BBQ (?!?!) later this year in upstate New York. I wonder if a “Jewish BBQ” has anything to do with the burnt offerings you can read about in Leviticus? …I think I’ll go find out.