Stepping Out
This past week at the church I’ve been working with, we had a visiting evangelist named Joe Jackson. That had me thinking of famous people with that name such as Michael Jackson’s father, a baseball player with the nickname “Shoeless,” and a British singer whose biggest U. S. hit was the Grammy-nominated “Steppin’ Out.” As I watched the music video of that song for the first time in years, I suddenly realized how Joe Jackson’s tune could be turned into an exhortation to obey the Great Commission. The hardest part about evangelism is simply getting started. Even after doing street ministry for over twenty years, there are times I don’t feel like talking to people. But once I get over myself and start sharing the gospel, the Holy Spirit flows through me and I feel much better afterwards. Back in the early 1990s when I was involved with network marketing, I heard a sales trainer point out if we only do things that are comfortable, we are “screwing up big time.” One way we matur...