Mr Schomburg was the librarian at the Newbold College library in the early 1980s and also taught undergraduate students an introductory course on the prophetic ministry of Ellen G White. Memory tells me that there was a lot of memorisation involved in the class. I was a new Christian. I struggled with that unfamiliar task.
One of the texts stuck with me.
"Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with people as one who desired their good. He showed sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He invited them, 'Follow Me'" (The Ministry of Healing p 73).
A recent experience in the northeast of England has highlighted a practical application of that good advice.
Karen Grey, a local artist and former teacher, wanted to encourage her community in Stanley, Co Durham. Using her gifts, she headed for South Moor Colliery Park and proceeded to start the process of painting over 80 tiny 'Fairy Doors' in knot holes in the trees.
Children and their parents increasingly visited the park; a healthy family activity was developing in the community. During June, nearly half of the doors were vandalised. They were sprayed black, heavily defacing the artwork.
The report in one of the local newspapers included the following comment, "Karen, from Stanley, said: 'When I got down to the park and saw they were all spray painted black, I cried. I cried all night on Friday. I was absolutely devastated. It felt like my heart had been ripped out.'"
The community responded by providing art materials and labour. The more gifted provided artistic skills while others simply painted base coats to the knot holes, ready for artists to complete the little doors.
Follow-up visits have shown that there are now more doors than before and that people are visiting the once rarely used woods in numbers.
What on earth has this got to do with the guidance that we should "mingle(d) with people as one who desired their good. He showed sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He invited them, 'Follow Me'"?
Karen has taught me a lesson. If I want to mingle with people, I must adopt methods that people appreciate.
I'm not interested personally in fairy doors, but children are, and frazzled mums looking to occupy children's minds. Karen has met a need. Little children get excitement, exercise, and family fun as they hunt in the woods for the little doors.
The vandalism called the community together. The sympathy came not from Karen but from the community in response to the destruction. Working together has lifted the community spirit. Karen, already a lady well respected by her community, has found that the community has absolute confidence in her.
Many years ago, I learned, from Adventist missiologist Dr Russell Staples, that an accurate report of an event will only earn a B grade in a class. An excellent grade comes when lessons are conveyed.
You may have an artistic gift or know artists in your community. You could paint fairy doors on trees on your own. On the other hand, you could ask if you could paint pictures on the safety hoardings erected around building sites. You could work with a local community group who might paint pictures with you. Beautiful cartoon renditions of healthy activity might attract a community. In that way, you would not only be working with a community, but you would also be able to draw close to like-minded community members, develop sympathy, and eventually win the confidence of the community you are working with and living amongst.
Only when we meet people who have confidence in us can we invite people to say to them, "Would you like to follow me as I follow Christ?"
A second point develops from the guidance the Holy Spirit offers us through Ellen White. The call is to develop relationships with the people that we would like to invite to follow us. Random meetings where we provide literature to people we casually meet are not the ideal way to create opportunities to develop meaningful situations where we can say, "follow me."
Karen Grey has the right idea. She has taken her skill, set out to meet a simple community need and then worked with her community to the point where they are confident in her and her abilities. Were she of a mind to do so, she could readily invite friends to follow Christ because she has developed meaningful relationships with people.