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TableTalk is a growing archive of snippets and stories from the heart of our fellowship. To “gossip” the gospel September 1, 2005
Posted by Lindquist in : Editorial , add a comment“The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins…that he was buried…that he was raised from death…” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4, Peterson)
I have recently come upon an interesting study concerning, of all things, gossip. “Have you heard the latest? Do you know the newest? Wait until you hear!” It is a strange topic for a missionary newsletter.
I have been interested in gossip for several years - not, mind you, as a practitioner - but as a student of the phenomenon. Long-term studies from cultures around the world confirm what most of us have experienced already: gossip is a universal human activity. On average, it turns out, we dedicate a fifth to two-thirds of our daily conversation to the behavior. And it doesn’t matter much if you’re a man or a woman, young or old, from Fiji or from Phoenix. Most everyone participates equally. As one researcher put it, “Scuttlebutt is the most highly valued currency there is.” Most of us simply cannot resist participation.
As I say, it is a strange topic for a missionary newsletter. But maybe not.
A dear friend of mine - mentor, professor of missions, and Bible translator - proposes that “gossip” is a fine way of translating the New Testament word, evangelizomai. Or better put, “gossip” translates the action or behavior behind this New Testament word. You might recognize this word. It is the word from which we get the English equivalents evangelize, evangelist, evangelism, and the like. So here is the idea: “to evangelize” might properly mean, “to gossip the Good News.”
It is a provocative idea.
We have supposed that the task of evangelism belongs principally to evangelists - meaning professionals designated specifically for the effort. But the New Testament envisions something far more participatory - a task that belongs to the whole people of God. They should chatter about the Wonderful News at every opportunity. They should devote a significant portion of their daily conversation to sharing it. They should “gossip” it.
Gossipers do not need a pulpit to share their news. They do not need a written invitation, either. Practiced gossipers share their news quite irrepressibly, as a natural part of the ebb and flow of their daily conversation. And if they discover a particularly noteworthy morsel, they can hardly wait to tell their friends - like Paul felt, maybe, when sharing the Good News in Corinth.
Now, don’t get me wrong: I do not emulate gossipers in much. But maybe there is something to learn from their enthusiastic sharing. What if we invested as much of our day in “gossiping the Good News” as gossipers do in sharing their morsels? The news we have to share, after all, is much more than scuttlebutt. It is the Juiciest Morsel of all time and in all of God’s universe.
If you have never gossiped before (I doubt it), perhaps you will want to take it up. But watch what news you share. Have you heard the latest? Do you know the newest? Heaven is open. The Son has come. The grace of God is here.
Chatter it.