The difficulty of evangelism is that no one really likes evangelism. We see the need for evangelism, we like the outcomes of evangelism, but we dislike the process of evangelism. So, anytime we bring up the topic, we need to acknowledge that we’re already facing an uphill battle. We think, This is something other people need to do, but not me; or This is something other people are gifted in, but I’m supposed to focus on other things.

We used to have to think creatively about our excuses, but now we’re armed with data from personality tests that give us good reason why we shouldn’t be involved in evangelism. I’m introverted, I’m a “2,” I’m an otter (I still don’t know what the spirit animal test means). It’s curious that we choose to utilize personality as a way of excusing ourselves out of what we’ve been commanded to do.

As recorded in Luke 14:23, Jesus states, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.” No description is given of who specifically is called to this work. Jesus does not give a call for extroverts, or enthusiasts, or “feelers”; the command applies to all disciples.

I know, I can already hear the response. But that’s not me! I know the response, because that has often been my response. Evangelism doesn’t seem to fit me like it fits other people. Evangelism doesn’t seem to match my gifting. I want to do work that I’m gifted in, used to, familiar with.

But then I’ll find myself in spots in which I’m frustrated by my own level of transformation. I won’t see a level of development like I did in prior seasons. I’ll be frustrated by a lack of spiritual progress, but then I revert to all the practices that I’m familiar with.

A couple years ago I was sitting in a board meeting for a company. I wanted an opportunity to see how they operated and how it differed from a church. I was looking to stretch my thinking, so I did something unfamiliar. Fascinating idea. In the midst of the meeting, one board member was speaking on a new venture they needed to engage in. Others in the room were hesitant to step into what was unfamiliar. Then a powerful phrase was uttered: “The transformation you’re seeking is in the work you’re neglecting.”

Amazing. The thing I want to see, that I haven’t seen, is not found in the things I’m already doing. If it was found in what was familiar, I would have already seen it. The transformation that I have yet to see is found in what I have yet to do.

Luke 14 records the parable of the great feast. The master has prepared a banquet and instructs the servant to invite many guests. Verse 17 reads, “At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’” You know what happens next, because you’ve done it. They all began to make excuses. It’s a bad time for business, I’m too busy, I’ve got a lot on my plate in terms of relationships.

So, the master changes the command. It’s subtle, it’s easy to miss. In verse 21, we see the master’s anger, then he gives a new command to the servant: “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” Our focus is typically on who he is called to go to, and that is absolutely important. However, in our focus on who, we miss how he is called to do it.

At the start of the parable, the servant is told to go out and invite. At the end of the parable the servant is commanded to bring. Bring requires a higher level of commitment than invite. Bring requires a higher level of intentionality than an invitation. An invitation asks, “Would you like to come to church?” Bringing says, “I’m going to pick you up for church, would you like for it to be at 9 or 11?” Invitation asks, “Do you have any background in faith?” Bringing says, “I’m going to tell you what Jesus has done in my life, when would you like for that to happen?”

I know, I know; we’re not supposed to bring people to Jesus, we’re supposed to bring Jesus to people. I agree. At the end of the day, here is my concern: we’ve become so theologically astute at all the ways we’re not supposed to do evangelism that we’ve created a belief system that entirely excuses ourselves out of the work that God has commanded us to do.

When we do this, it comes at the cost of our own transformation. Yes, in the parable people have a dinner—but the servant is the one who is transformed. He was an inviter, now he’s a bringer. When he changes, the outcomes change. The transformation of the servant is found in the activity that is unfamiliar. I’m sure you can find fault in this way of thinking (there are many reasons to find fault), I’m sure you can find fault with any and every approach to evangelism. However, when you do that, it is your own transformation that is lost.

The transformation you’re seeking is in the work you’re neglecting.

Kevin Jack is senior pastor at Church for The One in Lakeland, Florida, USA.