Some thoughts on evangelism and preaching the gospel

I don't even know how to start this... but please, know that I am writing this not to prove that I am right or to demote anyone's role in ministry or any such thing, although I think I will make some bold statements. I think... I don't understand this approach that some people have to the propagation of the gospel. That approach being... we get to know someone, and then introduce it to them gradually as they become more comfortable with us. I have nothing against it, at least at the surface. I do the same thing myself! I don't always tell people about the wonderful gospel the first time I meet them. But when I think about it... something stinks about that scenario. The gospel is the very testimony of Jesus Christ, around whom my life pivots, but even more He is the Axis Of History, the One for Whom the universe was created. The very being of anyone on earth is directly related at all times to the Person of Jesus Christ. The gospel should be one of, if not the first thing that we share with someone we meet, should it not? But... we don't... I don't. Why not? You'd think, that as a missionary, is that not my primary purpose for being where I am, doing what I do? I'm sorry, but my idea of being a missionary is not running training schools or building websites that don't even teach the gospel... and that's what I do. Recruiting missionaries does not make me a missionary. I'm not trying to invalidate those who do these things —certainly not!— but I think there is a distinct difference between teaching people to teach the gospel and actually teaching the gospel yourself! You might object and say "you are defining missionary quite narrowly!" and I would respond "Yes, I am!" That is tangental to my current line of thought, which, again, is this: why don't we preach the gospel initially? Is it fear? Are we afraid of someone ridiculing our beliefs, someone rejecting us, afraid that someone would think we are crazy? If this is true... it is not a good excuse not to preach the gospel (although, I think, a valid explanation for why it is not preached... one I am ashamed to admit I would use myself). The gospel will not become less offensive over time, I tell you! Even in it's most basic form, the gospel is accusatory against all, condemning them as sinners. While it is good news that we have a Substitute in Jesus Christ, it is still a brutal shock to one's humanity to recognise that:

all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

Or do we honestly think that people aren't ready for the gospel, that they aren't in a place to receive it, or that they won't understand it? If this is true... then we need to check ourselves,  I think. The power of the gospel is not in our preaching or discernment, but of the revelation God puts in the hearts of those who hear so that they might understand. What favor, my friends, are we doing anyone by not teaching them the gospel? I am reminded here of Jesus' parable in Mark 4:

And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

It seems to me that our responsibility is not to win people over to Christ, to convince them of belief or the validity of our faith. Such a endeavor is, I believe, going to be quite fruitless in reality; "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18) and were we slaves to sin (Romans 6:17,20) and "were by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). What we are told to do is to preach the gospel... to plant the seed. God could easily reveal Himself to each and every human being on the planet, but as part of His plan, He chooses to use us as vessels of His mercy. We can't force people to be saved and people can't choose to be saved naturally... but we can teach them what it IS to be saved, and God will use that to reveal to the hearts of those whom He has elected so that they might believe. Going back to the beginning, now... I believe that our responsibility in the propagation of the  gospel is not primarily to build relationship or build the kingdom, although these things are necessary and must happen as a result of the change God has made in our hearts, when we are talking about evangelism at it's core, we must be teaching the gospel plainly and boldly: we are all hopeless sinners unable by nature to choose God, but in His mercy God became Man in Jesus and was mutilated upon a cross, covering our sins in His blood and therefore justifying us by satisfying the wrath of God towards us; being raised from the dead, conquering death, so that we may have eternal life, the only requirement on our part is believing in faith, which is a gift from God. This, my friends, is somewhat of the thoughts that have been behind my "Question(s) of the day" on Facebook, recently. Believe me, I am all for fighting injustice and building relationship and all that. It's great, and needs to be done... but it is a pitiful thing from an eternal perspective if it is not done in context to the gospel; this is my belief. Injustice makes my blood boil, I want to see it eradicated; but consider this, if you will: If all injustice were eradicated from the earth... rape, honor killings, the sex trades, human trafficking, starvation, AIDS, pornography, abortion, poverty... if all these things were gone, would the world be a perfect place? No. All the people spared being victimised by these injustices when they are eradicated will still be punished for eternity in hell for their sins, unless they know of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Fighting injustice and preaching the gospel are not same thing. The gospel will by it's very nature result in transformation... leading the war against injustice... but fighting injustice in and of itself will not bring people to the knowledge of the truth of Jesus Christ. This is why I believe preaching the gospel ought to be foremost in everything we do as missionaries. Get a heart to fight injustice, get a heart for health care, get a heart for whatever you want to get a heart for that helps people... but for goodness sake, put the preaching of the gospel bef0re all these things!