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Conspiracy of Kindness: A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus With Others

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"Servant evangelism" is transforming the Church's understanding of how to evangelize. Sjogren's ideas as encapsulated in "Conspiracy of Kindness" involve reaching out to a community through acts of kindness. These simple acts allow people in the church who may never have witnessed to anyone before (via the Four Spiritual Laws, The Bridge or one of Evangelism Explosion's techniques) to impact others via guiltless, stressless, low-risk, high grace actions instead of words. God's love is shown to someone in a practical way. For the storeowner, a group might clean his toilets. A neighborhood might be canvassed with offers of free batteries for smoke alarms. Free car washes and even having the church pay for a large part of someone's gasoline bill at a fuel stop are other ways to reach people with the message that God loves them deeply. Cards explaining the reason for this gift are handed out along with the gift, and information about the church is included on the back of the card. No pressure is exerted, no money taken, and for those who are so moved by the gift, people are on hand to share the Gospel more completely.

In light of a recent George Barna survey that put evangelical Christians right below prostitutes in terms of credibility and public opinion, Sjogren's radical revisioning of how to evangelize also carries with it the opportunity for churches to makes amends for perceptions. As a member of Sjogren's church for many years, I've personally seen how effective these methods are. People sometimes break down weeping when someone hands them a free can of soda with no other expectation than the receiver be blessed by it. The church has grown at light speed as a result.

"Conspiracy of Kindness" addresses the depth of these ideas in a far greater way than any review can. The book examines the failures of modern evangelism, why this method is superior, it's biblical basis, the idea of scattering seed constantly, how to implement servant evangelism in a church, and how using these ideas can transform individuals and small groups in their ministries.

But "Conspiracy of Kindness" is not without issues.

The Bible states that the reason people came into the Church was not so much that the Church was kind to outsiders but that it was kind to insiders. It was the love that early Christians had for each other that caused the world to wonder. Sjogren states that how we "treat [the unchurched] is the litmus test of our spiritual health." In fact, he has it reversed: everything starts in the House of God. If we do not sacrificially love our brethren, we cannot hope to ever reach outsiders.

Unfortunately, servant evangelism techniques can be adopted without a truly Christian message. Without a unique message, this method of evangelism is a hook with no meat on it. Other non-Christian religious organizations are adopting these methods and are using them to effectively bring in people in similar amounts. We have to be poised to offer Christ relentlessly or else we will end up looking no different from the others who are using these ideas but without Christ.

Servant evangelism by its very nature can appeal to a consumer mentality. It creates an expectation in people that Christ exists to fulfill one's wishes. That this mentality is becoming increasingly common in evangelical Christianity is to our shame, and even brings to question just what kind of salvation people may have come to. The literature given with servant evangelism gifts states the gift comes "with no strings attached". The truth is, if followed to its natural end, that gift is meant to help eventually bring someone to a point of dying to self and surrendering his or her whole being to Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "When Christ bids a man, He bids him come and die." That's a pretty big string and becomes more so if avoided early on. Shouldn't we be setting this expectation immediately when we are doing servant evangelism?

Because so little is asked of people who participate in servant evangelism projects other than to show up, it tends to let people doing it off the hook theologically. The average person handing out a soda doesn't truly need to know how to communicate a Biblical pathway of salvation to someone who might ask. Certainly someone asking can be referred to a more knowledgeable person on the team, but shouldn't we be spending time with everyone showing them how to communicate the Gospel verbally? Faith does come from hearing the Word of God, does it not?

One key point of the book sounds like a Nike ad: "Just Do It". Sjogren calls this "Ready, Fire, Aim" - tune the outreach over time rather than simply keeping it stuck in a committee, always discussing, but never doing. Steve is right in saying that the biggest problem lies in even getting started, but the Bible clearly states that we must consider leaders and plans of action thoughtfully through the Spirit - and that takes time sometimes. Anything else becomes spiritually lazy and can cause situations where good people get "shot" accidentally because time was not taken to "aim" at the target.

As with any new idea that comes across the Body of Christ today we have a tendency to go rushing over to see how it works, abandoning whatever we were doing where we were. Still, if you are part of a church that has never tried servant evangelism, then by all means do so. But be very careful to make sure that you incorporate old evangelism techniques with the new. Work to overcome inherent weaknesses in this model. Find a way to think about other radical ways to not only reach the lost, but your own comrades in the pews. If a middle ground is kept and the focus on Christ is not lost, you will surely meet success in winning others to Christ.

We are making Sjogreen's book required reading for our Evangelism Team 2000. It debunks all old theories of the E-word and makes it exciting and down-to-earth with wonderful, tangible easy-to-reach goals. Kudos to the author for sharing his perceptive insights with everyone and not just his Vineyard Church. These concepts will help all denominations grow in witnessing. It probes deeper, too, than just servant evangelism. Conspiracy of Kindness speaks of becoming true spiritual lighthouses. One of the best books I've read in the past 5 years.

It seems that with each decade, certain books become so important to me that I return to them again and again. Richard Foster's 'Celebration of Discipline' was one such book in my past. During this decade, it's been Steve Sjogren's 'Conspiracy of Kindness.' In it, Sjogren, senior pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, gives a thorough overview of the Biblical, theological, and socioilogical underpinnings of the exciting kindness outreach ministry of his congregation. He also gives examples of his congregation's many experiences with kindness outreaches and in the appendices, helpful information on possible outreach projects and how and when to do them. From cold Cokes given to thirsty motorists to cleaning the toilets of mall stores, kindness outreaches afford Christians the opportunity to share the love of God in practical ways. Especially helpful in explaining kindness outreaches to the skeptical is Sjogren's explanation of how they combine what he calls, "high grace" and "low risk." Even those squeamish about "stepping out in faith" can do and actually enjoy, kindness outreaches! As a result of this book, the congregation I serve as pastor has committed itself to regular kindness outreaches. We designate 5% of our weekly offerings to this program. Although small, our church has been able to reach over 11,600 since we began doing them in June, 1997. Some people ask me, "Have you had a lot of people come to your church because of the outreaches?" Frankly, we haven't. But I can tell you that in the doing of the outreaches, we have been changed. We think more in terms of being open to God and our neighbor. As more than fifty of our members have participated in the outreaches at least once, we've grown in the love of Christ...and that's an awesome thing! To solidify people's thinking about the outreaches, I also have used this book with our Church Council.

My wife loves a good practical joke. She will drive up to a drive-through window at a fast-food place and pay for the order of the person in the car behind her and then tell the cashier that when they give the food to the person, to tell them that Jesus loves them. Then she pulls away, giggling. She got that idea from Steve Sjogren, the father of servant evangelism. And Steve has a host of creative ways to kill the world with kindness that all started with his 1993 bestselling book, "Conspiracy of Kindness." Now, Sjogren is back with an updated and revised version, warranted with the arrival of the Internet and the Information Age, all of which has tweaked our ability to serve others and show kindness.

What Sjogren has taught me is that the dog is supposed to wag the tail, not the tail the dog. Churches are to serve, not be served by, their community. Have you ever noticed those "No Solicitors" signs at store entrances? They are there for a reason. Shop owners often display them in self-defense--sometimes from local churches and religious organizations that approach them all too frequently to solicit funds for this project, or that missions endeavor, or their youth group, or a new addition to their church. Every retailer has had the disheartening experience of having to say regularly say no to yet another religious group. And, regrettably, somewhere along the way, some business owners have simply lost respect for churches so that, now, when a church really wants to do something for their community, for free, for nothing but the joy of serving, people lift an eyebrow and mumble, "Yeah, right."

Enter, "Conspiracy of Kindness." Sjogren's is a fresh approach to doing Christianity, which mirrors the sentiments of Mother Teresa: "Small things done with great love can change the world." He believes that exhibiting genuine kindness may be the greatest tool a Christian has in influencing their world. When we endeavor to affect the world through simple acts of kindness rather than those hard-to-learn, step-by-step, often counterproductive, make-the-pitch-and-close-the-sale confrontational approaches to "soulwinning" that have made "evangelism" a four-letter word for many people, we discover that anyone can do the E-word. Everyone can do an intentional act of kindness at any time for anyone any where: mow an overstressed neighbor's lawn, visit a hospitalized coworker, bake cookies, wash a car, be a friend, live life outside yourself. These are "low risk, high grace" approaches to sharing the faith. And they are proving to be more effective.

In "Conspiracy," Sjogren offers a host of kindness strategies sprinkled with timely stories--and he has a natural gift for storytelling--of people whose lives were changed by Christians who simply showed them "God's love in a practical way." The first edition of "Conspiracy" has sold over 200,000 copies and launched a style of Christianity that is changing strategies of churches around the world. As Bert Waggoner has observed, "Conspiracy means `to breathe with,' and Steve Sjogren has indeed started a conspiracy by assisting the Church to partner with the Spirit to breathe out the love of God into a world that desperately needs to know God's love."

This book was written from my experiences connected with the establishment of a church in Cincinnati some years ago. Starting with just 5 people and literally no connections from that group, my wife and I began to connect with the surrounding community in traditional ways. After 2 years and over 2,000 vision casting conversations, we went public - a mere 37 showed up - that's a rejection rate of about 99%! That's enough to send anyone off to get a prescription of Zoloft... One day I got what I now call an "inspired idea" - to start serving people, for free, to show them God's love instead of just talking, talking, talking as is traditionally done in Church circles. We began by washing cars for free with big signs that read, "TOTALLY FREE CAR WASH - NO DONATIONS ACCEPTED!" People were skeptical for the longest time, but eventually we became well known locally. After a few years of consistently serving large groups of people (many thousands per week - no matter what!) we began to see the idea of what a "Christ-follower" was become re-defined to the whole city to some degree. Also, we began to grow massively. After 15 years into our journey we had spun off about 20 churches in Cincinnati and had grown to over 7,000 on weekends - by far the largest church the city had ever seen. It has been a wild ride. Now I am taking this simple but profound message all over the place. I am also planting a church in Tampa shortly. Don't hesitate to email me if you have questions about this book - check out the author info on the Amazon site.

Having digested nearly every modern era Christian text on the topic of evangelism, I can easily say that Conspiracy of Kindness is my favorite. Steve Sjogren returns us to the ministry of Christ; love and servitude. Much of what we call evangelism is offensive to non-Christians simply because of motive. Conspiracy of Kindness allows us to love and serve with no agenda, and it allows God to change hearts. God works through love, not head knowledge, and Steve Sjogren reminds us of that.

The book contains many practical ways to live a life of servitude; suggestions that truly any Christian can handle. I highly recommend this book.

Yes it can, and Steve Sjogren shows you how in this book! Some of the ideas that he puts forth in book are so simple and so powerful that "average Joe Christian" could impact significant numbers of the unchurched in the span of a mere hour, washing cars, wrapping packages, or delivering light bulbs door-to-door. This stuff is a piece of cake!

Okay, you've perhaps read the original Conspiracy of Kindness with the non-pictorial cover. Original stuff call classic outreach-evangelism thoughts by many. So why this new edition? Plenty.
1. New chapters.
2. Each chapter is lengthened.
3. The 'Great Serving Experiment' is updated. What was first penned over a decade ago has moved worldwide in a tremendous way. How has it gone? What is afoot now?

If you are new to the idea / theology of serving, start with Conspiracy of Kindness. This will build a foundation for understanding later serving / kindness books. I am asked continually via emails, "There are numerous books. Help please." The message of the power of God's kindness, the model of God's kindness is one that is pervasive in the New Testament (present in the Old Testament, but very evident in the coming of Messiah as he declares his Luke 4:18, 19 'Magna Carta' ala Isa. 61 purpose for coming to earth... his means for an initial breakthrough was serving, power and explaining what just happened).
The message of this book was perhaps ahead of its time in the U.S. In other parts of the world, the observation was already very clearly in hand/mind that words are hollow without first investments of authentic care, love, generosity, respect. Such things are the natural overflow of anyone walking in God's Spirit (Gal. 5:22) though we can all tell of any day in any of our lives when we are waking well or embarrassingly poorly for various factors.

The reality of 'show before talk with hollow words' is not new to this generation worldwide. We are in another global cycle of nearly every culture noticing that words ring hollow unless there is first a deposit of authenticity - both to believer and not-yet believer. That authenticity can come in several ways to people - serving is a necessary one that all people groups notice. It is not a stand alone factor though as all of life.
Not just those outside the church notice the incongruity of the 'stand alone words' approach to life. If you haven't noticed it, believers are vacating the organized church scene like never before in church history - the 'forked tongue' factor is the most common issue stated.
Perhaps we need to talk much about throwing stones before we move into a glass house ourselves. The observation remains well taken - it is difficult to go too far off the mark by walking in too much of God's kindness.

I am sure that there are elaborate reviews out there, however this one will be short and sweet. If you want a way to evangelize for the Lord and have reservations, this book will be of great value. Steve Sjogren has a simple, anybody can do it, method. If you can clean a window or screw in a light bulb you qualify. This is GREAT STUFF!

It's easy for those of us who have been involved in church life for many years to get in a rut. We attend services, maybe even volunteer in some ministry in our church, but there is something missing. Steve Sjogren's Conspiracy of Kindness shows everyday Christians what might be missing in their faith journey, doing the things that Jesus might do if he were living in our city.

What nicer thing is there, than a cold drink of water on a hot day? Unless it is a diet coke, given as a practical expression of God's love? With small acts of service, given with no strings attached, Sjogren's once in a generation idea of servant evangelism can inspire us to reach out to those around us with open hands that will open hearts.

Several years ago I was a burnt out pastor. My church had been closed. Steve's ideas, among other circumstances, inspired a small group of mission-minded Christians in our area to minister to an overlooked group, teenage skateboarders. With nachos and skate ramps, week after week we showed the skaters that God cared enough about them that he was building a free skatepark in their neighborhood.

The results after 7 years of ministry? Hundreds of changed lives. Thousands of teenagers beginning a faith walk with God. Because simple service opens the hearts of those who are hungry to hear that God loves them, no, he really does!

Steve's idea is influencing Christians around the world to get out of their stain-glassed cloisters and into the neighborhoods of their city to love and care for those around them. Dancing at the Waffle House? Free Car Washes? Cleaning toilets for Jesus? Krispy Kreme Donuts on Christmas Eve? And a hundred other simple, practical ways to show God's love. Very powerful stuff that will impact the city you live in for years to come.