Elmo's Song: The Key to Evangelism?

Among the many things that distract me from working, this morning “Elmo’s Song” is at the top of the list. If you don’t know it, you can hear it here. As Big Bird says, it’s quite catchy. As with most children’s songs that get stuck in my head, I can’t decide whether I love it or hate it. Regardless, it’s on my mind, so it has gotten me thinking about it. In the song, Elmo starts with his ingenious rhythm, inspiring excitement in Snuffy, but jealousy in Big Bird, who longs for his own song. Elmo comes up with the great idea to share the song, telling Big Bird all he needs to do is say Big Bird instead of Elmo. The result is magical; Elmo’s song has become Big Bird’s song. But the spreadable love doesn’t stop there, as Snuffy takes a turn as well, and what began as Elmo’s creation has now spread to many, allowing all those present to find their own voice through Elmo’s music and words. Big Bird then realizes that almost anyone now has the chance to sing his or her own song, simply by following the music and words Elmo has given him.

Isn’t this a pretty obvious parallel to the Christian experience? Can’t this serve as a model of evangelism? I don’t know if we should all be pushing Sesame Street on would-be Christians, but it reinforces for me what I see as a dominant way of spreading the gospel in the New Testament. Take Paul, for example, who at many places decides that what his churches need to hear is not his judgmental preaching or his exposition of Scripture, but rather his own story (his own song, if you will). See, for example Galatians 1 or Philippians 3, where Paul sees in his own past, present, and future a pattern for the Christian life. The lesson, though, is not to go out and do exactly what Paul has done, but rather it is to see in Paul’s pattern the pattern of our own lives. When we listen to Paul’s story, we may begin to grab hold of our own story, and we may begin to see God’s work in our own lives. As Elmo might say, we begin to say “me” instead of “Paul.” Paul’s song is not something we exactly imitate, but it is something that helps us create our own song by seeing our own name in the story of God’s work on earth. God words in all of our lives with basically the same melody, but we each have a story that is our own. Sharing the melody with our name can help others discover the melody for them. Just like Big Bird, people are looking for their own song, a way of understanding or organizing God’s work in their own life. Sometimes the best thing we can do is sing our own, helping them to take our insight and make it their own. Either that, or we can at least have something to sing when we’re gathered with friends around a tiny piano.