Q: How can we speak evangelistically to people today? Is it different from how we spoke to former generations?

A: Much of our evangelism here in the United States was developed in a context of Christendom, in which just about everybody knew the basic information of Christianity and were favorably disposed to it. Evangelism got people to act on what they already knew and, in a sense, already passively believed. You could call people to commitment relatively quickly. You could also use pretty forceful persuasive techniques. In dealing with postmoderns, you're dealing with people who do not know the basics of Christianity. If anything, they have a negative idea of what Christianity is. So it makes no sense to them if you come on too strong and quickly ask for a commitment. We should count conversations rather than conversions, not because I don't believe in conversions, but because I don't think we'll get many conversions if we keep emphasizing them.

Q: So what does evangelism to postmoderns look like?

A: When most people think of evangelism, the word "arguments" comes up—arguments for the existence of God, arguments for the uniqueness of Christ, arguments for the inspiration of the Bible. For postmodern people, anything presented as an argument is less persuasive because arguments suggest a message of conquest rather than a message of peace. Postmoderns are so assaulted by advertisements and political messages that for a message to be important and true, it must come in a form other than argument.

Also, we have become good at boiling the gospel down into little four-step outlines. Modern people love diagrams; it's all about engineering. But postmodern people feel that truth comes as a mystery, a story, and a work of art; truth is more like poetry than engineering. This forces us to ask if we have a clear understanding of what the gospel really is. If, for hundreds of years, we have turned the gospel into a problem-solution mindset or series of arguments, we must ask how that may have distorted our understanding of the gospel. In many ways, the modern evangelical gospel is a message about how to not go to hell. When you step back and ask if that's really the gospel from Jesus' perspective, it's pretty hard to answer yes. When Jesus talks about the gospel, he talks about the kingdom of God. That offers a whole realm of questions that are more important.

Q: How do you train people to be authentic witnesses for the gospel?

A: We don't talk about having a missions department in our church. Instead, we tell people that what we do is missions. When we become a follower of Christ, we're signing up for his mission. That involves doing good, caring for the poor, and giving out cups of cold water in Christ's name, then telling others the story of the gospel and what God has done in our life. We talk about being and making disciples in authentic community for the good of the world. We talk about that because, according to Jesus, one of the things disciples do is help others become disciples.

Q: Besides showing kindness, how do you reach out without being pushy?

A: We emphasize that to be a good member of our church, we must get to know our neighbors. We say, throw parties. Have people over. Be nice to the children in your neighborhood. Be good people. Be good neighbors. That makes it easier to talk to people about your faith. You know that verse in 1 Peter 3 about always being ready to give an answer? Well, that implies that people are asking questions. To me, part of the issue is how we can help Christians live such good lives that people want to ask questions. If people aren't asking the questions, and we're teaching Christians how to talk rather than walk, we might just be encouraging them to be obnoxious.

Q: What questions might people ask of Christians?

A: Many would ask, "Is Christianity good, and can it make me into a better person, or will it make me a jerk?" They ask that because when they think of Christians, they tend to think of people who are narrow-minded, judgmental, arrogant, and angry. And they think, "Wow, I really want God, and I'd rather be a Christian than a Buddhist or a Muslim, but Christians look like jerks. I don't want to become like that."

They might also ask, "How can I be a Christian without becoming hateful toward people of other religions?" If we answer that question by giving reasons why other religions are wrong, we just prove that we're not the kind of person they want to become.

Q: How can churches be more welcoming to postmodern non-Christians or new believers?

A: To become this kind of church, we may have to accept people who don't dress right, don't talk right, don't smell right, and don't think right. If we're not willing to let them belong before they believe, they will never believe in our church. Because if a group says we will only accept you if you agree with us, it sounds like any other worldly group. What people are looking for is a group that accepts them regardless of whether they conform. That becomes one of the validations of the gospel.

Originally published in Leadership journal, August 1, 2001.

Read more from 'Lifestyle Evangelism'

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