Positive Reinforcement

I have been treating the topic of evangelism lately. Some critiques have been pretty harsh as I look at evangelicalism (and liberalism) and see a disregard for true teaching of the evangel (the good message). Evangelism is near to my heart as I spent about 6 years working alongside Campus Crusade for Christ - an intensely evangelistic group. I participated in everything from surveys to handing out Freshman Survival Kits (boxes that had college novelties and a Bible and More Than a Carpenter). My thinking throughout college was, “How can someone be a Christian and not want to tell others?” I listened to folks who reasoned away any kind of proclamation of the truth of Christianity for fear of man. I watched Christians try rather absurd methods of “reaching” people with the Good News. ((For those of you who wonder, you need to know that having a Christian band play in the quad of campus will not do anything to move someone to conversion. More so, after several observations, it is doubtful that after hearing the band, those that stick around will find it normal or winsome to have some middle-aged man give a 30-minute talk on why you need Jesus. Even if the talk seems to be relevant to college life, a talk on how to win friends and influence people will do neither when Jesus is relegated to someone who is supposed to help me become the person God made me to be...Finish Rant)) I am going to try and offer some positive alternatives to the traditional “evangelistic” meeting. I have been reading Packer’s life-changing work, Questioning Evangelism, and listened to several sermons on the topic. While my own view of evangelism is getting challenged and honed, I want to bounce ideas off you with the hope that you will sharpen my thoughts...Okay? This has just been a prelude for where I am heading to give you a heads up...heady?