Conversational Evangelism

I starting listening to the sessions from the Conversational Evangelism conference yesterday.

A few take a way points so far are that there is a disconnect between Jesus and the church. Non-Christians and non-church attenders don't always have any problem with Jesus, but they have lots of problems with the church. There is a perception that church goers are out of touch with regular, non-church-going people. Jesus wasn't this way at all.

Another key is that as a Christian, you don't need to add evangelism or a missional focus to your already busy life. What you need is a new life(style), like Jesus.

A Christian is not someone who just goes to a lot of Church meetings, who just studies the Bible, just shops at Christian bookstores, and who just watches Christian television. A Christian is someone who follows Christ, who has Christ in them and who is in Christ. Evangelism is not about inviting someone to a meeting to hear and see someone else, although that's not invalid. Evangelism is about getting involved with people where they live and listening to them.

Todd Hunter: "Most seekers don’t want to be talked down to from a stage in one way communication. They need to talk, they need to tell their story, they need a place to unload all their fears and pre-judgments about religion, etc. This requires a conversation. It requires that we come down from stages and sit with seekers around a dinner table, letting them set the pace and direction of the conversation."