How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy): Personal Evangelism in a Skeptical World

by Sam Chan

we have overprofessionalized evangelism

Only God can send the fire. But as Keller points out, Elijah still had to build the altar.

We all have plausibility structures that determine whether a story is unbelievable or believable.

Three main sources contribute to our plausibility structures: (1) community, (2) experiences, and (3) facts, evidence, and data.

But facts, evidence, and data are actually the least powerful in determining belief.

So which is the most powerful in determining belief? Community.

Community shapes the way we interpret our experiences. Community shapes the way we interpret facts, evidence, and data.

If all the people in the room were to say, “Me too! That also happened to me last night,” my story would be highly believable—

Paul recognized the power of community and belief.

“he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living . . . Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also.”

I’m talking about the believability of a story and not how true it

In many cases, the number one reason our friends aren’t Christians is that they don’t have any other Christian friends.

So what we need to do is introduce them into a community of Christian friends. How do we do this? By getting our Christian friends to become friends with our non-Christian friends.

What I’m arguing for here is a lifestyle change, not a one-off event. We need to proactively and deliberately work at merging our universes.

we should try to avoid playing the “culture wars” game. The gospel should not be a tribal badge marker for one side against another side.

If it becomes that, our friend will refuse to believe the gospel because it will mean they are disloyal to their tribe.

Today, our audience is in a completely different universe. They don’t know of the gospel. They don’t even know why they should care. It’s of no relevance to them. And deep down, they suspect that the gospel is a tool of oppression used by those who used to be in power. They are hermetically shut off from the good news of Jesus.

The sequence was BELIEF → BELONGING → BEHAVIOR. Now that we are in a post-Christian age, the sequence seems to go the other way. People first find belonging with Christians.

Then we can try to do things with them. By doing things together, they might see things from our point of view and gradually also want to share our belief.

Association and approval are not the same thing.

There are many things Jesus did that we can’t copy 100 percent. Similarly, if we associate with “tax collectors and sinners,” sooner or later we may find that our moral compass is affected.

But Jesus has set them free from all of that. They are now free from the fear of evil spirits. They are liberated from the bondage of superstitious rituals. They are set free from the endless need to impress.

But Amy has been set free from all of this. Because she and her parents stopped believing in Jesus, they are now free from the fear of hell and punishment. They are liberated from the bondage of religious rituals.

the problem with being a high achiever is that it makes you proud and insecure at the same time.

You need more and more achievements to be somebody in your own eyes.

If I only see the friendship as a means to tell them about Jesus, then I’m overfunctioning.

we should learn to evangelize like counselors. Counselors are skilled in asking the right questions. They steer their clients to talk out loud and discover the solutions for themselves. If we evangelize this way, our new model of evangelism will be a conversation.

Moreover, telling them a story from the Bible allows them to imagine the Bible’s worldview rather than merely giving them an argument to argue against.

Knowing God’s wisdom is more than knowing what’s true or false, right or wrong; it’s knowing what is most apt in a particular circumstance.

Our views on ethics have become a barrier to belief in the Christian worldview. Perhaps it’s time that our wisdom becomes an entry to belief in the Christian worldview.

In order to tell our friends about Jesus, we have to make ourselves vulnerable. Not so much vulnerable to attack, but vulnerable to disagreement. When we do this, we’re following in Jesus’ footsteps.

Sharing stories to answer questions is great because no one can argue against a story.

Often we go out looking for opportunities to evangelize, but they just don’t happen. Instead, we should just go out there and be Jesus to the community—and the opportunities to evangelize will find us.