A natural question that arose was (and others have posed this same question), "In Europe, what is the best way to broach the subject of religion; what is the best starting point?”
Well, I do not think there is a single BEST starting point. Otherwise we wouldn’t need Paul’s counsel in Colossians 4:2-6. But he recommends:
- prayer for open doors for the gospel,
- wise behavior,
- gracious & salty conversation that makes people thirsty for Jesus.
His final, “so that you may know how to answer everyone” implies that Paul did not envision a stock method but adapted his approach to his interlocutor.
I once asked a French evangelist friend how he broaches the question of Christ and the gospel with people. He told me, “One doesn’t begin with a topic that makes people angry.” In France, that means he doesn’t start with religion.
A tip from my teammates in Europe is look for common ground. Because people feel they know what the gospel is about and reject it à priori due to European Church history (see Religious Smoke entries), we do a lot with relational bridges — a common interest that allows us to spend time with people in order to apply Colossians 4:2-6, to demonstrate then share the gospel.
My teammates are involved in over 70 relational bridges as diverse as:
participating in a quilting club to a soup kitchen, from a debate club to a dog walker’s club, from an ecological club to a biker club.
Almost anything that we enjoy (interest needs to genuine) can be a bridge, most anything that allows us to spend time with people. From there we seek to live the gospel, pray for people, and invite them to read the gospel.
Another example of, not the best, but a good starting point is the Fair Trade Café in my fair city. Fair trade strives to provide a coffee or tea producer with a fair wage so that he can feed, clothe, house and educate his children.
Many, many French are highly sensive to the plight of suffering people in the 2/3 world, so our common ground is justice and concern for poor and exploited peoples. A westerner can have global impact just by purchasing a cup of coffee in our café. Our motto is, “Just serving coffee? No, coffee that serves justice.”
One of the café workers told me that he has spiritual discussions most every day, especially with regular customers.
A guiding principle for us, a synthesis of a Lesslie Newbigin concept found in The Gospel in a Pluralist Society is: We seek to live and speak in a way that causes people to ask the question to which Jesus is the answer.
So the best way to share the gospel? That depends on the person one is talking to. Some general tips from our experience in Europe: look for common ground, pray for open doors, live the gospel, and use gracious and salty words that make people thirsty for Jesus.
