In the past, I’ve been through a lot of different evangelism training. The mere word “training” is intimidating to many Christians. Certainly Evangelism Explosion went far beyond what ordinary Christians could master. Campus Crusade and the Navigators give you a booklet to use, but even then, you need training in how to use it.
I just came across an article by Randy Seiver called “Clearing the Bench.” It really resonates with me. He’s part of an organization, Off the Map, that teaches people to make “ordinary attempts.” He describes this as, “Simple, doable practices that most people are already doing, but now they will do intentionally. Some of them don’t even require speaking.”
I’m very intrigued by this. Not because it’s revolutionary–it’s not; lots of other people have written about natural, lifestyle witnessing. But it sounds like their organization may have put together something that would appeal to the common folks in my church.
I’ve read books by two different Swedish authors. Three books by Henning Mankell, whose protagonist is police detective Kurt Wallander. And two books by Maj Sjorrel about detective Martin Beck. Mankell is the better and more prolific writer. His book White Lioness, in particular, was amazing, with two different investigations, and two sets of fully-developed characters, occurring simultaneously in different countries (Sweden and South Africa). It was a fascinating read, watching the two investigations intersect. But I like Martin Beck a lot, too.
