The evangelist is a persuaded person persuading others. So we approach an evangelistic opportunity without apology and quite purposefully, to persuade. David Hesselgrave writes, "Missionary communication does aim at response. When the desired response is well thought out and specific, communication will likely be more effective.”¹

 There is much more to effectively communicating the gospel than merely penetrating physical ears with the sound waves of our voice. Rather, we must speak the gospel in a way that is meaningful to the hearers. It must speak not only to the mind but also to the heart, for this is where the seeds of the gospel take root, germinate and bear the fruit of eternal life.

 Not surprisingly, the first-century church was a persuasive, communicating church, for those Christians were convinced that God had authoritatively and finally spoken to the world through His Son (Hebrews 1:2). Therefore, they went about the task of making this truth known to a spiritually illiterate world by confounding (Acts 9:22), proving (Acts 1:29), reasoning (Acts 18:4), persuading (Acts 18:4), admonishing (Acts 20:31), informing (Acts 21:21, 24), begging (2 Corinthians 5:20), reproving (2 Timothy 4:2), rebuking (2 Timothy 4:2) and urging (1 Peter 2:11) to the end that all who would listen might have the opportunity to respond intelligently to Christ.²

 The Challenge of Other-Centered Communication

 Norman Geisler writes, "The Christian accepts as axiomatic that his task is to communicate Christ to the world. That sounds simple enough, but in fact is very complex. It is complex for at least three reasons: first, there are many views of 'Christ'; secondly, there are many ways to 'communicate'; and thirdly, there are many 'worlds' to which Christ must be communicated."³

 The ambassador's role carries with it a twofold burden. On the one hand he must be faithful to his sending sovereign power and the messages that power wishes to transmit. On the other hand, the ambassador carries the burden of effectiveness. His job is not merely to transmit messages, but to make sure they hit their mark – that they get to the ears of the right people and are understood from the heart. John Stott describes this balance well, "We have to engage in the continuous struggle to relate the given gospel to the given situation. Since it comes from God, we must guard it; since it is intended for modern men and women, we must interpret it."⁴

 Such is the challenge of communicating to persuade. We must straddle two worlds. We speak to the lost (secular, misdirected religious and nominalist alike), who live in their world of illusions, misconceptions and misperceptions of spiritual truth, about another world, that of Jesus and His kingdom. And while we seek to bridge this gulf, we must ensure that the message not only reaches the ears but also pierces the heart.

 How can the Christian communicator fulfill this ambassadorial task? An understanding of the concepts of identification and sensitivity will take us far toward learning the art of other-centered communication.

 Identification: Maneuvering for the Gospel

 I was sailboating one day with two friends in San Diego Bay. We had rented our boat, a model that was extremely slow and unmaneuverable and was slowed even further by our inexperienced crew. More than once we found ourselves headed on a direct course for another boat. Fortunately, the other boat, usually a sleek fiberglass model manned by an experienced pilot, would turn away to avoid a collision. The other boat's pilot understood the principle that the more maneuverable boat must be the one to change direction.

 The world of communication operates along the same lines. The word communication comes from the Latin word communis, meaning "common." Thus, the communicator is the one who establishes common ground with his audience, for communication is a meeting of minds, not a knocking of heads. In order for two parties to experience this common ground leading to a meeting of their minds, at least one party must maneuver to avoid colliding head-on or, just as unfortunate, having their message run aground on the rocks of misunderstanding.

 Identification is the process of finding this "common ground." It means to take our message to the listeners, to meet them on their own "turf," not only geographically but also culturally, intellectually, spiritually and personally. Identification means to take the life situation of our listening audience seriously, to understand what motives, presuppositions and experiences lie behind their world views and how these influence their response to the gospel. We must listen through their ears and see life through their eyes so that any barrier to their hearing the gospel and seeing the saving grace of the cross might be, by God's grace, removed. As an experienced missionary once said, "I never found a man I couldn't talk to about Jesus if we were walking down the same road together." This is the goal of identification.

 Thus, the bearer of good news must seek to be in touch with his audience by gaining the greatest degree of familiarity possible with their life situation: their language, personal values, cultural operating presuppositions, subculture affiliation, personal experiences, personality type and decision-making styles.

 First-Century Maneuvering

 Paul understood that, while the gospel is self-authenticating and earns its own right to be heard, we as wise stewards of this powerful message must do everything in our power to ensure that it is heard and understood. To get his audience to hear and understand the gospel, Paul reasoned that he would need to maneuver and at times inconvenience himself to overcome barriers to the gospel.

 Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow-partaker of it."

 Paul's reasoning is clear: The good news is both for hearing and understanding. Paul would do anything in his power to ensure that no barrier existed between his audience and Christ except for the stumbling block and foolishness of the cross. Paul's persuasive intent "that I might win the more" compelled him to find the common ground that served as a platform from which the self-authenticating gospel could be turned loose in all of its saving power.

 The Ghetto Gap

 A ghetto could be defined as an "ethnic enclave," a group of people who so closely identify with one another that their contact with those of other groups is severely restricted. Ghettos need not be geographically defined. In fact, they are more likely culturally determined. People usually live, work and play together because they have a shared ethnic, religious or national identity that gives them common points of reference, a common world view and sense of community. We are more likely to be comfortable with "one of our own" and less comfortable with those of other "ghettos" or subcultures.

 This sociological phenomenon applies directly to the evangelical Christian experience in the United States and, indeed, worldwide. Christians naturally enjoy being around one another. This is not wrong, for fellowship is a wonderful experience. But the ghetto phenomenon is a good thing gone haywire. Fellowship was never meant to exert an all-encompassing claim on the Christian's life or build a wall between us and the nonbelieving world.

 A Case Study

 Joe and Janet are a typical suburban couple. They are nonbelievers. Their social life revolves around their small circle of friends who all enjoy frequenting a local night spot. Alcoholic drinks are served (that's why they go there) and good conversation takes place (the non-Christian equivalent of fellowship). They have no friends who are believers, though some in their circle of friends are nominalists. Joe and Janet are preoccupied with making house payments, saving for a summer vacation and keeping their two teenagers out of trouble.

 To their friends' surprise, Joe and Janet come to Christ through watching a Billy Graham Crusade on TV: (They turned the channel to what they thought would be Magnum, P.I., but it had been pre-empted.) They are soon contacted by a local evangelical church couple, Bob and Linda, who help them take their first steps of growth in the Christian life.

 At first Joe and Janet feel uncomfortable with these new "friends." They don't seem to be interested in the same things. Bob and Linda's kids go to a Christian school. Bob and Linda go to church three times a week and do not own a TV: Joe and Janet went to church three times last year and watch TV every day. Bob and Linda would never dream of going to Joe and Janet's favorite night spot; in fact, they have lobbied their state representative to take away the bar's liquor license. It is safe to say that Bob and Linda and Joe and Janet are from two different cultures, even though they share in the demographic profile of white, middle-class, suburban, middle-age Americans.

 As Joe and Janet begin to grow in Christ, they become more comfortable in church and with Bob and Linda, and less comfortable with their old friends and social activities. As the months pass, Joe and Janet spend less time with their old crowd. Their "common ground" no longer exists. As Joe and Janet drive by their old favorite night spot on their way to their children's Christian school, they offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God that He has delivered them from their old lifestyle. But then a sad thought tugs at their hearts. What about their old friends? It is not that they are all that bad; there's just nothing much left to talk about with them; they have lost their common interests. The spark has gone out of their relationship. It is a little sad, but their new Christian friends have filled the void.

 Joe and Janet have come full circle. Only a year ago they were essentially cut off from any meaningful interaction with believers. The only way the gospel could have reached them was through the bridge of their TV set. Now they find themselves with no bridges to meaningful interaction with nonbelievers, even their old friends. The thought of sharing the gospel with them is scary. "Why should they listen to us?" Joe and Janet reason. "We don't talk anymore; we have nothing in common. We're not sure they even like us. In fact, come to think of it, we haven't seen any of the old gang for over six months. It would be awkward to talk to them about Christ now."

 Bridging the Gap

 Why is identification so crucial to our role as communicators? I hope this common case study has hinted at the answer.

 Identification is the practice of staying in touch with our hearers, physically, culturally and intellectually. It means to stay in geographic proximity by continuing to spend time with them. It means to be able to sympathize with how they think – their personal values, cultural presuppositions, hopes and fears. But most of all, it means to bring Jesus Christ into their world so that they can come into His.

 The identifying communicator will relate Jesus Christ to the real world of his listeners. He will see his audience as God sees them (lost without Christ), meet them on their own turf, and help them to see their real need and Jesus' ability to meet it.

 God never intended for us, as new creatures in Christ, to lose touch with those yet to believe. John Stott states this well: "Conversion must not take the convert out of the world, but rather send him back into it, the same person in the same world, and yet a new person with new convictions and new standards. If Jesus' first command was 'come!', His second was 'go!', that is, we are to go back to the world out of which we have come, and go back as Christ's ambassadors.”⁵

 Summary

 The other-centered communicator must speak with the authority of the one who commissioned us to go and with the sensitivity and relevance of the one who came to us, took on the form of a bondservant and lived among us. We must study both our message and audience so that we fulfill our role as faithful ambassadors of the sovereign King.

 The choices are three. We can insist they come to us; which very few are willing to do. We can ask them to meet us halfway. Or we can go to them, meet them on common ground and assist them in reading the road signs to the kingdom. The last choice is the burden of the other-centered communicator.