This train of thought was brought on by a couple things I've read recently (a fictional book I'm reading about Malchus, Carol's recent Starbucks blog, and a smattering of several other things).

When was the last time you saw a fisherman jump out of the boat, chase the fish around in the water, grab one with his bare hands and yank that hook through his mouth? Probably never, at least not from a fisherman who has ever really fished before. The parallels between fishing and what we've termed "evangelism" nowadays are many, which is probably why Jesus told us we are to be "fishers of men".

Why doesn't a fisherman fish that way? Because most of the time (unless you're dealing with injured, dying, or "mentally insufficient" fish), as soon as you leave the air and enter the water, the fish recognize an intruder, and immediately flee the area. Fish are not humans, and humans are not fish. Different creatures. And fish are smart enough to recognize when something not of it's own type has entered into it's habitat. So also with the unsaved, especially today...they see a Christian coming, "Jesus is King" t-shirt (in bright orange, of course), huge cross jewelry hanging off of various holes and limbs, huge coffee-table-sized Old King James Bible under the arm, and they just know that if they could see through the Christian's eyes it would be a scene from the 1984 original Terminator movie complete with target-acquisition software and bright red beeping crosshairs.

No, fisherman scope out a good spot (with either plenty of fish or few fish depending on what type of fish they are going for), utilize wisdom to select the right lure or bait, cast the wisdom in the general area of the fish (though not right on top of them!), and then waits for the fish to decide whether the fish wants the bait enough to strike. The burden is now on the fish, not the fisherman. We should do likewise: select a spot where people in need of the Lord are, pray for wisdom from the Lord and utilize what we know from the Word to dispense the right "bait", utilize some method of dispensing that information into the general area of the people in need of it, and wait for the people to respond to it! Anyone who has ever evangelized has been guilty of not being able to simply shut up and let the person chew on what they've been given, and has probably talked themselves right out of being seriously considered a time or two (or a couple dozen).

There is a time for direct evangelism, usually in cases where you actually know a person already or when a person approaches you with a question, or when the Lord prods you to go talk to someone. But for the most part, evangelistic sorts of activities are most effective when people are presented with what they need somewhat indirectly, so then not only do they not feel personally "attacked" with the information, but they also need to be genuinely interested to proceed further in responding (as opposed to the many "pressure-induced" conversions that don't even last through the end of the day).

Try having a small-group Bible study in a popular hangout (a corner booth in a restaurant perhaps, or Mike's favorite "comfy chairs" at the local coffeehouse for example), a place where you'll be recognized as a Christian indirectly, and as much as possible, don't even think about trying to evangelize anyone. Focus on the study, just the same as you would in Sunday morning church (or more-so) or mid-week Bible study, share your thoughts and insights about the passages you're studying together, and just have a good time doing that with your brothers and sisters! Buy food (if in a food place) so as not to irritate your servers, and leave as generous a tip as you can possibly afford as a group -- these will help you establish good rapport with the staff, give a positive testimony that the Lord is working generosity in your life, and also cause the staff to remember your group the next time in a real positive context. The worst foot to get off on first is to make the place you are now frequenting think your group is nothing but a bunch of cheapos who just want to hog a table all night and not pay for anything.

If the Lord wants you to talk to someone, he'll direct either you to them or vice versa, and you'll know then that this isn't some contrived or forced meeting that one (or both) parties don't really want to be participating in, but rather a Divine Appointment:

which will hopefully relieve the pressure and anxiety from your shoulders and allow you to simply be a person seeking to provide another person with an introduction to Who they need to know, not a salesman trying to sell them something they don't really want or think they don't need.

I pray this ministers to all of you, and that the Lord would use it to stir up in you the desire to go out and just live in public for His purposes. Church is a great place to be, a sanctuary in the storms, a hospital for the sick and wounded, but it's awful tough to walk in our ordained good works if we're sitting on our natural padding all the time. :)