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there was a disconnect between what had happened that night and the nature and character of Jesus Christ who had drawn me to faith in my own childhood. Years later I came across a famous quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, which says:

"Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words"

While I find quote inspiring, I know that too often in my life I have used it as an excuse to hide behind my fear. A few years ago, when I was searching for the source of this quote I learned that, despite popular opinion, St. Francis never said these words. The sentiment was there in his writing, but not so starkly. Perhaps the closest was when he said:

"It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching."

In this quote, St. Francis' intentions become far more apparent. He was not downplaying or minimizing the need for verbal proclamation, but rather was teaching that for those words to carry the impact and authority they deserve, our lives must reflect the transformational truth they declare. By the grace of God, His Gospel is not dependent upon our sinless perfection, but by taking the name of Christ (as in calling ourselves Christians) our lives are a reflection upon Christ Himself and therefore are as critical as the words we preach.

Many people have explored the reasons for why Evangelicals seem particularly drawn to evangelism methods that place primary (and often exclusive) emphasis on the verbal proclamation of the Gospel, most often using an apologetic formula or technique. While this has been effective in sharing the Gospel with many in past, it is proving itself increasingly ineffective. However, change does not always come easily to us as Christians, often resulting in disagreement and conflict. Rather than getting caught up in this aspect of the issue (as important as it is), I want to focus on where we go from here.

In the excellent film, "The Big Kahuna" (Franchise Pictures, 1999), we meet three industrial lubricant salesman- Larry (Kevin Spacey), a brash, but honest veteran of sales; Phil (Danny Devito), Larry's friend and a tired, seasoned salesman; and Bob (Peter Facinelli), a young evangelical Christian, a rookie in sales.

At one stage in the film, Bob is sent to connect with a potentially major client, while Phil & Larry wait in the Hospitality Suite. When Bob returns, he reveals that he, indeed, met with the client, but rather than using this rare opportunity to discuss industrial lubricants, took the time to witness to

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