What's my evangelism style?

If this were a multiple choice test, would "none of the above" be one of the choices?

Ok, it's true, I wrote that partly as an attention grabber, but partly because to me, the appropriate style depends on the situation. I know I'm not at all comfortable with a 'confrontational' style, but to me it seems that the other styles depend on the situation and the circumstance. I don't usually use the personal testimony style, because my testimony is pretty low key. However it is interesting to people from a similar perfectionist background. Face it, when a perfectionist 'good girl' gets saved, you don't see dramatic external lifestyle changes. Likewise, the intellectual approach isn't usually relevant to people, however if that is their personality, then it makes sense to communicate that way to them. And the relational style works with people with whom you share a relationship. Actually, the approach that appeals to me most is power evangelism -- it also seems to fit the most common New Testament model, where we see Jesus and the disciples healing the sick, and preaching the gospel. Alas, there is a fatal flaw with choosing this style. We cannot control when the Lord will move in power.

I have a personal theory, however, that the people who actually have the spiritual gift of evangelism will often use a confrontational style, and that it is peculiarly effective for them because it is inspired. That's why they can bluntly go up to someone, utter a total non-sequitur, and end up with the person receiving the Lord on the spot, for no apparent reason.

The rest of us try hard, and learn little speeches, and experiment with different methods, or tracts, or diagrams, or programs. And have occasional success.

The part of evangelism that I have trouble with is opening the dialogue. I have no problem with answering questions that people have, or participating in a conversation, I just have a hard time starting the ball rolling. To put that in context, I have trouble starting the conversational ball rolling in general. I can work with someone for years and not know if they are married, because I don't know how to ask normal conversational questions. I'm always afraid someone will be offended. For example, what if I ask someone if they are married and they are in the middle of a divorce? What if I ask someone if they have kids and they are struggling with infertility? What if I ask someone where they work and they just lost their job? I've never been able to figure out how you know the difference between showing interest and being intrusive.

So my difficulty with evangelism is not surprising. The main spiritual touchpoint I have with my co-workers is that they know that I pray for them when they (or their family) are sick. At that point, there is a felt need that I can respond to.