BUTTON HOLE EVANGELISM

People often use the stereotype in argumentation and script writers use stereotypes in movies and TV shows. A stereotype is "a general belief that we use to categorize people, objects, and events while assuming those beliefs are accurate generalizations of the whole group."

We see stereotyping all the time: whenever a movie involves a teenager, we automatically know that the child is going to be rebellious, sullen, foul-mouthed, pouting, disrespectful to his/her parents, as well as smarter, wiser, and more in the know than the parent figures. (This gives cultural permission for teens to act in such a manner, but that's a different subject.)

The script will stereotype the parents as clueless cliches, dim-witted, and at their wits' end with the adolescent. Other stereotypes we see are those portraying a pastor/a Christian as a hypocrite at best, evil at worst. Then there's the wealthy capitalist who's crass, driven by greed, scheming to harm, maim, and kill for profit.

CHRISTIAN STEREOTYPING

In Christian circles, we too stereotype and we do so in the area of evangelism. In so doing, we set up a false dichotomy, which means that we set up a false contrast between two things that are represented as being opposed or entirely different, but they're not.

The false dichotomy works this way: "There are two different methods of evangelism. One is relational or friendship evangelism in which we give the gospel to a person gradually, after developing a friendship/relationship with him." (Example: the relationship I have with the bank tellers.)

The second method is what we might call "the button hole method" in which we take the opportunity to give the gospel to someone with whom we have no relationship and most likely will have only one dialogue to tell him the good news. (Example: the survey method of evangelism)

The use of "button hole" is pejorative; it prejudices us against the method immediately. It would be better to find another term, but we'll go with "button hole."

ENTER THE STEREOTYPE

The stereotype enters when we vilify and denigrate the button hole approach as the method of the rude, the arrogant, and the pushy person, and then declare the method unbiblical and the relational method as the biblical one, thus creating a false dichotomy, based on a stereotyping of the button hole method. What happens is that we stereotype the button hole method as ipso facto rude, it's not necessarily so.

IN FACT . . .

In fact, both methods are sanctioned by the Bible. We see the relational method in John 1 where Andrew informs his brother of finding the Messiah and then Philip tells Nathanael, "We have found the Messiah!"

But, in contrast, there are far more biblical references of the button hole method of evangelism than the relational, e. g., John 3, 4, Acts 8, 10, et al. For just one example, when Paul was evangelizing in Athens, we read the results: "But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them." He met them, won them, then left them. He established no church in Athens. He never saw them again in this life. Luke fills the book of Acts with button hole evangelistic encounters.

THE ADVANTAGES

The button hole method has its advantages; it can be done anywhere (Acts 1:8; it spreads the gospel quickly (Acts 19:10);  It enables us to talk to friends and foes (Acts 20:20-21);  it can be used at any time (II Tim. 4:2).

THE BOTTOM LINE

Which method do we use, the relational or the button hole? The balanced bottom line is that it's not an either/or; it's a both/and.