Constructive Evangelism

Constructive learning has been in vogue, especially in science education, for the last little while now. According to this view, meaningful learning requires the learner to be active in creating and modifying their knowledge structures, or preconceived ideas, rather than passively absorbing new information. The keyword is active. That's why most students and teachers do not find lectures particularly useful unless students are allowed to process the "inconsistencies" between what they know and what they hear. I find this insight in learning is especially useful in our evangelical outreach efforts. Christians like to preach. We are good at telling our stories, the four spiritual laws, etc. But for a non-believer, there is probably little they can connect with.

Thomas Cahill, in his book The Gifts of the Jews, (see my earlier post), describes Abraham's encounter with God in first hearing, then seeing, then questioning God, is an excellent example of constructive learning. In the process of creating and modifying his preconceived ideas of God actively, his understanding of Yahweh deepens.

Christians may do well to do likewise in our evangelism. We should provide opportunities for our non-believers opportunities to interact with the living God. Surely our stories, our message, our tracts, etc. do play a vital role in evangelism. But perhaps we should also encourage our non-believing friends to consider how God is actually active in their lives, and through God's dealings in reality rather than just theoretical or theological discussions, they may be able to reconstruct their new conception of who God really is. This I call Constructive Evangelism.