Do I? Should I?

Jeff Alexander has posted on your wall: "You don't seem like a church person."

That was a message I got from an old high school friend about six months ago.  I had to wonder what about me says I'm not a church person.  I go to church every Sunday.  I am on committees and play in the hand bell choir and work with the youth.  I am active in the young adults group, I'm about to be ordained as an elder.  Surely there is something about me that says I'm a church person.

P.S. I think that friend was disappointed when I told him I was going to seminary.  He hasn't "spoken" to me since.  Whereas he once thought I was cool, now I'm just another Christian.

Skip ahead about four months.  I'm out at Twain's with the young adult group from my church.  We're drinking, playing darts, just having a merry old time.  I invited one of my work friends to join us, and by the end of the night she was saying she wanted to come to my church because we don't act like what she has always assumed about church people.  Around the same time, I told another work friend I was planning on seminary, and she conveyed her appreciation for me not being a proselytizer, and that she would also like to go to a church where that isn't a theme.

I have such an urge to ask what the difference is in these stories, but I know what I should really explore, based on the name of the blog, is how they are similar.  I like to think of myself as an embodiment of all that is contrary to what the media and politicians say about Christians.  I'm not though.  I'm just packaged differently.  I'm the next generation of Christian...the ones who evangelize by taking their friends out drinking and then wake their asses up for church the next morning.  So I don't look like Rick Santorum or Pat Robertson or even Billy Graham.  I look like Bethany Benz, and I look like a church person simply because I am one.

So what does this have to do with evangelism and technology?  I'm skeptical of internet evangelism.  I've said a few times that I don't believe pastoral care can be done over the internet, but can evangelism?  I'm still not sure, and so far the evidence in my life is pointing to "NO."  But maybe I'll contact Jeff Alexander and see what my form of evangelism ("Let's hang out and not talk about church, then you'll see how cool I am and that church people can be kind of awesome") looks like online.  I'll let you know how it goes.