'Fork Handles' Evangelism

‘Four Candles’ Evangelism
This is a classic sketch from the ‘Two Ronnies’ in which a customer goes into a hardware shop and asks for different items. His request is always ambiguous e.g. he says to the assistant ‘fork handles’ and the assistant goes to get him ‘four candles.’ Sometimes when doing evangelism the evangelist is like the customer in that his message is not clear, literally sending out the wrong message (e.g. ‘are you washed in the blood of the lamb’ or ‘are you saved brother’ which may mean nothing to the hearer.) Likewise if the assistant were the evangelist, rather than assuming what the customer wants he should be trying to really listen to him, engaging him in conversation in order to fully understand what his real needs were. Evangelists often assume that one response or evangelistic script fits all and will not spend the time listening to the felt needs and pains of those they seek to reach. Jesus the Master evangelist on the other hand dealt with the woman at the well in a very different way than he did the Pharisee Nicodemus. Each person was unique; each had a very different set of problems and background and therefore had to be dealt in a unique way.Enjoy!