These past few days I’ve been talking about how to deal with the people around us now that the election is past. The idea is to be able to help shift attention from politics to eternal matters. Our goal is to be used by God to help others move closer to an imitation of Jesus; I’m focusing my attention this week on non-believers, but many of the same principles are helpful in our conversations with believers.

I mentioned last week that before speaking we need to listen. That’s a pretty good general rule in life, but it’s especially true when discussing evangelism. We spend way too much time focused on what we’re going to say and not enough time being ready to hear what others are saying.

As we approach those who are jubilant about the election, we listen to see what the source of their joy is. Again, this isn’t the time for recrimination nor accusations; that may make you feel better, but it rarely does any good in the long run. Focus on the motives for their happiness, and you’ll often find an open door to talk about God.

Maybe their motivation was a return to traditional values. That invites us to get them to express what they see as traditional values and talk about the source of legitimate morality. Help them see that God is the authority, in every way. Outside of him, no standards have a solid base.

If the driving force for these voters was a desire to return to greatness, get them to define what greatness looks like. If it’s about strength and security, help them to see that only God can give lasting security. If it’s economic concerns, help them to balance temporary and eternal riches. In the end, we want them to see that only God can give greatness.

For many, abortion is the major issue in every election. Life comes from God, as does eternal life. Protection of life, from conception to grave (and beyond) is one of the major values of God’s kingdom; those who value life can come to value the giver of life.

None of these ideas are meant as snappy responses to conversation in an elevator. These are general directions for conversations that will be played out over days and weeks. What we learn from listening to others can shape the direction for future conversations, ones in which we will speak of God and his values.

Our goal for everyone is to move them closer to God. If we can keep that in mind, we will find that evangelism is not as scary as it often seems.