Postmodern Evangelism?

Its funny how all the sudden two worlds combine.

This term I am reading, albeit slowly, Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics III.4, the Doctrine of Creation.  In this volume Barth lays out his ethics.  It wasn't my choice to read III.4, but I wanted to do an independent study with Dr. Burgess reading something related to Barth, and he chose III.4.  Since I haven't taken anything but the basic intro to ethics course, I thought it might be good to read, and it has been.  While I am hoping to shift to something else next term, it has definitely been worthwhile.

All this is only a set up for my main point.  Lately I've been thinking about what Evangelism looks like in the Postmodern context, and on Sunday my Sunday school class talked about the issue of evangelism.  The end result of that discussion was that most people are rather uneasy with evangelism, because of the connotation that it brings with it.  And to be honest, as discouraging as that is to hear, I think I have to agree.

One of the keys that I've seen in the Postmodern age in which we live, especially among youth is this: "Truth is only truth that I've experienced".  In other words, if a Postmodern student hasn't lived through something, it isn't true for them.  Now, to be honest I'm not sure how different that is from the "Modern" era, but its something I've noticed.  Here is where Barth's comments are helpful.  

Barth basically says in the opening of his section on the Active Life that the primary duty of the Christian is to co-operate with the Christian community in service to God to the community.  A few quotes
"If we want to show men the kingdom of God, we must prove that we care for them just as they are, that we regard them as fellow-creatures in distress, and that we feel bound and obligated to them as such because of the kingdom which has already appeared, because of the salvation which has been declared to them, because of the fact that Jesus Christ has been born and has acted as their Brother, because of the fact that this has been done to their advantage"
"If this neighbour experiences opposition, hatred, contempt, or even indifference from this circle (Barth is referring to the circle of Christian live which connects those within the church), if he is attacked by it, if a different wind from that of genuine human freedom blows on him, how can he attend and listen to the testimony of the freedom of the Spirit, of the kingdom and grace, which is supposedly born to him?"  (CD, III.4, Pg. 503)

Basically, if Christians don't show love to someone outside the church, if we don't prove that love through service, which includes but is not limited to speaking, then we cannot possibly expect them to listen to the testimony of the Spirit.  So what of those Christians who are unwilling to do love men?
"They can only prove thereby that they are not too sure about this (whether or not they themselves are loved by God) themselves, and perhaps that they are not even aware of."

Then Barth lays out a few presuppositions that must undergird this service.  This one I especially like:
"Their decisive presupposition in respect to every man can be only that Jesus Christ has died for his sin too, and for his salvation."  (Don't mind the lack of inclusive language, Barth wrote in an age before that was a big deal).  
So Christians must view everyone in the eyes of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ died for that person too, and Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior whether they know it or not.  

In summary: "The whole credibility of the Christian service of witness as a human act depends on whether the work of active human love precedes and follows it, accompanying and sustaining it as the commentary and illustration of an eloquent parable".
The Christian act of service is a "symbolic action" of the Word of God (understood both as the person of Jesus Christ as well as the promises delivered in him) made real in a person's life.  As I've heard many times from kids, "show me" or "prove it!".  Barth is saying that Christians show the gospel to be true when they live it in service to the community.  

All of this leads to the conclusion that my next paper (for this class) will be the something along the lines of the follow: Service as Evangelism: Karl Barth's theology of The Active Life as a model for Evangelism in the Postmodern Context