I really like this section of the AFES staff Code of Conduct. I think it captures the right concerns in terms of integrity in evangelistic relationships:
We, as AFES staff, will….
Seek to honour the Lord through an ethical and open approach in our attempts to persuade others to believe the good news about Jesus Christ:
- We disavow any approaches which depersonalise people; or that seeks their conversion through manipulative, coercive, or overly emotional means which bypass a person’s critical faculties, or that mask the true nature and demands of Christian conversion.
- We believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and affirm the necessity of the proclamation of Christ every person. As evangelists, we will pursue this goal with openness, revealing our identity and purpose, theological positions, and sources of information. We will engage people of other religious persuasions in true dialogue, listening carefully and responding honestly and graciously.
- We will especially have care in our evangelistic relationships with international students. We will be diligent in expressing the welcome of the Lord Jesus to people of all ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, and we disavow any racism. We also understand that some will come from cultural backgrounds where there is high respect for older people and authority figures, and also where there is a sense of obligation to those who provide some service or friendship. For these reasons, international students must be treated carefully to give full expression to the freedom of their response to the Gospel without any (even unintended) coercion.
via Blog - Christian Reflections http://genevapush.com/blogs/xian_reflections/integrity-in-evangelism-a-code-of-conduct (NB: to comment go to thegenevapush.com/xian_reflections)
