I’m reading through The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community by Halter and Smay.  Thought this quote might challenge some folks:

Advertisements by their very nature are intended to coerce thinking and behavior.  They are neded when there is no personal relationship between the seller and the potential buyer.  This type of coercion is expected when you’re trying to decide what beer to drink or car to buy, but it’s highly offensive when people try to tell you important truths without any tangible relationship.

[…] Paul shares his insights on posture [the nonverbal forms of communication that accompany what we say] with those who were coming to faith in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, “But we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.  We love you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.”  An expanded paraphrase might be, “Because we found ourselves emotionally attached to you all, we couldn’t just preach at you.  We knew you needed time to process your faith, and the only way to help you understand the big picture was to stay with you longer.  We knew the message would make more sense if you saw it lived out in our lives.”      –pp. 40-41

When you think of “sharing your faith,” does your mind immediately go towards speaking?  Or do you think about doing life together with people?