And many of us are intensely private.

We prefer to be strong, quiet trees with deep roots. We are guardians. Our bark is thick, and we feel satisfied when we provide shelter for those closest to us. We will shelter you, too, but be careful that you do not try to peel our bark.

It will take you a very long time to breach our rather wide privacy perimeter and gain access to the personal areas of our lives. We do not open up easily. We loathe situations when people are asked to bare their souls or share their feelings - not because we are incapable of doing so, or because we are emotionally stunted, but because we do not know you well enough. You have not earned the right to go there. We only have a few keys to our private lives, and we hand them out sparingly.

That's also why we will may not show up for your church's social event or small group Bible study, and if we do, there's a good chance we've been dragged there by someone else. It is our business to prevent vulnerability and protect our families.

There are a lot of us, which is why you still need, with some regularity, to present your message in a public hall, or some other neutral environment where we can slip in and listen - without being asked to wear a name badge.  (We'll register, because that makes sense - but we want our privacy after that.)  If the meeting involves group exercises or discussions, we'll probably leave early, and feel less inclined to come a second time.

Don't get me wrong: we will to respond to the gospel. We don't mind people who talk forthrightly or who lay out our options in black and white. We might even participate in an altar call - after you've given us time to read your intent. But we're more likely to make a decision man-to-man in our homes after you've earned the right to ask. It's not going to happen in the first night or even the first week. You're going to have to work a little harder to win our confidence.

And - if I've read my audiences right over the last twenty years - I'm not just talking about men.  There are many others who answer to the same description.  Nor do all males look like this.  But it is a large segment of the male population, and to a large extent, they are missing from your church. We will never lose the need to allow people to investigate our claims from a safe distance, without feeling as if they've got to commit before they can listen. 

We will never lose the need for public proclamation, particularly with a generation raised as accomplished spectators.

By all means, keep up the small group Bible studies, because they are stunningly productive. And personal, one-on-one Bible study? Very effective with a lot of men - if they have a comfortable relationship with the person they're studying with. But don't shut down the evangelistic hall any time soon - even though you sense it's expensive and labor-intensive. And don't give up on the idea that you can preach through the internet, or television, or the radio. (You know we love our television.) These are the only ways you're going to reach a lot of us.

And there are a lot of us.

Pastors in the North American Division are evangelistically busy - very busy, in fact.   And that means that many of you have learned things on the front line that could make all of us better.  Maybe you've discovered something that made it easier for a congregation to respond to an altar call.  Maybe you've streamlined evangelistic visitation in ways that really let you get more done in less time.   Or maybe you've been blessed by God to be able to address tough subjects in a winsome way.  

We'd love to know, so that we can serve at a higher capacity, too. 

Please consider writing a short article for Best Practices for Adventist Evangelism ... someone out there really is waiting to hear from you.   

Find out how to contribute to the discussion here.

The very first health outreach event in New York City is a community event called Let's Move Day (September 23), tied into the major metropolitan-area-wide prayer rally scheduled for September 21-22.  Church members across the greater New York area will mingle with the public, extending disinterested kindess - sharing a message of health, hope and wholeness.  

Click here to read more about this exciting urban initiative, and to find out how your church can participate ... wherever you happen to be.

You can listen to Katia Reinart describe AdventistsInStepForLife in a delightful video here.