If you are alive, you are affecting others. Your actions and words are determining in part what others around you think and do. You are affecting others even when you are silent or are absent from them, because others will think or act differently than they would had you been there. As long as you are alive, others' lives are different because of you. Your influence may be positive or negative, but it will always be there. If you are alive, you are changing the lives of others.
So the question is not, Shall I influence others? That question is already answered for you; you are influencing others. You are a minister, an educator, a counselor! The real question is, Am I having a positive and effective influence on others?
Obviously, as Christians we sincerely want our influence on others to be positive. Unfortunately, even though influence is involuntary, positive and effective influence is not automatic. Many times Christians say and do things which they hope will be helpful to others, but their words and deeds are a hindrance rather than a help. Often this happens because they are not making use of the basic principles of Christian influence.
The following pages attempt to explain some of these principles, which are based both on the Bible and on valid findings from such fields as psychology, sociology, communications, and education. The principles apply equally to such areas of Christian ministry as Christian education, counseling, parenting, pastoral ministry, and missions.