Evangelism...What is it?

So recently I've been thinking quite a bit about the term "evangelism" and what it means.  In my opinion, evangelism is simply sharing your understanding of who God is in word and in deed.  In one of my classes, my professor, Ralph Watkins, challenged us with his interpretation: " Evangelism is not something we do but rather it is who we are as followers as Christ."  When he first suggested this idea, I was completely on board with it--it makes all Christians evangelists and, in doing so, minimizes many of those negative stereotypes of the term: the street preacher condemning everyone to hell, the person walking up to you while at Goodwill and saying "repent and believe in Jesus Christ" without any real intention of having a conversation with you about who this Jesus Christ is or why you should believe in him, etc.  However, as I've been thinking on this idea of evangelism not being an action, but a characteristic, I've been growing a bit uneasy with it.

If evangelism is a characteristic and not an action, then shouldn't it be present in our actions?  But what about the times when a Christian has been wronged and isn't anywhere close a place of forgiveness?  What if a Christian is so focused on what they are doing that they don't even acknowledge the people around them?  What if a Christian drinks a little more than they perhaps should have?  If evangelism isn't an intentional action but instead a characteristic, then how is it present in these scenarios?

I will be the first to admit that I'm not perfect by any means, but I will say that my faith calls me to live an intentional life.  I think part of that intentional life is trying to make my actions consistent with who the Gospel calls me to be and what it calls me to do.  Even when I fail at living up to that calling, I'm still a Christian, but I'm not sure that I'd still consider myself an evangelist of Jesus Christ.  My faith is present in me and I'm relying on God's grace and forgiveness, but the person of Jesus Christ may not be evident in my words and deeds.  

My faith cannot be simplified into a way of moral living, but I do believe we are called to live lives that are faithful to the gospel and when we fall short, we need to accept that our failures impact not only our faith lives, but also the faith of those who surround us.  For that reason, I believe evangelism is more of an intentional action than inherent characteristic.  Much of evangelism is about discerning what in our lives is preventing us from sharing our faith in word and in deed.

"Jesus said to his disciples: 'Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.'" Luke 17:1-2

You are each welcome to leave your thoughts on this topic--what do you agree/disagree with; what would you add?  I'm still working on this myself, so I'd love to hear what you think.