How do you bring the gospel, which is authoritative in its very nature, to someone who rejects any form of authority?
Another difficulty in presenting the gospel lies in the prevalent disdain for authority. This is the third barrier to evangelizing post-moderns.
A mindset of unrestricted autonomy will always be opposed to the gospel message. As soon as you start to speak of the imperatives of the gospel, they will say, "Don't tell me what to do. Don't tell me how to live. Don't tell me I'm wrong." Ultimately, it becomes, "Don't tell me I'm in danger. Don't tell me I'm going to hell."
Even if speaking on the behalf of God, when you tell them what they must do, they will not accept you. They will try to dispute every statement. They will suspect some ulterior motive, and they will oppose you.
People who hate authority don't want to be preached to. We're so aware of this as Christians that we talk about befriending non-believers rather than preaching to them. This done instead of befriending non-believers so that we would have opportunity to preach the gospel.
On one hand, it's not difficult to understand why people do not want to be preached to. Preaching offends. It has always offended, and God has always known this. In addition, preaching can be difficult to receive because it is not a dialogue. You sit, and you listen. People don't like this. They don't want to listen, but if they don't listen then they won't be saved.
The gospel speaks to all people, even those who do not want to be told what to do. It tells them what they must do. Acting as a messenger of this authoritative mandate can be difficult.