There is no formula for sharing our faith with people. And you just never know where you’re going to meet someone in his or her journey of faith. You might meet them on day one where they are just beginning to get curious or on the day they’re ready to jump in with both feet and follow Jesus. It’s for that reason that we must be listening to what the Lord is saying as we encounter people. The founder of the Vineyard movement John Wimber called it “power evangelism”.
In my early days of ministry, I had a counseling appointment with a woman who showed up only because she had to. As part of her probation, she had to receive counseling and admitted that the reason she came to the church was because she thought she could get counseled for free. Though she wasn’t really interested and just wanted me to sign some papers so she could show her probate officer, I listened to her story for a few minutes before the Lord showed me some things about her life.
As I began relaying to her what the Lord was showing me about the cause of pain in her life, she fell on the floor and began weeping. A few minutes later, we prayed together and she accepted Christ. In the weeks and months ahead, she then began her journey of following the Lord.
Being attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit in my life gives me the opportunity to be used in such a way. It’s sheer joy to meet someone where they are at and tell them about the good news of Christ. And allowing God to use you to do it in such a way that God’s love is obviously revealed to the person is incredible.
For today’s discussion, take some time to answer the following questions:
1) How do you listen to the Lord for opportunities to share your faith in a powerful way as you’re going about your day?
2) What experience do you have to share where God used someone to reveal something about your life that you thought maybe no one or very few people knew?
3) How open are you to seeing the Holy Spirit move through you in such a way? Are you bold enough to challenge someone with something you think the Lord is telling you … even if it could be offensive or embarrassing or shameful?
After yesterday’s post, I enjoyed reading a wide variety of reactions to how Rick Warren interacted with Alan Colmes. There were some good observations, especially regarding how there is a big difference between TV interviews and real life conversations. While we don’t have any of those on video to show you, LaWayne wrote a great post last week on one of her interactions with a co-worker and finding common ground with her.
It reminded me of the passage in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 where Paul says, “Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings” (NLT) The NIV translates verse 22 as this: “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” This is the reality that most of us live in–being in the world but not of it and trying to authentically share our faith–and we must look for common ground with others.
Read LaWayne’s post below and share your thoughts on some of the questions below:
I remember a conversation I had with a co-worker. She and I had absolutely differing opinions on a topic she felt passionately about. At first I found myself getting angry because she wasn’t even willing to listen to my viewpoint, but then I realized we both really wanted the same thing – we just disagreed about how to get there. I told her what I realized, and even though we never did come to an agreement, she felt respected and heard, and I no longer felt attacked. We parted as friends.
That experience helped me see that I need to respect everyone’s right to believe differently than I do, and to not lose sight of the common ground we share.
We live in a culture that is looking for answers when all the “old” answers just don’t seem to fit any more. It’s time we stopped parroting the old lines and let the world see that we are willing to participate in true conversation where we actually respect the other person. If we walk away still disagreeing, it is okay, because we will have earned the right to continue the discussion at another time. And who knows? Now and then I find people on the outside see what I’m missing on the inside.
Questions for today’s discussion:
1) What does “being all things to all men” mean in today’s culture?
2) Share a story of an interaction you might have had where this occurred.
Throughout our discussion here and in conversations I’ve had with people, many people have shared about the hostility they face when talking about their faith. Like our great panelists talked about yesterday, when you go in trying to prove you’re right and someone else is wrong the walls of defense go up.Sometimes no matter what we do, people are going to find the Gospel offensive; however, there are ways we can share our faith without putting someone on the defensive.
Watch the following clip of Saddleback pastor Rick Warren talking with liberal talk show host Alan Colmes and answer these questions:
1) How could Rick Warren and Alan Colmes part as friends?
2) How did Rick Warren disarm Alan Colmes when he began posing questions?
We had another great group of posts from people sharing how they are reaching the culture through their unique gifts, talents and interests. Robin’s post really touched on a point that I feel is important in this discussion–that of sharing the Lord through your personal life in a very natural way:
When God called me out of writing for the general market and into writing for Him, it opened many doors of opportunity to share. One that I cherish was when I was interviewed for the Romance Writers Report. Naturally, this wasn’t a Christian venue, but I simply answered truthfully which meant sometimes talking about God …
At the close of the interview, I was asked if I had anything I would like to add. I said, “No, but if anyone has any questions, I’ll share anything except my weight.” I said it with a laugh and meant it to be kind of a joke. A throw-away line, I thought.
Then I received an email from a writer who asked if I’d meant what I said. She had questions about my relationship with God. This opened an exchange of emails that culminated in one where she wrote that she had asked Jesus into her heart.
I believe that when we are authentic and transparent doors will open for ministry in the most surprising places.
As we read these posts and the depth of them emerges, it seems like this is the direction that the Lord is taking us in the “Please Forgive James” series.
Consider these questions and share your responses with us:
1) Have you ever had an experience like Robin’s? If so, what did it look like?
2) How does authenticity in your relationships with friends invite conversations about your faith?
- Tri
p.s. Tune in tomorrow for a special video in the quest to discover who James is
For all the doubters out there, here I am blogging.
First off, I want to begin today’s post by saying everybody’s responses so far have been so thoughtful. I’ve been very impressed.
One comment that especially caught my eye from yesterday’s post was that of James (this is another James, not the James):
Could there be any better common ground than a shared point of interest that brings people together for conversation? This is the exciting part… that God gave each of us special interests and a way to reach other “special” people!
The reason this post grabbed me was because James touched on the point of using his special interests and unique lifestyle to reach outside the walls of the church. Nancy and I have been thinking about this for some time and have tried an experiment using the uniqueness of our lifestyle in developing a sustainable farmstead to reach the “Mother Earth” and “Country Living” culture that is so prevalent in the greater American culture.
I had the idea of chronicling our experience building a farmstead and using benign devotional blogs that I hope will minister to this unique group of people. (Yes, I’m blogging in more than one place these days.) Here is my Timber Butte Homestead blog.
Here are questions for you to respond to today:
1) What group can you reach with the uniqueness of your life if you were to follow this example? And what ways can you reach them?
2) If you’ve been using your uniqueness to reach others, share a story about what God has done through your life.
Many of your comments have expressed the heart of what this PFJ series is all about. I loved Camille’s comment on yesterday’s post–and I wanted to share this with you in case you haven’t read it:
I think one of the first things we have got to own as Christians is that as long as we are perceived in a certain light, it is reality.
What I mean is that we can debate how we’re seen and whom is responsible for misconceptions … we can share anecdotes and our own experiences. But that won’t get us anywhere until we just admit that as long as SOMEONE thinks poorly of Christians (and therefore Christianity, Jesus, and God), we have work to do.
A few years ago I had an acquaintance who made an obnoxious comment to me about Jesus. I mentioned it to my husband, and instead of being equally offended, he said, “Wow, she must have been really hurt sometime.” I think that has to be our approach – we have to understand that many many people have been hurt by well meaning Christians.
For me, it changes the tone of my approach.
And for what it’s worth, this is ultimately not about Bill Maher, his tone, or beliefs – he is one of our most valuable resources because he says what people think! Thank God we’re listening.
For today’s discussion, share your thoughts on some of these questions:
1. Have you considered ways you can use your personal experiences to share with others who have been offended and hurt by the church?
2. How can we change the perception people hold of Christians?
3. In what ways can you find common ground with unbelievers in your life to talk about issues of faith?
After the service on Sunday, one man shared with me an alarming thing he discovered about himself as he watched the exchange between Gov. Huckabee and Bill Maher. He told me, “My problem is I’m not so sure I want a guy like Bill Maher saved.” It was a powerful moment of self-realization for this man to understand the reality of where he is in relation to God’s heart for this world.
No matter where we are in our journey as Christians, it’s always good to take note of the state of our hearts. We need to ask ourselves two important questions, “Are we broken for this world?” and “How broken are we?” Those are good starting places for us as we delve into this series.
For today’s discussion, share your thoughts on any or all of these three questions:
1) Do you have a heart to see the Bill Mahers of this world come to know Christ?
2) Are the Bill Mahers of this world beyond finding Christ?
3) How would you reach someone like Bill Maher?
And if you’re interested in seeing the full exchange between Bill Maher and Gov. Huckabee, here it is:
Boise Vineyard pastor Tri Robinson talks about this new site and how you can interact. To send in your questions for Tri, text them to 208.631.2245 or email them to vcfqa@vtext.com
