QUESTION:
HOW AND WHEN DO WE START A CONVERSATION WITH SOMEONE? SHOULD WE WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO BRING UP CHRISTIANITY?
ANSWER:
I would say that if your Christian faith is real to you then it will be a natural part of who you are. This means you don’t need an excuse to talk about Jesus, but that He is a natural part of your life and a natural part of conversation. Of the two articles above, I like the “Overflow if Your Heart Rule.” If Jesus is at the center of your life, then He will come out in normal conversations. Now I’m not saying that you say things like, “Hey I am going to the grocery store… pray to the Lord that I get there safe and back again. Send the angel of BOGO with me.” It will be more natural. Perhaps someone is sharing an issue they are having with a child. Pray with them about it. Don’t just say you will pray for them… actually pray for them. Maybe someone is talking with you about weight loss or another struggle they are having. When you share about your similar struggle, don’t leave out the spiritual aspect that is so important to you. Talk about how you pray or read the Bible for guidance. So I would say the short answer is always be ready for a conversation (Colossians 4:6) and you never have to wait to bring up your faith.
The HOW is a little different. The best way to bring up faith is to ask questions. When you ask people questions, this allows you an opportunity to share.
For example, a friend is telling you about discipline problems with their child or grandchild. You would normally ask, “What have you tried so far?” or “What advice have you gotten thus far?” or even better “What books have you been reading about discipline and kids?” You are being a good friend by helping them investigate what is going on. The opportunity will present itself… Why not also add, “Are you a person of faith, what does your faith tell you?” If they don’t have any faith… BAM… there is your opportunity to share with them from the Bible some perspectives on raising kids. Or if you don’t know that (let’s be honest, you probably won’t be that prepared), you could share how in tough times you rely on God. The best HOW way of introducing faith into conversations is through questions with a point.
Examples of questions with a point (the point being eventually you can talk about God):
How are you making through this tough situation?
Have you tried praying about this… are you a praying person?
Do you think much about spiritual things?
Additional resources:
Troy Borst
Christian Education Minister
If you have a question about Scripture, please email me at troy.borst@newbeginningscctampa.org
If you have a question about Scripture, please email me at troy.borst@newbeginningscctampa.org
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