Beginning a conversation about Christ

03/14/07 04:19 PM
Beautiful weather... good coffee... first class fellowship! I look forward to men's group at Binding Time every Wednesday. We took advantage of the warm weather and met outside today. We had a really good discussion about evangelism and mission – more specifically, what is the most effective way to help Christians realize that we are all ambassadors for Christ?

doodle
We were chewing on something Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers: "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders..." (I Thess. 4:11-12) I love that! Paul put the emphasis on your "daily life."

More than that, he put the emphasis on winning the respect of those who are outside the faith. How? By simply minding your own business, working hard and letting your light consistently shine through your "daily life."

I've got to be honest, when I think back to most of the "evangelistic methods" that I have been exposed to, very few, if any, have had much of anything to do with winning the respect of outsiders. That takes time. It requires authenticity. It goes way beyond merely handing someone a tract or confronting them about where they're going to spend eternity.

Simply put, I think Paul was talking about the long term effort required in building redemptive relationships with people. That's what Jesus did. If you'd like to get into this in more detail, check out Ed Stetzer's excellent article on Beginning a conversation about Christ.