Posts tagged perspectives

you know, i was hoping to come up with some deep theological answer to make myself sound biblically grounded. i failed. my jesus is simple. my jesus would love brock lesnar but could take him out if needed. my jesus would have a relationship with everybody, if we as christians would just complete our life given task.

after some deep thought and actual prayer, i have come up with the following. actually, these aren’t my thoughts or principles at all.

how can someone believe if they don’t hear? we can give, support, pray, and hope all day that someone will turn and follow god. but if I don’t flat out tell my friends that jesus is waiting on them to begin a relationship, how will they ever know?

so that’s it. i have the duty of presenting christ while giving someone the opportunity to accept or reject HIM. i think my fear stems from the thought of my friends rejecting me! yes i cant wait to see heaven but i dread hearing someone (i should be honest and say multiple people) say, “why didn’t you tell me!”

we can make the ground easier to till though. that is prepare a person to accept christ. we can give, support, pray, and hope.

just a thought…what would a church look like if the body started out as a group of people from the gutter?

i have been consumed lately by my ability to share my faith. maybe i should say, my ability to effectively share my faith. if you don’t know, i come from a baptist background. for two years in bible college i was an intern at a church. one of the hats i was supposed to wear was a “soul winning hat.” this required me to get up every saturday morning, drive to the church, and pick up the church van along with anyone else who wanted to tag along. more often than not, it was just me, myself, and I.

as i look back now, i utterly oppose this method of outreach. just picture a white kid rolling up to a low income apartment complex or trailer park and knocking on every door in the community at 9am on a saturday morning. i really believe non-believers have a sixth sense concerning white ford vans with church logos on them. i believe these people fear the white van.

knock, knock, knock…nothing. knock, knock, knock…what do you want. knock, knock, knock…the door opens and then slams shut.

this is how it went. one time. yes, one time i actually got to share my purpose for dragging someone to the door at this poorly executed time of the day. two years and only one conversation.

i didn’t look holy. i didn’t wear a tie, although i was required to by my superiors. i didn’t carry a bible the size of an encyclopedia. actually the bible i carried stayed in my back pocket. i think i had a cool haircut or at least a hat on my head.

i believe my intentions were good. i believe my purpose was necessary. obviously, i was not effective. i have a lot of un-churched friends. these friends know i am a follower. i have had many conversations about my faith especially during this political era. and no i didn’t vote for mccain.

my point. so what, maybe i have planted some seeds. the question is, have i allowed these seeds to grow? check out the book of romans chapter 10.

if anyone reads this, that has a stance on how to plant and harvest, i would love to hear from you. especially if you do not have baptist blood. i will follow up on this subject later.