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Why should I say something? They look like a Christian.

You've thought this haven't you?  I know I have.  I have passed on opportunities to share my faith with someone because they appeared to be a normal looking, moral, upstanding person.

When I was in junior high, my church would have a "Friendship Sunday."  It was the one Sunday out of the year that we were supposed to bring a friend to church.  Now, I know it wasn't the only Sunday to do this, but it was the one Sunday we were really encouraged to bring a friend to church.  

My grandparents encouraged me to invite "Matt" to church.  I hemmed and hawed and said, "No, I am sure he goes to his own church."  You see, Matt was a similar to me.  We both did fairly well in school.  We had fun in the lunchroom.  We enjoyed wearing ties now and then - you remember the skinny, knit ones that were square at the bottom, cool ties like that.  I figured if Matt and I shared all these other things, certainly we must share the same faith.  

Yes. I know.  The logic in that is amazing.  

But, isn't that similar to the logic we use when shying away from talking with a friend, neighbor or coworker about Jesus.  Unfortunately - normal looking, moral, and upstanding don't get someone a ticket to paradise.

It wasn't until Matt started asking me questions about the Bible that I began to realize that he didn't know Jesus.  Unfortunately, he moved soon after we started these conversations.  I pray someone else was able to continue that conversation because no matter how good of a person Matt, or anyone else, is that doesn't get them into heaven.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. - Ephesians 2:8-10


God saves us.  We don't save ourselves.  We can't work or earn our way to heaven.  If that were possible, Jesus wouldn't have died on the cross and rose again to pave the way for us.  Heaven is a gift God gives us.  We do good things and live godly lives because we have the gift of heaven.

So, next time you have a friend who appears to be normal, moral, and upstanding - ask them what they did last Sunday and maybe invite them to join you this next Sunday.

Tattoos and Piercings Scare Me

As I look around the world today and compare it with a decade ago, I have noticed that we are becoming a more decorated group of people - from tattoos (aka ink) to piercings to technicolor hairstyles.  

Maybe tattoos and piercings don't scare you or make you uncomfortable.  But, I know that for each one of us there are certain types of people that make us uneasy.  It can be people of a certain ethnicity, political stance, socioeconomic category, gender, age, lifestyle, religion, etc.  Each one of us has someone that seems as approachable as a person with leprosy.

Jesus addresses this challenge in Luke 10:25-37.  Jesus gets approached by a very educated man who wants to know how to get to heaven.  As is often the case, Jesus spins the question right back to him.  The man answers with a summary of the 10 Commandments - love God with everything and love your neighbor as yourself.  

But, he wants to know who his neighbor is - maybe so he can do the bare minimum or to make sure that he is covering his bases.  

So Jesus tells a story that we have grown to call "The Good Samaritan."  As you read this story, keep this in mind.  Jews hated Samaritans.  Samaritans were "half breeds" - half Jew and half not Jew.  Jews abused, mistreated and spit on Samaritans.  Yet, of all people who come upon this Jewish man who had been attacked and left for dead, the Samaritan is the one who stops to help him out.  The Samaritan goes to great lengths to care for him - even covering his medical bills.

Many times, we connect with people who are like us.  We have things in common.  We speak the same language.  We understand each other.  But, these aren't the only people God wants us to connect with.

 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." - John 3:16-17 (NLT)

Jesus died for the sins of the entire world - not just for people who are like us.  God calls for us to reach out beyond our boxes and comfort zones to share Jesus with others - even if they have tattoo's, piercings, technicolor hair or maybe no hair at all.  

If you do bump into someone with tattoo's, ask them for the story behind their ink.  Most people have a story for why they have the tattoo's they have.  It's a great conversation starter.

They might hurt me

Do you remember your elementary school years - years of dodge ball, soccer, football, basketball and tag.  These years included playing games.  Sometimes these games were organized and most of the time they weren't.  I don't know about you, but the one thing I didn't like about these years of game playing was picking teams.  

I have never been a great athlete.  Change that, I have never been even a very good athlete.  I try hard.  I hustle.  I focus.  But, I am a bit slow and a bit short and a bit uncoordinated.  Not the makings of a first round draft pick.  Many times, when it was time to pick teams I ended up being one of the ones standing there at the end.  You remember what happens then right?  The team captains look at each other and basically try to put the last player on the other team with something like, "We're good.  You can have him."  Which is the playground interpretation of addition by subtraction. 

Let's face it.  None of us like rejection.  If we did, we would have a surplus of door to door vacuum cleaner salespeople.  When we talk to people about Jesus, we are risking rejection.   We are risking them shutting the door on us and locking us out.  We don't want to be hurt, rejected, or ridiculed.  Sometimes, the pain of potential rejection is worse than the thought of having our house get hit by a tornado.  At least we have insurance for that.  We don't have hurt insurance that takes the pain away and makes things "all better."

But, it isn't only rejection that we don't like.  It is the pain that goes with it.  "No pain.  No gain." and "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" are two proverbs of our day.  We might embrace them for exercise - at least for the first month or two of each year - but we struggle to embrace them beyond that.  In fact, we are so averse to pain that we call medications like Tylenol and Advil - pain killers.  They are not pain reducers or even pain eliminators.  They are pain killers.

Our fear of pain can make us think at least twice before talking with people about Jesus.  Take a look at these words from Jesus.

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. - Matthew 5:11-12 (NLT)

As Jesus wraps up the Beatitudes and gets ready to segue into the Sermon on the Mount, he provides this motivational quote to a large crowd he taught from a mountain top.  I don't know about you, but for me this isn't much of a sales pitch for following Jesus.   But, it is the honest truth.  When people reject us because we are connected to Jesus, we aren't experiencing anything new.  God's people have been dealing with rejection practically since time began. Take at look at these words Jesus shared with his disciples just before he was betrayed by a close associate and arrested.

"But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.  I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” - John 16:32-33 (NLT)

There are two things that jump out at me here.  Jesus was not alone and we aren't either.  Just before Jesus went back up to heaven he made this promise.

"be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  - Matthew 28:20 (NLT)

Another thing that encourages me from John 16 is that Jesus has overcome the world.  Life will be hard here at times - sometimes unbearably so.  satan puts a dart board on everyone who follows Jesus and sometimes he throws a lot of darts at us.  We will struggle with all sorts of things on this side of heaven, but paradise awaits for all who believe in Jesus.  And our time in paradise will last forever.

Give two tickets to paradise to two people you know.  Talk with them about Jesus.

On a side note, here are two really good articles I've read recently on facing fears:

- satan's favorite word
- What you can learn from getting hit in the face

I might stand out from the Crowd

As you read the title, "Why people don't talk to people about Jesus," you might be wondering why it is so redundant.  Admittedly I could've written, "Why people don't talk about Jesus."  But, I'm not sure talking about Jesus is always the issue.  At times, I think it's an audience issue.  I could talk with my dogs about Jesus, which should be a one-sided conversation, but unless someone saw me doing this I don't think I would be the least bit embarrassed.  The hard part is talking to another person about Jesus.  That's when we put ourselves out there and risk feeling very uncomfortable and nearly naked.

For some people, they don't want to stand out from the crowd.  They don't want to be "that guy."  I say "they" because standing out from the crowd is not typically an issue for me.  I don't mind being "that guy."  My closet contains an electric blue suit and a bright red sport coat.  I wore the red sport coat last Sunday with red and black argyle socks.  The blue suit really pops when paired with a white shirt and orange tie. I scream at the top of my lungs at little league football games and clap and sing loudly - not always on beat or in key.

But just because standing out from the crowd is not an issue for me doesn't mean it isn't an issue for others.  

We like to blend in.  Many times we like to "fly under the radar" and "go unnoticed" unless it is a special occasion and then we will relish the embarrassment of sitting in a saddle on a chair at Texas Roadhouse while strangers sing happy birthday to us. Having it be strangers helps a bit doesn't it?  When will we see any of these people again?  Maybe some of the wait staff, but rarely anyone sitting around us.  That reduces the risk.  But, even this is too much for some of us.

Many times we will do practically anything to avoid standing

out.  We avoid situations where we might be vulnerable.  Instead of risking a smile and some eye contact with someone in a hallway, parking lot or store, we look the other way or stare at our shoes.  This is why most of us rarely ask for someone's name.  We think we should know it already and are afraid to ask.  That's why name-tags can be such a lifesaver.

So, if this is your challenge, how do you get around this?  How do you get yourself to take the risk?  At the risk of sounding a bit like Dave Ramsey, I would say that you take baby steps.

• Work on making eye contact with people - family, friends, strangers, even the guy standing in the hallway in the bright red sport coat that makes your eyes hurt.
• Move up to smiling at the people you make eye contact with and maybe even say hi.  At worst, they will look away or stare at their shoes.  At best, they may return the smile or just wonder what you're up to.
• The next step is asking someone a question.  Start with something easy like, "Could I bother you for the time?" or "Could you tell me where the drinking fountain is?"
• After you move past this, you can start making conversations with people.  Again, start with something easy.  Make a comment on the weather, the news or a popular sports team.

Once you build up your conversational skills you can work

Jesus into the conversation.  You can ask someone what they are doing this coming weekend and see if church comes up.  If it does, jump into that and learn more about their church and their faith life.  If they have something else, talk with them about that.  Then, see if you can share what you are doing and see if they engage you.  If they aren't interested, there will be some silence and you move on to a less threatening topic.

If you want to grow in learning how to talk with people about Jesus, you don't have to jump in the deep end. Dip in a toe and there you go.

I'd be interested in hearing what other ideas people might have for those who struggle to talk about Jesus because they might stand out from the crowd.

Top 10 Reasons People don't talk to People about Jesus

10.  I might stand out from the crowd.

9.  They might hurt me.

8.  Tattoos and Piercings scare me.

7.  Why should I say something?  They look like a Christian.

6.  We’re in America, a person would have to be living under a rock to not know about Jesus.

5.  My actions  are good  enough.

4.  It’s not politically correct. 

3.  It’s not my spiritual gift.

2.  But, I’m not a pastor.

1.  I don’t know what to say.

Here's the link to the sermon that contained this list:
http://holycrosscs.org/worship/other_audio/2013-May19.mp3