God Talk: The Art of Spiritual
Conversations
By John Crilly
This article was provided by Q
Place, an organization that mobilizes churches and
ordinary Christians to invite spiritual seekers into small group
discussions, in which seekers explore their own questions and
discover what they believe at their own pace.
We love the big stuff: the grandiose Olympic opening ceremony, the game-winning, last-second shot to win the championship, the glamorous, opulent wedding of Prince William and Kate Middelton. We can't help ourselves. We eat it up.
We carry this perspective into our approach to evangelism. We like the big outreach event, the dramatic conversion, and closing the deal with the all-important sinner’s prayer. The little stuff doesn't seem to matter as much to us.
In order to reach church outsiders intentionally today, we may have to consider a new perspective. What if we focused on the little things instead?
Consider an example from a book called The Tipping Point, in which author Malcom Gladwell suggests why crime in New York City in the 1980s took a precipitous decline in the 1990s. To explain this drop in crime, Gladwell introduces the Broken Window theory of criminology, which argues that if a window is broken and left unrepaired in a neighborhood, people will slowly conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. The result invites more frequent and serious crimes. To reverse the crime trend, NYPD focused on the little things—like graffiti, panhandling, subway turnstile jumping—and it reduced overall crime quantity and severity. Many NY cops couldn’t understand why they were fixing windows and chasing vandals when they had more serious crimes to address. But it was the little stuff that really mattered—and had the biggest effect on reducing crime.
Interestingly, the little things seemed to matter to Jesus too: “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward” (Mt 10:42).
In today’s evangelistic economy, little things don’t seem to count for much. But one could argue that small, simple steps—modern-day “cups of cold water” like paying attention to someone, listening to them, praying for them—should count as evangelism.
We love the big stuff: the grandiose Olympic opening ceremony, the game-winning, last-second shot to win the championship, the glamorous, opulent wedding of Prince William and Kate Middelton. We can't help ourselves. We eat it up.
We carry this perspective into our approach to evangelism. We like the big outreach event, the dramatic conversion, and closing the deal with the all-important sinner’s prayer. The little stuff doesn't seem to matter as much to us.
In order to reach church outsiders intentionally today, we may have to consider a new perspective. What if we focused on the little things instead?
Consider an example from a book called The Tipping Point, in which author Malcom Gladwell suggests why crime in New York City in the 1980s took a precipitous decline in the 1990s. To explain this drop in crime, Gladwell introduces the Broken Window theory of criminology, which argues that if a window is broken and left unrepaired in a neighborhood, people will slowly conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. The result invites more frequent and serious crimes. To reverse the crime trend, NYPD focused on the little things—like graffiti, panhandling, subway turnstile jumping—and it reduced overall crime quantity and severity. Many NY cops couldn’t understand why they were fixing windows and chasing vandals when they had more serious crimes to address. But it was the little stuff that really mattered—and had the biggest effect on reducing crime.
Interestingly, the little things seemed to matter to Jesus too: “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward” (Mt 10:42).
In today’s evangelistic economy, little things don’t seem to count for much. But one could argue that small, simple steps—modern-day “cups of cold water” like paying attention to someone, listening to them, praying for them—should count as evangelism.
Over time, I learned the names of her children, her family life, her weekend plans. In fact, we even exchanged Christmas gifts! This all happened in a matter of a few seconds—depending on the honking of the cars behind me! Noticing her did not add much time or activity to my day. It was the simple, intentional turning of my attention that made the difference. Anyone could do this. You could do this.
Notice that the Art of Sharing is the last Art in the list. Christians have historically considered this to be the exclusive practice of evangelism and have often bypassed normal conversational decorum to leap to the action of telling the gospel. However, the other eight Arts not only count, they lay a significant relational foundation and create a safe environment for sharing the good news. By following the Holy Spirit’s lead in noticing, praying, listening, asking questions, welcoming, loving, facilitating, and serving together, we can be respectful of the process and we will earn the trust to share our story and God’s story.
Ordinary folks like you and me can purposefully practice these simple arts, which are small incremental steps to building relationships with unchurched people—relationships that could eventually lead to ongoing spiritual conversations resulting in a life changing decision to follow Jesus.
Over time, I learned the names of her children, her family life, her weekend plans. In fact, we even exchanged Christmas gifts! This all happened in a matter of a few seconds—depending on the honking of the cars behind me! Noticing her did not add much time or activity to my day. It was the simple, intentional turning of my attention that made the difference. Anyone could do this. You could do this.
Notice that the Art of Sharing is the last Art in the list. Christians have historically considered this to be the exclusive practice of evangelism and have often bypassed normal conversational decorum to leap to the action of telling the gospel. However, the other eight Arts not only count, they lay a significant relational foundation and create a safe environment for sharing the good news. By following the Holy Spirit’s lead in noticing, praying, listening, asking questions, welcoming, loving, facilitating, and serving together, we can be respectful of the process and we will earn the trust to share our story and God’s story.
Ordinary folks like you and me can purposefully practice these simple arts, which are small incremental steps to building relationships with unchurched people—relationships that could eventually lead to ongoing spiritual conversations resulting in a life changing decision to follow Jesus.
taken from http://www.outreachmagazine.com/features/4937-god-talk-the-arts-of-spiritual-conversations.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=omnewsletter&utm_content=OM+Newsletter+20140917
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