Being Natural

A few weeks ago I accidentally left the last Fiction book I have to read. So, I’ve turned to finally catching up on some of the non-fiction books that have been collecting dust for months (or over a year in some cases).

I’ve recently finished up The Coffeehouse Gospel by Matthew Paul Turner recently and found it to be ok, but not great. I was hoping for some real examples on ways to share faith with others and some advice on how to move past the initial fear on how to strike up conversation.

There are some good points, especially around the evaluation of what you know and how to find a commonality with someone else you’re talking to, but it just didn’t quite give me a real guide on how to meet a stranger in a coffeehouse (or elsewhere) and really begin a conversation. A lot of his coffeehouse examples were based on conversations he overheard instead of initiated.

One section really did stick with me though. Matthew writes:

” [Jesus’] entire three-and-a-half-year earthly experience in ministry was spent seeking to save the lost.

“I’ve begin praying that God would allow me to feel a fraction of the pain He feels for those who resist Him. I prayed this prayer not because I’m a glutton for punishment; I’ve simply realized that sometimes I have found myself to be so cold toward non-Christians… I simply don’t feel the weight of the void in their lives. I so often go through my day without thinking one selfless thought about the eternal value of others.”

He continues on with this closing story which resonated pretty closely with me.

Remember Carolyn, the lesbian I met at Starbucks? She taught me something about sharing my faith. When she told me her story, she doused her conversation with the fact that she was a lesbian. It wasn’t extreme, just enough for me to understand what she was really passionate about, what made her tick. Shouldn’t our ability to share our love for Jesus be the same? Natural? Poignant? Like breathing? So many times, our attempts to be evangelical seem calculated, stiff, and abnormal. It doesn’t have to be that way.

At church we had a “competition” to see which soda was better, Coke or Pepsi. People brought in both Coke and Pepsi products for three weeks and stacked them up. Now we bring out those cold sodas to people across the park, handing them out without forcing the gospel on them, simply as a gift of our love for them, just as God loves them.

As a side, the winner was Coke, of course, by almost 420 cans!

What I’ve learned from this book is that I need to really be passionate about church, God and the lives of others around me. I tend to focus inward, talking about God with those who already know Him. When I go hand out sodas this week (my first time) I really want to let my passion for God flow through me, and be part of a natural conversation, without pressure or sounding calculated.

Care to join me?

Peace,
+Tom/Bob

posted by Tom at 2:28 PM