Have you ever gone swing dancing? When dancing with a partner, you don’t just have to know the moves and the music; you have to know your partner! Both you and your partner have to know the moves, and then as you dance, you respond to each other in the moment.
Dancing is a great metaphor for evangelism. On the one hand, we need to know the moves, or the good news of Jesus Christ. But there’s also an element of needing to know the person we’re in a dialogue with. We need to know where they’re at and how open they are to the Good News. So the question is, how do we do this?
There’s a well-known phrase that goes, “Preach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” To be frank, this is terrible guidance for a life of mission! While it is important that we live lives that are reflective of the Gospel, it is also important that we’re regularly using words to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In Luke 8 we see Jesus living His whole life in a way that reflected the Gospel. And as his followers, we should seek to do the same. Then in Colossians 4 and 1 Peter 3, we see this concept of ‘responsive initiative’, of being ready to share our faith as others ask us questions and engage in conversation.
So first of all, we need to evaluate if the way we live our lives is provoking questions from the people around us. On this, Dallas Willard says, “If you do not exhibit the presence of a life that is above this world, something that is coming into you and giving you joy, peace, and strength in a situation that looks very bad from the outside, there isn’t going to be anything for people to ask about.” Are we experiencing the Good News ourselves? Are we experiencing the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in our lives? If not, let’s learn the Good News for ourselves, and then we’ll have something to share with those around us.
Once we get to the place where people are asking us questions, what do we share? Tuvya Zaretsky (as quoted by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp) asks, “Would you pour out a whole pitcher of water if all they are holding is a little Dixie cup? No, you would only pour out a few ounces.” Don and Doug agree: “We need to give people what they ask for instead of pouring out everything we know about God the first time they display a Dixie cup’s worth of curiosity. . . . Try to assess your friend’s curiosity and respond in kind. This approach is much more likely to result in the growth of their curiosity over time.”
With this posture of responsive initiative, we’re looking for opportunities. We’re arranging our lives so we can have these kinds of opportunities come up. And then when someone’s curious, we’re responding with the level that’s appropriate for their level of curiosity. And then, we go from there.
Sources:
Resources:
- Enroll in the Finding God at Work Course for Free: https://missioncentral.church/faith-at-work/
- Downloaded the Finding God at Work E-Book for Free: https://missioncentral.church/finding-god-at-work-e-book/
- Follow us on Instagram: @teammissioncentral
- Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamMissionCentral
#FaithAndWork #SpiritualFormation #FindingGodAtWork #Formation #Evangelism #SharetheGospel #WorkplaceMinistry #Podcast #Christianity #Discipleship #Faith
