“One of the biggest obstacles in our attempts to influence people toward Jesus is that they don’t trust us. They don’t trust the Church, preachers, or Christians as a whole. And who can blame them? Unfortunately, our record, as they say, speaks for itself. While the majority of our faith community practices what they preach, some of the loudest voices and duplicitous personalities have co-opted the media and minds of people. No amount of slick evangelistic techniques or convincing apologetics will span the gap that only a renewed sense of trust can overcome. If they don’t trust the messenger, what are the chances they will come to believe the message?
“Trust isn’t handed over like a bagel with cream cheese in exchange for a couple bucks plus tax. Trust is earned. Bridges are built over time, but many of our evangelistic encounters are brief. So how can we prove to people that we’re worthy of their trust? We can’t expect to overcome years of dashed trust in one conversation. Therefore, we have a lot of work to do to re-earn it. And when we do, our message will gain much better traction.”
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[Excerpted from my book: Missional, Merciful, Worshipful Christians, all the proceeds of which go to YWAM San Francisco. Here’s how to get it.]
barney wiget 