"Christianity isn’t a guilt-ridden religion; instead it’s the only effective way to get rid of our guilt. Guilting ourselves into sharing our faith––or into any other spiritual practice for that matter––is not sustainable. Shouldn’t our efforts to influence people toward God be more like inviting them into a cool river on a sweltering summer day?" …
No Shortage of Seed to Sow
The Spirit is anything but stingy with solicitations. His mailbag overflows as he distributes clues of the Father’s love, whose default is to include rather than exclude people from his family. Jesus overpaid for as many orphans as would come home with him. And he doesn’t care which orphanage in which he finds them! Conveying …
The Inescapable Web of Mutuality
Friendship is by definition a mutual arrangement, a two-way street. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of us all being bound up in an “inescapable web of mutuality.” They called Jesus a “friend of sinners,” which, for my money, implies more than that he was nice to bad people. He valued their friendship as much as they …
Vulnerability and Mutual Trust
My general rule of thumb is to convey the radical cost of accepting or rejecting the gospel at a level commensurate with the trust I’ve built with someone. Otherwise it feels like I’m shouting at them from across the chasm to come over to our side. Once they trust me they’ll be more apt to …
Nobody Likes A Condescending Spiritual Expert
“Befriending someone merely so you can tell them the gospel is a form of manipulation and a violation of trust,” says Christopher Heuertz. “Some of our approaches to conversion have earned the mistrust of the very people we want to reach.” Treat people as people, not like evangelistic targets. Nobody likes to be targeted. We’re …
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