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God can use your story…

When it comes to witnessing, or telling your story to another person, one of the hardest things is to know where to begin. Conversations just happen, don’t they? And not all of us are used to really thinking our conversations through in advance.

When planning your story there are three points that can give structure to what you intend to say. It’s even a good idea to write a paragraph or two under each of these points. I’m not suggesting that you keep it in your pocket to read out when required: it’s more that writing your story down is a good exercise to order your thoughts and to get the main points clear in your own mind.

The three points we talked about yesterday are:

·         What my life used to be like

·         What happened to get me thinking about Jesus, and how I came to know him

·         The difference following Jesus makes

Get as focused on these points as you can. They will form the basis of your story. Besides, the exercise will bring to mind the sorts of changes God graciously continues to make in your life. It may even spur you on to more growth and a deeper desire to honour Jesus.

Feel free to give it a go, and if you like, send it through to me: maybe we can clarify things together.

When talking with other people and telling your story, there are a few basic things to keep in mind, and over the next few days I’d like to write about them. It’s not an exhaustive list: just things that I find helpful.

1.    Learn how to say “I don’t know” You don’t have to know all the answers. This is one of the biggest fears people have about witnessing. We think we need to know the Bible better, have a basic theology at our fingertips, be able to explain the existence of evil in a world ruled by God, know how the trinity works, and be able to name the identify of Methuselah’s father in law, etc.

I don’t doubt for a minute that this is one of the most effective tools the evil one uses to paralyse Christ’s church. The more he gets us thinking we can’t do it, the less people hear about Jesus.

I will always say it’s helpful to know the best ways to deal with the common questions that arise. Most of these questions, however, have elements to them that are just hard to understand. Maybe some of the answers we will never know, they may stay beyond our human intellect even in the new heavens and the new earth.

That’s why I think is better to acknowledge the limitations of our mind and simply say “I don’t know”. Maybe we can counter with something like “hey, I don’t know how to explain that, but maybe I can check some resources and get back to you…” Your pastor, your local Christian bookshop, and the Internet are great resources. Do some homework, and if you still don’t know, you will at least be more informed about the issues involved.

Finally, when it comes to questions: don’t forget that the big issue is how people relate to Jesus. So talk about how following Jesus makes a difference for you, even though you may not know the specific answer to the question.

There are some great print resources that can help with difficult questions. Why not check a few of these resources (some are in the RCRC library)

·         The Case for Christ (Lee Strobel)

·         A Fresh Start (John Chapman)

·         If I were God I’d make myself clearer (John Dickson)

·         If I were God I’d end all the pain (John Dickson)

·         Spectators Guide to World Religions (John Dickson)

Coming up: Get the right focus

Feedback: dave@redlandscrc.org.au