Called to be a Super-Hero?

If we take on board our calling to share God's love, and tell people about that love, I wonder if we then find ourselves thinking that to do that properly we would need to become some kind of super hero? A person who has all the answers, all the Bible knowledge with verse references ready to hand, and the ability to boldly proclaim where no-one has proclaimed before ...

Now it might sound strange, but the Bible doesn't actually call us to be any of that. It simply requires us to be ourselves – the person God has made us to be, the person now in Christ. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that we don't have to change, but the change required is more along the lines of our willingness to share than what we perceive as our ability. 1Peter 3:15 exhorts us to be ready (and therefore willing) to explain the hope that we now have in God, and equally reminds us to do that gently and in a way that respects the enquirer.

Perhaps our starting point should therefore be 'Here I am Lord', rather than 'Here's what I can do, Lord', or even 'Here's what I think I've been told to do, Lord'. Being ready and willing then allows God to present the situations so that we can act appropriately when they arise. I'm confident that as each of us presents ourselves to God with a simple prayer like 'Here I am Lord, help me to be ready and able' will end up working itself out in all kinds of situations in what we pray, what we say, and what we do.

Three Typical Fears

Ask a group of Christians about sharing their faith with others, and the chances are that there will be comeback in several areas. Of those, the three most typical are the following: that you will be faced with questions you can't answer, that people will judge you, and that you will somehow blow the friendship.

These are natural enough. Very few of us want to stand out unusually in the crowd, risking the prospect of looking silly, or having people thinking of you as somehow different. And of course none of us wants to lose friends, or offend in any way.

It is a mistake, however, to assume that sharing your faith must always involve these outcomes. For a start, if someone does ask a tricky question then why not simply say 'I don't know the answer to that – that's a good question to be explored'. You will be surprised to find how relieved people are when they realise that us Christians don't have all the answers. It also paves the way to explore the question together, for more discussion and dialogue.

Secondly it helps others in the long run if we make ourselves vulnerable, and admit that actually we do make mistakes and get things wrong, even as Christians. Its about being real with one another, not needing to project some image of ourselves that is in fact to be found wanting. Now if we are open and honest in this way, I cannot guarantee that there will not be some who judge you. Yet if we are real with people, and they still want to judge and pick fault with us, then that is their prerogative. It will be hard for us, perhaps quite painful to face, but ultimately we must give people space and freedom to disagree, even if their accusation seems unfounded.

Finally such openness ought to imply that there will be moments where we honestly and straight-forwardly indicate that we have faith in Christ. That need not mean that we insist our friends to instantly follow Christ themselves, still less become exactly like us in our life choices and what we do on a Sunday. It is important that we give our friends permission and space to be our friends even if they don't believe the same as us.

Bearing all this in mind, sharing our faith with our friends and the people we meet need not be such a fearful experience. It is about being open, and so yes it is about being vulnerable, but coupled with a respect for the other person and a desire for the best for them.

As easy as ... L-S-P

Sign-up for fitness clubs, fastest broadband to choose, best mobile phone deal, which pension fund, cheapest car insurance, what clothes are 'in' this year? Life, it seems, presents an ever-wider myriad of choices. So how to decide ... and does faith have any part to play in any of this? Tough question, especially if we take seriously the call to live lives worthy of the gospel.

Yet these questions are likely the same questions that our friends, our colleagues, those we chat to occasionally when our paths cross, are asking. Deep down, perhaps we are all wondering simply how to get through life?.

Jesus commissioned us to make disciples as you go (Matt 28:16-20). Note the 'as you go' - in other words as we ourselves walk a path of discipleship: following and learning from Jesus. He didn't say 'work out all the answers, then get cracking', but rather 'learn on the job'. All sound too daunting? Remember that in the same instructions He said 'I am with you always' - we don't have to do this alone!

So with our friends, where should we start? How about doing some serious Listening. What are people really asking, what are the real questions below the surface? God works with people where they are at, so try to understand where that place is.

Everyone likes a little bit of help to point them in the right direction, so be ready to do a bit of Sign-posting. That's dropping hints, laying down markers, that give others a chance to see a different way of thinking. Remember, we are all free to heed this advice or not, so give people the space to do that.

Finally Pray: ask God to reveal Himself, and do His work of convincing people. Don't be easily discouraged - remember that God probably had to do quite a persisting for you to start following!

So its L-S-P, not as easy as A-B-C, but Jesus never promised it would be easy. As we follow, we find Him to be trustworthy, which gives us good reason - when we hear of our mates struggles - to give pointers to something more, and to talk in faith to Him who travels with us.

Getting Started

Well lets get started shall we. Base one, its all about relationships - getting to know one another. Without that there is unlikely to be any community, and without that the Kingdom will surely not be the Kingdom.

But for relationships we need a scarce commodity - time.

Spending quality time together is going to figure highly. Sorry, no quick fixes here. In fact there really is no substitute. In practice there are many ways of doing this: nowadays a natural setting is the coffee shop, but equally talking over a pint can be effective. For some, doing an activity together might make more sense, and on occasions going with someone through a specific difficulty may be required. In all cases the key is being in an environment where you can touch on and share in each other's worlds. The ability to understand what makes someone tick, and what their typical week involves, opens the way to be able to ask the question 'Where does God fit in all this?'.

From that one short question, all kinds of possibilities can crop up ...