What It Means to Witness

For the non-Born Again Christians out there, when I say 'to witness to' someone I mean 'to share your faith' with them. For you, this likely seems like preaching or Bible-beating. It may seem ignorant or arrogant. You may feel threatened or judged. It's not fun.

For the Born Again Christians out there, when I say 'to witness to' someone I mean 'to share your faith' with them. For you, this likely seems like preaching or Bible-beating. It may seem ignorant or arrogant. You may feel threatened or judged. It's not fun. But you also have the added fun of the guilt and condemnation you feel if you don't witness to someone, or just for not immersing yourself and everyone else around you in the Good News.

So why is it like this? I think it's all in expectations. I've heard some horrible attempts at witnessing to someone. Well, not witnessing. Preaching. Arguing. Often it's the youngest Christians who do this, but we all do. Driven by extremely well-meaning and honest attempts to share what they've just discovered and has changed their hearts and lives. The problem is that while they've discovered that Jesus really has the answers, they think they've got to have the answers. They think thinking that if they can just answer all your questions then you'll see the truth of God's Word. Suddenly you've got a Spirit-filled follower of Jesus trying to be a scientist, historian, linguist and theologian all rolled up into one.

It's an honest mistake. The Spirit is prompting us to make followers of Jesus Christ, and so we do what we've always done. We try to think our way through it and persuade others to come to our conclusions. We do this in politics, sports, work, etc. So it's our natural first step. We, as people, like to have all the answers.

However, we can't be. This is destined to fail. Try to convert the Muslim and believe me they know their faith better than you. Same with evolutionists or new age folks. If you try to get into that argument you'll rarely succeed unless that really is your area of expertise.

And it misses the point. It wasn't some great argument or teaching that converted you. It was your choice to put your faith in Jesus because of the prompting and conviction of the Holy Spirit. There wasn't anything anyone said to you that did more towards your salvation than The Spirit did. Do not feel the need to argue or preach with someone in order to witness to them, it only leads to the reactions from the start of this post.

So instead, get back to the idea of witnessing. A witness is someone who testifies to what they personally saw and experienced. There's no pressure in this, no convincing anyone. Share about the sin you were in before and the change in your heart since you've followed Jesus. Share about the relationships that have been healed or hurts forgiven. Tell them why you believe and what Jesus has done in your life. You're not likely an expert in anything else, but you are the expert in what Jesus is doing in your heart.

So why don't we do this? It's personal. If someone rejects the scientific evidence for a creator of the world, that's fine. But if they reject our personal testimony, that hurts. We risk more doing that. Do it anyway, then pray that the Spirit will use that and convict their hearts the same way He did yours.

In Memory of Bill

Today I was going to post on sharing one's faith, but I can't get the energy to do it. I'm very depressed this morning. Yesterday I got the news that a co-worker had committed suicide. Our jobs had nothing to do with each other and I wouldn't have even known him had we not sat close to each other. I can't even say we were friends, but the loss of the relationship and the circumstances is just breaking my heart.

Let's be honest, Bill was strange. One morning I came in and he'd stretched a sheet over his cube to block the light. Another morning, I found snowshoes sitting there and it wasn't snowing. The main thing, however, was that he was just socially awkward. He would make very obscure references and expect others to get them. For example, someone might notice a pattern in a difficult programming problem and he's say "Well it's not the Fibonacci series, but it's still close." In short, he made people uneasy mainly because he was different.

I have to admit, I was one of them. He'd do or say something and I'd share one of 'those looks' with another co-worker. I avoided him and didn't talk to him much. How do you respond when someone starts talking German in the middle of a conversation as a joke, but you definitely don't get it since you don't speak German?

Later, I began to see him more as a person. I credit another guy, Doug, for showing me that by example. Doug talked to Bill and made an effort. I felt really ashamed. Here I am, a Christian and one who feels called to pastor and I never took the time to reach out and understand him. I started making an effort to learn who Bill was.

In the end I was impressed. Bill used those snowshoes to hike in. It was his form of exercise, hiking with weights, because it was very healthy and very cheap. He taught ballroom dance and had an affinity for the military even though he'd never served due to his eyesight (remember the sheet? He was sensitive to glare.) Bill knew he was different, but he did what he did anyway because he enjoyed it.

But Bill was also in a lot of pain. He lived alone. His teenage son didn't want anything to do with him. And the job he was in was very high stress. He often complained about being overwhelmed. Even after I moved desks away from him a few weeks ago, I tried to stop by and say 'Hi' just because I knew it would be a relief from the day.

So last Friday he didn't show up for work. Tuesday the police called and informed his boss what happened.

I can't help but feel guilty. Now I know that Bill made his own choice and that I didn't add to his problems. But I'm sure that attitudes like I had initially must have contributed to him feeling isolated and alone. My heart just breaks for him.

I share this mainly as a way to express my grief. But also as a prayer that God will open my eyes and heart to those around me who may be hurting and need a friend. That I become more accepting of people around me for who they are, regardless of how well they 'conform.' I don't think that I could have stopped this from happening, but one friend may have been enough to give him support. May God build connections between all of us so that no one is alone and all know they are loved.

Good Cop / Bad Cop

If you're an American, you've watched cop shows. One of the classic cliches is the good cop/bad cop interrogation. The 'bad' cop is angry, verbally or physically attacking the suspect, threatening all kinds of consequences if they don't cooperate. The good cop 'stops' the 'bad' cop, normally with a line like "He's not worth it." He then reaches out to 'help' the suspect out. He offers the suspect help and a way out in exchange for some cooperation on his part. These are normally played over the top for comedic or dramatic effect, but it's based on real interrogation techniques.

In real life, it's not nearly as dramatic, but the idea is the same. Two different cops play a part, one tough and one lenient. The 'bad' cop's job is to increase the suspects stress level, get them worrying about all the terrible things that may happen to them, and get them desperately looking for a way out. Then the 'good' cop comes in and tries to befriend the suspect. They empathise with them, connect through some common ground and the cops tries to become safe to the suspect. Then, this suspect who's feeling threatened and needs a way out, will naturally look at the 'good' cop as a safe way out. They'll start sharing the information they have, maybe even confessing to the crime if they feel it will get them less time, etc.

Now this may sound strange, but I think you can draw a reasonable parallel between this and the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Now I'm not saying that God is just 'playing a part' or that God is trying to manipulate us. Not at all. However, I've heard the argument that it seems like there's a completely different God in the OT than in the NT. The OT God is angry and wrathful, while the NT God, through Jesus, is loving and forgiving. I think the key here is that not only are the OT and NT are both showing different aspects of God's character, but they each have their own agenda as well.

Now the Old Testament is our 'bad cop'. The OT is primarily where we get God's law. The law's job is to convict out hearts of sin. It's through the law that we understand what sin is. It's through hearing the law that we realize our guilt before God. The OT is also primarily where we learn of God's wrath. God's wrath results in death. After physical death, we face God's judgement and then spiritual death. Spiritual death is an eternal separation from God in Hell, described as the Lake of Fire. After the OT reveals our sin to us, shows us God's wrath against sin and we sense the immanent judgement and punishment we face, we are desperate for salvation.

Then comes in the New Testament. In the NT, God reveals His mercy on us and shows us the path to salvation. Jesus comes to earth as one of us. He empathises with us since He has been tempted in every way we are. He's walked in our shoes and felt our pain. Jesus is completely accepting of anyone who has realized their sin and wants salvation and restoration with God. He shows us the ultimate sign of His love for us by taking all of God's wrath, His judgement and the death and punishment that comes with it through His death on the cross for all those who believe in Him. (Yes, Jesus died for your sins. But that doesn't mean that your sins are covered by default. You've got to believe in Him to receive salvation. In the NT, we're shows that Jesus accepted the repentant, but turned against the self-righteous.)

Does all this mean that the God from the Old Testament and the New Testament of different? Not at all. We still see God's wrath in the NT, but it's poured out on Jesus for believers. And in the OT, we see God' constantly declares His love and mercy for us through the coming Messiah.

Nor is God manipulating us. The process is natural and required. It's only through conviction of our sin and the coming judgement can we really see our need for salvation. Without that deep need, we have no reason to reach out to Jesus and believe in Him. The promise of salvation to someone who doesn't know they need saving is foolish and unproductive.

So if you think you're a Christian, but never given your life to Christ, take a look at the law in the OT. Just read through the Ten Commandments. Ask yourself, and if you're brave as God, if you're quilt of braking God's law. If so, how do you think judgement will go? You've just met the bad cop. Ready for the good cop?

God's Call Waiting from LeadershipJournal.net

I subscribe to an e-mail from LeadershipJournal.net with it's most recent articles, etc. This magazine is for pastors and other church leaders. Even if you have no desire what so ever to become a pastor, I encourage you to take a look and see what your Pastor's lives can be like. You'll want to give them a hug afterward.

In a recent article, God's Call Waiting, pastor and author John Ortberg explains that he never got what many would describe as a 'formal' call. The assumption from many that if you're in ministry or work for a church, then you have an experience or sense to point to and say, "I know that God wants me in ministry."

I have worked at churches where the expectation was that if you were on staff, you had "the call," places where everyone sensed that if they were not working at that church they would be guilty of disobedience. I never got that kind of call. I don't think it's necessary or (sometimes) even healthy. I think calling is much more God's business, often expressed through the voice of his community. I think someone can have a fabulous calling without knowing everything about it.

Without having a specific call to point to, but yet no sense that he wasn't supposed to become a pastor, John felt that God was giving him the freedom to do so if he chose. Then, after a particularly rough weekend at the church, God spoke.

I was driving down Stanford Avenue one day when a thought came unbidden: John, take your being at this church as my call on your life. Don't waste energy asking if someone else could do the job better. Don't waste energy asking if some other place could be more fulfilling. If you put your hand to the plow and don't look back, you will grow in ways you otherwise never would.

And it was a strange moment, after almost 30 years of church ministry, to have a call in that more specific and mystical sense.

And so, even though it means staying with a church full of bad problems that hit all at once, John finally knew for certain that this is where God wanted him.

For a calling is very different than a quest for fulfillment. A calling, though we glamorize it, is not glamorous. It is a response to a summons. It is a kind of surrender. It is a willingness to die to the past and move to the future. C.S. Lewis wrote, "To follow the vocation does not mean happiness, but once it has been heard, there is no happiness for those who do not follow."

This line is what spoke the most to me in many ways. First, that it's not a quest for fulfillment or glamor. With my Catholic upbringing, I often see pastors, elders and the like as being 'higher' than the rest. Priests obviously don't live a glamorous life, but theirs is still a position of authority and respect. If I'm honest, there is a part of me that desires that in my own call.

The other part of that last quote that struck me is the willingness to die to the past and move to the future. I've been very comfortable and I really don't want to 'mess things us' by full embracing this call. I can agree that now that I've heard my call, there is little happiness until I follow it.

Unlike John, I have heard a call and know that God wants me to be a pastor. I wait on His timing and let Jesus grow me into the man of character needed to begin such a call. The hard part for me is the balancing act. How much is waiting on God and how much is dragging my feet?

Hence, the 305

Today's my birthday. I share that because I'm starved for attention (which is probably why I blog in the first place.) Actually it's just that my birthday is always very important to me. Not sure why, other than I like a special day for me. Down side is I'm here at work, where no one knows it's my birthday so I'll spend the majority of it like any other day. Up side is that most of my family has already called/written to wish me well and that's put a smile on my face.

I wasn't praying on the way in this morning, but kinda quietly contemplating. I still think I got a sense of God talking. Last week I decided to pray for another 30 days to seek God out and His will for my calling. I've not really done it and I get the sense that I'm not really supposed to. I think I am where I'm supposed to be right now. I'm growing closer to God on a less intellectual, more relational level. I'm praying for my wife and watching God answer those prayers as her faith gets restored. Our marriage is growing stronger. I know that God will lead me into the next phase when it's time. No need to push.

While I'm counting my blessings, I'm thankful that God was faithful to me kept me through the spiritual valley I was in last year. I'm thankful that God has brought My dad, one of my sisters and her husband and possibly a second sister to faith in Jesus. I still pray for the rest of my family. As I've said before, my biggest burden is for those who can't see the true Gospel through the church they've had their whole lives (the churched but not converted.) That describes so many people around me. I know I do a poor job of sharing with them, but I know God will help there too.

Being my birthday, I think I can ask for a gift. All I ask of God for this next year is that Amanda and I continue to have our faith and hunger for God increased. Of course a new pick-up would be nice too.

"God is working on me...

so you can kiss my butt!"

That wonderful quote is from my wife this past Sunday. The women's ministry is starting a new Beth Moore class. They've done them in the past, but Amanda has only gone to one because they ask for a lot of homework to be done during the week. Given this I didn't expect her to go. So when she told someone that she was "actually thinking that I should do another one of those", I voiced my skepticism. Hence, her reply.

I love that quote. It was such a funny moment, I'm still laughing about it. More than that, it carries a lot with it. Mostly, I think it really speaks to the journey that we Christians are on. Yes, God is working in us. She's spent the last three weeks reaching out to God more than she has in a long time and I'm seeing a definite change in her. I'm so grateful for this and I'm continuing to pray for her. Yet at the same time, losing your tempter and telling someone to kiss your butt isn't exactly a "Christian" thing to do. It shows the work in progress. God's definitely changing her heart from one place to another, but she's still not there yet. We're all in that same place; not the sinners we were but not perfect at all.

The other thing I loved about it was the confidence. She was trying to voice that her heart was changing and she was more open to taking such a class and I shot her down (bad husband!) Her comment says "I know God's working in me so I don't care what you think." We all need that. We judge each other all the time and need to give each other the same grace that Jesus does. At the same time, when we are the ones being judged we need to be bold and declare the work Jesus is doing in us. We don't need to accept other's limited view of what we can be, because in Christ was can be anything.

"God is working on me so you can kiss my butt!" Preach it sister!