Learning to talk naturally about Jesus

I remember going as a leader to my first young peoples’ Christian holiday camp. The leader of the camp asked me to ‘Follow up’ a certain boy who was in my dormitory. I wasn’t clear what he meant so he explained,

“Find out if he has enjoyed the camp, has understood the talks and ask where he stands spiritually.”

I gulped.

“I don’t know how I can do that,” I stammered.

“Oh, its easy. After an evening talk ask him if he would like to go for a stroll round the grounds with you. Ask how he has enjoyed the camp and what activities he particularly liked. Then ask what he has thought of the talks and enquire about whether he has heard the gospel like this before. Then at the right time ask him,

“Have you made a decision about the place of Jesus in your life or aren’t you sure yet.”

You can imagine the anxiety I felt as I met up with the lad as he left the evening talk.

“Fancy a stroll round the gardens?”

I asked this with a smile, trying to be as natural as possible. The first hurdle was over. He agreed to join me. I followed the instructions I received to the letter but I felt so anxious and I have no doubt that the lad must have known something of this too. However as he told me that he had loved the talks and had opened his life to Christ it all seemed so worthwhile. I was hopeless at what to say next, the leader hadn’t primed me on this, but for the lad to talk about his new found faith seemed to help him a lot.

I now look back at that, my first experience of personal work, and am so grateful to the leader who started me on this path.

A Natural Anxiety

Anxiety over attempting something new is naturally worrying, whether it is learning to drive, parachuting or personal work.

I was sent to an all-boys Preparatory School, Great Walstead in Sussex, England, between the age of seven to twelve. Then I went to Bedford School, an all-boys English Public School, until I was eighteen. The next move in my education was to Downing College, Cambridge, then an all-male college. So all my education had been in single sex establishments. Then I moved to what is now the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, London for my clinical training. This was where my inexperience in talking to girls and women became very apparent.

Early in my training at the London was a placement on a gynaecology unit. I was now expected to take a history about intimate, personal matters from ladies. I was so embarrassed. As I talked to my first patients I blushed, perspired, hesitated and my heart- beat raced. I was a complete embarrassment both to myself and my patients. Yet I had to continue because my Consultant would ask me about what I had done. Again I started with ‘set piece’ questions that gave me a framework to continue.

After a few weeks I felt more comfortable and over the years my embarrassment and difficulty has largely gone. Now I feel excited when an opportunity comes to warm people to Jesus. I am so grateful to those early teachers who not only insisted that people such as myself continued in what we found difficult, but gave us a simple structure to help us start.

Pray

Some people find it easy to talk with others about anything. They are the self-confident extroverts and too often they can come across as many salesmen do, unreal and even smarmy, ingratiating and slimy. I personally hate being talked to by anyone who tries to sell me something in this way. Some Christians come across like this. But Christians are not salesmen, we are ordinary people who have good news to share with people.

Over the years I have learned that it is not the outgoing personality that God uses in personal work – it is the person who prays. A very shy university student became a Christian and joined our church. She found it very hard to approach people she didn’t know, but she used to keep praying that God would use her. It is remarkable that it is this young lady who is able to befriend other shy and lonely people. Often she goes out with such people and had meals with them. She brings them as guests to church services.

I have also seen this in my own life. When I pray that the Lord will lead me to someone, very often he does. A sceptic may suggest that this is just because I am now looking for opportunities and I am sure that is a factor, but the coincidences that happen when we pray are remarkable.

Archbishop William Temple was questioned about why he prayed. He didn’t suggest that God readily broke his laws of nature but he said something very profound,

“I have found that when I don’t pray, coincidences don’t happen, but when I do pray, coincidences happen.”

My wife and I were taking some of our grandchildren to see the Olympic park in London. We had prayed that God would use us that day but never dreamt how this would turn out. As we were trying to find the way to the entrance we met a young Chinese couple who were also looking for the way to the park. We started chatting as we walked along and quickly we made a warm connection. They were sponsored by the Chinese Government to come to England to improve English. After five minutes general talk I asked if they had met many English families in the year they had been in London. They hadn’t as they lived in a hostel attached to the Chinese embassy. I then asked if they had been to any English churches and was astounded at the reply,

“Yes we have, because we are looking for answers to life.”

We spent the next three hours having lunch together, talking mostly about the gospel and answering their questions. We became good friends and they later came up and stayed with us in our home. They were very impressed to see the church caring for young mothers and their toddlers and the different groups caring for children and retired people. They joined us at an evening supper when other enquirers about the Christian faith met together to investigate both the claims of Christ and the evidence supporting them.

We kept in touch and when Rosy and I were teaching in Beijing we stayed with them in their flat. Again they wanted to talk about Jesus and the Christian faith. What a joy it was to hear him say,

“I believe in Jesus now.”

Whatever is the means of prayer being effective, it is notable that those who are effective in sharing the gospel with those they meet are nearly always those who pray.

When traveling on a high speed train in China, I prayed that someone would sit next to me that would speak English and who would be interested in the gospel. It is always interesting to see who then sits down. My opening line was,

“Do you speak English?”

It just happened that the lady who joined me spoke beautiful English and wanted to know what I was doing in China. We quickly entered into a warm relationship. She told me that she came from a Buddhist family but appeared fascinated to know why I believed that the Christian message was really true. The Lord does answer prayer. As we separated, after talking for several hours, I gave her a copy of ‘Cure for Life’.

Have a plan - Set-piece evangelism

In nearly all sports, the players are trained in ‘set piece’ moves to make the most of a situation. Rugby players learn ‘set piece’ moves for line-outs. Tennis players learn ‘set-piece’ moves on how best to respond to particular shots in particular areas of the court. These become standard plays which can be modified as experience is gained. So it is in personal work. We would all be much more productive if we have learned a few ‘set-piece’ moves in personal work. Much as I was instructed in my first experience of personal described above, so now we need to help the next generation in basic skills.

However the need for such training in ‘set-piece evangelism’ is seldom recognized. When writing this chapter, I asked several church leaders about how, in conversations with people, they manage to move the conversation onto spiritual matters and then onto the gospel. I was surprised and concerned that many do not have clear strategies. What was also striking was that those with clear strategies and who are well prepared were those who are most effective in pointing people to the Lord Jesus. Without clear plans, that have been well rehearsed so as to become natural, the fear of upsetting or embarrassing people can blunt both our clarity and effectiveness in pointing people to Christ.

An obvious example is how to help someone who is suffering. Perhaps they have just been told they have advanced cancer. Being well prepared by having a framework on possible ways to help and possible Bible passages to turn to is invaluable. A minister invited a man to come join us at a Christianity Explored group. He refused saying that he had no interest in religion since his young son died many years ago. The minister could just say ‘I’m so sorry’ and change the subject or could say ‘I fully understand the hurt you have gone through but surely what matters is whether Jesus, who also suffered terribly is really the person he claimed to be and whether he is the answer to our deepest needs. After all, he did say, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest?’ By being prepared there is an increased possibility of helping.

Get talking

Just as a fisherman cannot expect to catch any fish without a line in the water, so we cannot expect to draw people to Christ as personal workers without getting into warm two-way conversations. Many people are naturally reserved. A study has shown that when people enter a lift they tend to take up a position as far away as possible from anyone else in the lift. The same happens in trains and buses, we tend to look for places where we can be alone. Such isolationism will not encourage natural conversations that will hopefully be the start of a two-way relationship.

I attended a birthday party of a friend who is a brilliant musician and had become a Christian. He had invited two sets of friends, his musical colleagues and members of the church. The room was set out with tables either side of a central alley. What soon became apparent was that the Christians sat on one side and the musicians on the other side and few crossed over. What a disaster to see the Christians sitting there talking with the friends they have talked to week by week. Only one or two crossed over the divide and approached the musicians’ tables. The obvious opener was to ask,

“How do you know Nick?”

Then natural conversations can start. They will inevitably ask you the same question and the subject of church and the gospel naturally flows from this. Why are so many apprehensive about talking to people they don’t know? If this fear is not overcome it will prevent the gospel being shared with all people, which is the very command of God.

When you visit a church, try the ‘stand-alone test’ during the coffee time after the service. Just stand there, on your own, holding a cup of coffee and time how long it takes for someone to come up and talk with you. It is unfortunate that in some churches people are either too fearful or just don’t care about helping visitors.

Consequently when I’m going on a train or plane journey I always try to remember to pray that an opportunity will be given to get into a conversation. When getting to the station or on board I will look around to see who is there. Often a conversation will start with a rather trite line, given with a smile, such as,

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

I have never known of anyone saying ‘No,’ and at least a conversation has started. Then questions such as the following can often be the start of a natural conversation.

“Are you off to do anything interesting London?” or

“Do you live locally?”

“What do you do for a living?”

Asking questions that are not embarrassing or threatening is so important in any relationship. Very often people will then ask you the same question in return.

“Are you planning to do anything interesting in London.”

Show a genuine interest

Some people are so good at appearing interested in other people, what interests them and and what they do. They smile, look in your eyes and ask relevant questions to show they are really involved and are enjoying the chat. As Marshall McLuhan has astutely said,

“The medium is the message.”

By this he meant that how we communicate is just as important as what we say. A young Christian was remarkably bold but abrasive in his attempts at personal work. He was probably on the spectrum of autism. I heard of many people whom he had upset by his blunt approach but I have yet to hear of anyone he has drawn to Christ. One day he was waiting to pick up a prescription in the local chemist. There were a few others also waiting. He spoke loudly to the person sitting next to him,

“Are you right with God?” he started.

He became increasingly intense as the lady became increasingly irritated. She eventually walked out without collecting her prescription. I heard this story from one of the others there listening. They were so embarrassed. I do admire his boldness but certainly not his approach. He wasn’t bringing glory and honour to Christ but dishonor by the way he behaved. He had misunderstood that evangelism is not just telling facts to others, but includes making Jesus and what he taught attractive.

In any conversation we must ensure that the person talking with us is enjoying the experience. A polite, warm, sympathetic attitude is so attractive and helps to make sharing the gospel fun.

Move onto to a ‘springboard’ topic

If the determination is there, it is not difficult to enter into a warm relationship relatively quickly, even in a train or plane. Moving the conversation onto a semi-religious springboard topic does require some experience but is not difficult and often is very easy.

If I ask my new friend what they are planning to do in London they will tend to ask a similar question back. If I am off to a Christian activity, such as going to a Trustees meeting of the Christian Medical Fellowship, I will explain this but then add a simple question,

“Have you heard of them and what they do?”

It is then so easy to talk about what Christian doctors are for and how they need to be encouraged to keep living for Christ as their priority.

When I first opened my life to Christ I found it difficult to keep this focus. I found that at first it needed to be a discipline as talking about Christian topics was not natural. It was only later that it became as exciting as playing a game of tennis or squash.

I quickly learned new approaches that helped to move the conversations onto spiritual matters. These are some examples:

What do you do?

One of the most natural questions that is regularly asked in ‘small talk’ conversations is ‘What do you do with yourself?’ or ‘What is your job?’ This is a wonderful opening to develop a relationship and, as usual, you can expect the same question back. I used to answer that I have two jobs, one paid and the other unpaid. That usually gets their interest. ‘My paid work is being a surgeon, but I am also committed to working in our church which is my unpaid job.’ In such a way the gospel can be naturally introduced.

Is the church ‘keen?’

One of the first approaches I learned was used on the coach journey home from college. Instead of doing the usual British thing of looking for an empty seat a long way from anyone else, I deliberately looked to see if there was another person who might be another student returning home.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

This is a wonderful opening line, especially when given with a smile. I have never had someone say they would prefer to be on their own. But it broke the ice and it was easy to continue chatting.

It was normally easy to ask something about them, what they were studying and then where their home was. I lived in Bedfordshire at that time which is quite rural and I found that people loved to chat about their home village. I could then ask,

“Does it have one of those beautiful old churches?”

In this way we had got onto a semi-religious topic. Then, when the occasion seemed right, the next question opened everything up.

“Is it a keen church?”

The almost invariable reply was,

“What do you mean by ‘keen’?”

I would explain my experience of churches that just go through the same routine each week and how I found this difficult but contrast this with the vibrant Bible teaching church I was now in.

“Is it a church that teaches what Jesus and his apostles taught as so many churches have lost their focus on teaching the gospel and have become just social institutions.”

Thus the conversation on spiritual matters naturally flowed and often, to avoid embarrassment I would share my story and explain what had happened to me when I first understood the gospel when I went up to college.

Mention your church

People do enjoy talking about what they have been doing, so it is very natural to ask others,

“Did you do anything interesting last week-end?”

It is not surprising that, a little later, the same question will be asked of you. What a shame not to mention what went on at your church and then follow it up with,

“Do you know of Christchurch, Baldock?”

Then you can explain the importance of Bible teaching, children’s work and a warm community and apply this to the needs of your friend and their family.

Twice a year Christchurch Baldock gets involved in the town fair. We man a stall and invite people to an impromptu café where we give them free drinks and snacks. When they sit down at one of the tables a church member asks if they can join them. After the usual opening conversation it is easy to ask,

“Have you heard of Christchurch?”

Then can follow a natural conversation about why we were set up and what we have to offer.

Use a book

Another approach I developed early in my Christian life was very simple. I loved playing squash and tennis and after the game I would invite my opponent back for a drink in my room. I learned that one of the first things they did was to look at the books on the bookshelf. So I had arranged for a suitable book on the coffee table in front of where they were to sit. At some stage it was inevitable that their eyes would fall on this book. A fisherman learns to give a little tug on the line when he feels a bite and I learned to do something similar.

“Do you know that book”

The inevitable reply would come,

“No. What is it about?”

The book I tended to use then was Josh McDowell’s ‘More than a Carpenter’ so I would explain that I had started thinking about Christian things and this book goes over some of the evidence about the claims of Jesus and his apostles.

Ask a direct question?

One of the great advantages those trained as health professionals have is that we are taught to ask personal questions without being embarrassed. If you can ask, “How are your bowels working?” then you can talk about most subjects. We are also taught to work according to a plan.

It soon becomes apparent to anyone in healthcare that people’s well being is not just a physical matter. The World Health Organisation recognises that ‘health is a state of complete physical and mental well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ Many factors are therefore relevant - we are all complex beings and our health is dependent on our physical, social, psychological and spiritual well being. Guilt, a lack of purpose in life are relevant spiritual problems that can affect a person’s well being

When we are asking about patient’s symptoms and the background story it is usual to ask about past history, family history, drug history, social history and a spiritual history should also be included. A good question to ask is,

“Do you have a faith that helps you at a time like this or aren’t you sure about these things?”

Often people will reply with,

“I wish I had” or “I used to go to church”.

I remember asking this to a very bright patient who was about to have quite a routine operation. His reply surprised me,

“No, I’m an atheist,” but then he paused for a second or two and added, “but some years ago I had a remarkable experience of God.”

I simply said that perhaps this would be a time to reflect on these matters and after the operation I invited him to come to a Bible Study in our home. He did come and within a few weeks he became convinced about Jesus and then committed his life to him.

This same question is very useful when talking with a person who has a problem. Many people can be helped by recognizing that the God who created them is genuinely interested in their welfare.

May I pray for you?

This is a common question that moves on from talking about a problem onto God’s role. It can be a good opening but there is a problem in that it can suggest that anyone can approach God without submitting to the Lord Jesus. It also fails to lead on to a discussion about the gospel if they respond, ‘That would be nice.”

However with care it can be useful. A lady in our church wanted to have some building work done on her house. One day she passed a house that was being modernized so she knocked on the door and a local builder opened it. She asked if he was able to do some private work for her. He replied,

“Normally I would love to help but at present I am going through a very difficult time as my son is about to have a major operation for bowel cancer.”

She sympathised with him and asked,

“Can I pray for you and your son?”

The builder’s reply was blunt,

“I don’t believe in that stuff.”

The lady immediately responded,

“Oh that doesn’t matter, because I do.”

This went on to a discussion about his son and the lady asked if he would like to talk about the cancer with a surgeon in her church. He then realized that I was the surgeon who had operated on him and fortunately had made a good impression. He phoned me up and so a friendship developed. He joined our Friday Bible Study group and within a few weeks committed himself to Christ.

Special events

These are so useful in helping Christians talk about spiritual matters.

“We have a Christmas Carol service coming up. would you like to come with my wife and I. How about having tea with us first?”

“I/my child am/are getting baptised/confirmed shortly . . . I would be honoured if you could join us.

“Have you heard about the coming visit of . . . Please come as my guest.”

“We have a Christianity Explored group starting soon. Would you like to come with me? There is a supper first.”

Such invitations are always being made in the secular world so why are many Christians afraid to help friends find salvation by offering a simple invitation? The onus is on the church organisers to arrange events that are both attractive and relevant.

Ask the key question

After a while, I learned how to open up conversations about spiritual matters quite naturally, but all too often that is as far as it went. I didn’t know how to go any further. Then I learned s secret – it is to get to a point where you can naturally ask this personal question,

“Excuse me asking, but are you a Christian yourself or are you unsure about these things?”

It is very important to include the rider, ‘or aren’t you sure?’ so that people don’t feel cornered. Very often people will say,

“No, I’m not sure.”

The danger to be avoided is to then enter a preaching mode and try to explain all the gospel at once. What a turn-off that can be! It is much better to put yourself alongside them, in their position and admit,

“I used to be unsure but then something happened to me that helped a lot.”

It is striking how many people will follow this up with,

“What happened to you?’

Then you can give a brief version of how you came to Christ. What a joy it is to talk about the Lord.

It is important to be pleasantly personal in these questions. If the ultimate goal is to help people understand who Jesus is and how he is the answer to our greatest need, sometimes being so direct is difficult. Another option, but equally asking for a response, is to ask them to join you in reading the Bible one-to-one, to join your home group, or to come with you to your church or to a Christianity Explored or Alpha group. People need to understand that the gospel demands a response and our requests can help make this clear.

Talk about the Lord Jesus as your Saviour and Lord

At the end of my medical training, I went on an elective to work in some Mission Hospitals in Uganda. One day, a friend and I were walking up Namirembe Hill in Kampala to visit the Anglican Cathedral at the top. Walking down the other side of the road was a smiling Ugandan pastor with a very deep clergyman’s dog-collar. We exchanged greetings and crossed the road to talk with him. He clearly did not know whether we were committed Christians but, being a very proficient personal worker he smilingly enquired,

“What are you doing in Uganda?”

We explained that we were working in Mengo Mission Hospital.

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” he exclaimed, adding, “Does that mean you are Christians then?”

“Yes, we are,” we replied.

“That’s wonderful. Then tell me, how are you getting on with Jesus?”

I had never been asked such a question. Being British however I thought of a polite reply,

“Very well thank you, and you?”

He clearly saw that I was embarrassed and started to talk about himself; he gave his testimony. He explained how he had been a twenty-nine year old school master when he had become a Christian. He then became very involved in his church, and because of his education he soon became one of its leaders. But he then found his Christian life was becoming stale. He was very busy, but spiritually dry; the warm relationship with the Lord Jesus that he had previously known had become cold.

“Then I realised what the matter with me was. I had to keep Jesus busy. Every time I failed Him I had to apologise straight away and whenever things went well I had to thank Him immediately. I must go now but don’t forget, ‘Do keep Jesus busy!’”

I shall ever be grateful to that pastor who, in such a short conversation, pointed me to what was going wrong in my Christian life – I needed to be Christ-centred.

Give your testimony

Accounts such as the above demonstrate the great value of having a personal story that is well rehearsed and short. It is helpful if an outline of this can be given in under a minute but clearly can be elaborated if there is interest. A Christian is someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ so for us to talk about this relationship ourselves and how it started is invaluable. Again this will need practising.

Often in discussions people will mention problems they have had with church or some Christians. It is important not to get into an argument or antagonistic debate – you may win the argument but usually leaves your opponent bruised and unsympathetic to the gospel. It is much better to be able to put yourself in their position and work from there. A very useful line is,

“I also used to think like that but then something happened that helped me to get a different perspective. I met a friend who encouraged me not to look at individual Christians, as we are all to some degree hypocrites, but to investigate Jesus instead . . .”

Articles

There are many gifted personal workers who give out Christian tracts to those they meet. These cheap tracts can look as if they are printed badly on toilet paper. Sometimes you see them dropped on the pavement a little further on. I am certainly not against such an approach but I have found in recent years that a printed article that starts with an interesting anecdote and moves onto something Jesus said is better received. I give them to people who come to our door, to those I have got into a conversation with about anything.

“Would you mind if I give you something to read. It is based on a talk I gave. We are trying to get people thinking about whether there are answers to the big questions in life.”

At the end I put my e-mail address, the website of our church and my own website with these articles - www.bvpalmer.com

What has surprised me is how many people say they have read them. this means they have heard the gospel.

An evangelistic dog!

One of my great helpers in personal evangelism was my dog Kali. She would happily go up to anyone and introduce herself in a very friendly way. Often they would stroke her. It was very easy for me to go up to them and say,

I hope you don’t mind dogs.”

This might seem superfluous but it started a conversation. Often it would go like this:

“Oh no. She’s a lovely dog isn’t she.”

“Thank you. We are fortunate as we have a lot of children and visitors from our church come to our home and if she wasn’t like this lifeworld be difficult.”

Often they would ask which church we are involved with but even if they don’t it is soon easy to ask if they are involved in a church anywhere. If they say ‘No’, it is easy to give my story about being disillusioned with churches.

Follow up

This step is too often overlooked. It is one thing to have a good conversation with someone, but quite another to help them find Christ. This is why follow up is so important.

The follow up of casual confirmations in a train or plane can be difficult as you are unlikely to meet up again. If you know of a good church where they live it can be helpful to pint them in that direction. I try to ensure that I have some suitable literature with me with my e-mail address.

I recently flew back to London from Los Angeles. The taxi driver called himself a Roman Catholic but he clearly had no personal faith. As we left I gave him a short printed article titled ‘Who will be saved?’, which is an exposition of Luke 13:22-35, with my e-mail address at the bottom. When waiting in the airport lounge I started chatting to a business man sitting next to me. We talked about his job and I explained what I had been doing in Los Angeles. This gave me the opportunity to ask him if he was a Christian or wasn’t sure about these things. He told me that he was the only one in his family who wasn’t a Christian because he had doubts about it being true. For nearly an hour we talked about the evidence and as he was clearly interested I gave him a copy of ‘Cure for Life’ that I had in my case. I wrote my e-mail and a short message on the title page. On the long flight a very pleasant lady from Central America leant over and introduced herself. We chatted generally for about 10 minutes. She asked what I had been doing in Los Angeles so I explained that I had been teaching people the evidence that the Christian faith is really true. Again this gave an easy opportunity to enquire whether she had a faith or wasn’t sure about these things. She gave a strange reply, “I was brought up as a Catholic but recently have been converted.” She went on to explain that she no longer thought that Jesus was divine. We then had an impromptu Bible Study showing the many passages that teach that Jesus is God in the flesh. Fortunately I had an article with me that summarised the Bible’s teaching on this subject so gave it to her with a copy of the ‘Who is a Christian?’ article, again with my contact details. None of these conversations were forced in any way and remained very friendly.

Another lesson I have learned is the importance of having a pen with me at all times so I can ask their name and e-mail address as ‘I would love to keep in touch.’

One of the easiest ways is to invite a local person you’ve been talking with, to a relevant event. How important it is for churches to put on such events. In our church we run many Christianity Explored home groups where those who are uncertain can come to a home, and have a meal before discussing what the Christian message is and the evidence about whether this is true.

Some invite friends to church but these services must be outsider friendly and get them thinking about eternal issues. How many churches are so traditional in the way they run their services that they are a ‘turn off’ to visitors. An atheist wandered into a London church and sat down to listen. He was very impressed by the words of the Magnificat and what God meant to Mary. At the door he spoke to the vicar to explain his situation. The vicar’s answer was not very helpful,

“We meet in the same place next week, at the same time, and go over the same thing again.”

Many people have genuine questions and these do need answering.

One to one Bible studies are another way to help others come to terms with the Christian message. There are now several good schemes to help such as ‘Uncover’, produced by the University and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) in which two people work their way through John’s gospel.

As already mentioned, literature is another, much overlooked method of follow up. When I was working as a Consultant Surgeon I had many patients who started to ask spiritual questions but I did not have the time to answer many of these. This led me to write ‘Cure for Life.’ This short book attempts to answer who Jesus claimed to be, what evidence there is for this and then what he taught. It was based on what I taught in a home group course for non-Christians. There is clearly a need for books such as this that people can give away. This book is now in its fourth English edition and has been translated into many other languages. People do want to find answers to the big questions of life and our Lord wants us to be able to help them. However when I am on a journey I do try to remember to take some short articles that answer the usual questions people come up with.

More recently I have published ‘Stepping Stones to Faith’ which outlines the types of evidence there is available that supports the claims of Christ.

Summary

The thrill of having conversations about our Lord cannot be over-emphasised. When a Christian embarks on this mission to win others for Christ, they know that this pleases their heavenly Father and it is so satisfying to be involved. On top of this there is the excitement as some of those you have tried to help come to trust in the Saviour. The prophet Daniel understood something of this satisfaction:

“Those who are wise will instruct many.” Daniel 11:33

“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousnesslike the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:4

Personal work is not just for young enthusiasts either. It keeps us older people youthful:

“They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” Psalm 92:14-15

Over the years I have met some ‘would-be’ personal workers who seem to see their role as ‘socking the truth’ at people. This is so unattractive and fails to portray the Lord Jesus as he really is, loving kind and compassionate. We remain as ‘one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.’ Being honest and portraying ourselves as sinners just as they are is much more winsome. The sinful Samaritan woman was so wise when she wanted her fellow citizens to meet Christ, and was open about her sinfulness,

“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” John 4:39

BVP

April 2017