Share Jesus Without Freaking Out series post 7/8
Principle 7: Talk to the actual person in front of you about the Jesus inside you; let them see and hear the change Jesus makes in you.
I literally live and work in the middle of nowhere. In fact, the school I work at is located on Nowhere Rd. That’s why I couldn’t believe my eyes yesterday when I saw a team of cyclists travelling as a pack down Nowhere Rd. As I look back over the course of my life, I have no recollections of ever spotting a team of cyclists. I knew the cyclists were a team not only by their team uniforms and formation but also because their team car was following close behind. On top of the team car, I noticed an empty bike holder and on the side of the team car, I found the team’s name: Team Novo Nordisk Pro Cycling.
I never said a word to Team Novo. They went their way and I went mine. But they spoke to me, not verbally, but in action. See, Team Novo cycles for a cause. I looked up Team Novo and here is what I found: Team Novo Nordisk is an American global all-diabetes sports team of cyclists, triathletes and runners, spearheaded by the world’s first all-diabetes professional cycling team. The team’s mission is to inspire, educate and empower people affected by diabetes.
Not only was it good that Team Novo did not speak to me, it was great! Oftentimes, actions speak louder than words. Had I tried to stop the cycling team so that I could talk to them, I would have only interrupted their trek and slowed down my own. I also had a destination I needed to arrive at and both the team and I were on a journey. Thankfully, my journey involved four wheels!
As I have plowed through this blog series on Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out, I have tried to include personal stories. I did not want to copy the content of Dr. Reid’s book, only to reinforce its application. I hope you will buy a copy of the book so you can journey through it for yourself! Evangelism is the need of the hour in the American church as many American churches find themselves on life support. Not only will evangelism pump new blood and life into your veins, it can revitalize a church itself as individual members catch fire and the church-at-large begins to burn. Light the fire in my soul, Fan the flame and make me whole, Lord, you know just where I’ve been, So light the fire in my heart again.
I hope my blog post series has helped to light a fire in you as it pertains to you sharing Jesus with others in the world today. Though I have talked to you about the important role that conversation plays in evangelism, there are times when saying nothing is the best road to travel down. Silence would seem antithetical to the thesis of Dr. Reid’s book, but Dr. Reid expounds on his logic when he states, “The greater the intimacy of a relationship, the more valuable your demonstration of a changed life, and the less intimacy, the more necessary is your verbal witness.”
I can still remember the great evangelist Billy Graham saying something to the effect of “give me five minutes with you in your home, and I’ll tell you whether you’re a Christian or not.” Your family knows who you are. They live with you. You don’t have to say much or say anything at all. They’ve heard and seen you enough to know who you really are. How do you treat your family? That in and of itself is a greater witness than preaching the gospel to them for the nine hundredth time.
Recently, I found myself saying something profound (it doesn’t happen much so listen up). I told my friend that I didn’t trust tv preachers that much because I found them preaching the gospel, but not living it. See the difference? Anyone can preach the gospel. Jesus knew this full-well and warned us of false teachers or wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt 5:17).
Let’s take a ride together and let Jesus take the handles. It is necessary to share the gospel in word. Just understand there are times when you need to ride and say nothing.