Q. Would you trust a…
Bank Manager to tell you what to do with your money?
Used car salesman to buy a car from?
Amway sales person to tell you what a good product is?
Why not?
(STOP READING AND ASK YOURSELF WHY NOT)
A. Now all of these people have two things in common. The first is that they are experts in their field. The second is that they have a particular line or product to push. Most of us do not trust these people because they will try to tell us that their product is regardless of what is actually best for us.
Now imagine you are not a Christian…
Q. Would you trust a Christian to tell you about spirituality?
A. No because Christians have a particular line or product to push. Most people do not trust Christians because we will try to tell people that our faith is best regardless of what is actually best for the person.
The problem with Christianity is that we are a telling religion. And, because of that no one will ever want to listen to us. We need to become a listening and seeking faith. I believe that if we were to give up trying to tell people what we believe and start to listen to them and, as a fellow pilgrim walk along side them always with the premise that we can learn from each other and that neither of us has the ultimate truth that they have to impart upon the other, then and only then people might want to listen to what we have to say.
Bank Manager to tell you what to do with your money?
Used car salesman to buy a car from?
Amway sales person to tell you what a good product is?
Why not?
(STOP READING AND ASK YOURSELF WHY NOT)
A. Now all of these people have two things in common. The first is that they are experts in their field. The second is that they have a particular line or product to push. Most of us do not trust these people because they will try to tell us that their product is regardless of what is actually best for us.
Now imagine you are not a Christian…
Q. Would you trust a Christian to tell you about spirituality?
A. No because Christians have a particular line or product to push. Most people do not trust Christians because we will try to tell people that our faith is best regardless of what is actually best for the person.
The problem with Christianity is that we are a telling religion. And, because of that no one will ever want to listen to us. We need to become a listening and seeking faith. I believe that if we were to give up trying to tell people what we believe and start to listen to them and, as a fellow pilgrim walk along side them always with the premise that we can learn from each other and that neither of us has the ultimate truth that they have to impart upon the other, then and only then people might want to listen to what we have to say.
11 comments:
yes absolutely Chris!
it is always a case of listening so we know what needs to be told. Too often what we tell is not necessarily 'good news' because we haven't heard a person's story.
by the same token i have observed a pendulum swing to being 'non tellers' and simply those who are present. We need both presence anr proclamtion to be true to scripture and the gospel
btw - great to meet up with you guys the other night!
I'm actually thinking it is one step further than just "listening so that we know what needs to be told". For me it is more about listening because we are merely a fellow traveler/seeker/pilgrim and we could learn from them.
I guess this sounds very much like being a non teller and to a certain extent it is.
Mmm I'm staring at my screen thinking how to explain this, but I know that this works.
It's about (a) being open about a search for truth in meaning which has currently lead me to being Christian (b) being honestly open to something else if something better comes along and therefore listening to the ideas of others because they might have a better idea (c) not being pushy, just honest about what you have found as a traveler (most of which is how you live life) and letting that speak for itself. (d) waiting for others to respond.
I know this is not really proclaiming the gospel in the classic sense, but in the circles that I move in it seems to be the only way.
hmmm... a 'non teller'?
i think we may disagree signifcantly here. I don't see exclusive 'non telling' as a biblcal pattern.
if its to assauge the abuse of 'telling' then I'd be inclined to suggest that the absence of telling is not a more helpful practice, but rather an error in the opposite direction...
if the gospel is 'good news' to us then it really does call a 'telling' response from us.
in your final comments I pick up some level of uncertainty in regard to the gospel eg 'currently' led you to being a Christian, 'something better comes along'.
Could it be that there is insufficient personal conviction to warrant 'telling'?
That may sound a bit offensive - and I don't mean it to be because I don't know you chris, :) but I am wondering how you would see non telling as a biblical practice?
Keep talking - I am listening!
Thanks for responding Hamo really appreciate it.
Having spent a few hours reflecting I think I may have overstated my case, and thanks for picking me up on that. I think I have left out an important distinction. That is the distinction between telling and selling.
Looking back at my encounters with non Christian friends I would be lying to say that I have not told them that I was a Christian but I haven't tried to sell them Christianity. I think that particularly in a postmodern culture as soon as you try to sell something no one pays any attention to you. Hence the importance of telling, not selling and, I guess that can become a very vague line (one which I might explore futher and try to be more clear about). Most people don’t trust a salesperson but they do trust a fellow shopper – someone who is also after the best product. So I often think of myself as someone who seeks truth before I am a Christian. And, it has been this search for truth that has lead me to be convinced of Christianity.
With the conviction stuff (which I wasn’t offended by J I am aware that this can sound all a bit wishy washy and vague and unconvicted) I am really convinced of Christianity. The dilemma is this. On one the hand when “many roads to God” people say we are all walking up the one mountain only up different paths. My usual response is “Hang on who put you up in the helicopter to see what is going on!”. Having said that I don’t think that I can turn around and say “I am on the one true path going up the right mountain” – as this would put me in the helicopter instead. It’s not about being certain or uncertain but more about saying I can only be as certain as one fallible human can be. So I guess what I am saying is I am as certain as I can be about Christianity, but that has limits as it is only as certain as a human can be. An analogy might be someone who is certain that the world is a flat disc (as many ancients believed) everything that they experience reaffirms this. It is not until they see pictures from space that they might believe otherwise. Does this make any sense???
Ahhhh sorry that took so long. For 30 seconds a day I think I have discovered radical ways of thinking about Christianity. The rest of the time I just think I am confused and not good at explaining myself.
Thanks for your wisdom jeb. I like the two-fold aspect to listening. I think I am going to have to find a different word than telling - it's too loaded. There's a gentle letting somone know something kind of telling and there's also a preachy kind of telling.
I agree Chris - 'selling' is pretty off!
Telling may sound preachy too...
A better word... I dunno - i'm not sure I'd worry too much.
Words mean so many different things to different people
I hear you want to respect the other person and not dump a truckload of your ideas and opinions. Right with you there.
I have also seen people too cautious to share faith and I lament that. At some point we need to give words to the Jesus we know. As Peter says 'with gentleness and respect'
The helicopter analogy worked for me - nice one!
Interesting that the 'pedantics' of an original thought led to an almost helpful discussion.
'Presence' seems to be for me the best way to share the gospel.
'Being present' is knowing when to speak, when to listen, when to act.
'Being truly present', for me, is acting with awareness of god, trusting that when we get it wrong or miss the mark it doesn't matter.
Telling, selling, sharing ... words in my view are unhelpful. Words are such a miniscule portion of expression of faith. (miniscule and yet the most divisive)
Being present resolves this crisis for me. being present saves us from the danger of 'good intentions' and 'other moral/ ethical traps'
Interesting that the 'pedantics' of an original thought led to an almost helpful discussion.
'Presence' seems to be for me the best way to share the gospel.
'Being present' is knowing when to speak, when to listen, when to act.
'Being truly present', for me, is acting with awareness of god, trusting that when we get it wrong or miss the mark it doesn't matter.
Telling, selling, sharing ... words in my view are unhelpful. Words are such a miniscule portion of expression of faith. (miniscule and yet the most divisive)
Being present resolves this crisis for me. being present saves us from the danger of 'good intentions' and 'other moral/ ethical traps'
'Being present resolves this crisis for me. being present saves us from the danger of 'good intentions' and 'other moral/ ethical traps'
I disagree here.
We can be as guilty of poor motives in a 'presence' mode as we can in a 'proclamation' mode. They will probably just be less obvious.
I do agree that trusting God is pivotal - and sometimes that will lead us to speak. Seems it did for Jesus and for Paul and many others so it would seem a fairly normative way to communicate faith.
it 'saves' us because...
in spite of us we have restored relationship with god
in spite of us God can work in any situation
preach the gospel to all the world,
if necessary use words.
st francis of assissi
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