Dec 26, 2019
By Carl Greene
Executive Director
I recently ran in a 5k race with about 3,600 other people. I am no Eric Bofinger when it comes to running, but I am going to take my opportunity to highlight that my brother and I finished first and second in our age group. In fact, I ran a personal best time in the race. Apparently if you wait enough years, you get your chance to shine.
It is interesting how I can report on the details that I want you to know, and cleverly leave out the aspects that are not as glamorous. It is safe to say that my overall race ranking was far from first or second. It is also a fact that my attempts at conversation during the race with my fellow runners was, well, one-sided. As in, I did all the talking and the other person did not even acknowledge my existence.
Likewise, when it comes to evangelism, I think that it can be easy to talk about what fellow believers want to hear while conveniently leaving out the less-than-exciting parts of faith communication. It is tremendously tempting to simply talk about people who profess faith in Jesus Christ through our conversations, and not the full picture of spiritual conversations. I believe that we should approach spiritual conversations as long-term opportunities rather than just finish line sound bites.
Just as with a race, we can end up painting a picture of great finishes without being true to the truth of the entire process. A book that was provided at Pastors Conference in 2019 offers a wonderful picture of joining the life race with other people, and joining them for the whole journey rather than just the finish. In The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations by Mary Schaller and John Crilly, we are provided with insightful ways to engage in spiritual conversations with our friends, our coworkers, people we meet in passing on a regular basis, or the people that God nudges us to approach and ask a question.
The first “art” of conversation presented is “The Art of Noticing.” As in a previous article, I want to think about Matthew 9:36-38 where Jesus offers a tremendous example.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them,
because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without
a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly
to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
I often run right to the punchline—where Jesus tells the disciples to take note of the harvest, how the workers are few, and how they need to pray. In verse 36 there is another critical piece: Jesus noticed people and had compassion for them.
How are you and I at simply noticing people? How often are we so intent on running our own rat race in life that we miss the people around us? Thinking about my 5k, I was so focused on my time that I barely noticed the city that I ran through. In fact, the people I noticed were the people cheering me on as I approached the finish line, not the people who were quiet or distracted from the race.
Who are the people around you that God might be nudging you to notice? There are undoubtedly people longing for a conversation with someone. There is a key about noticing—it is not where we talk at someone, it is where we talk with someone. Most likely, it is where we ask a question and listen intently. If this concept of communicating faith through genuine friendship is appealing to you, I would suggest getting a copy of The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations. There is plenty
to glean from this read: from learning about how to ask good questions (p.111), to how to listen relationally (92-95), to how to overcome the barriers that prevent us from noticing the people in our lives who are looking for Jesus (49-53). I hope to take in the full experience of my next race—not just the finish line. I hope that my spiritual conversations are more focused on the entire journey as well—as I notice, listen well, honestly pray, ask genuine questions, and continue the conversation oriented toward God.1
1 Schaller, Mary and John Crilly. 2016. The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations: Walking Alongside People Who Believe Differently. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum.