Witness
People have been commenting about witnessing. Is it importnat? Yes, I think it is VERY important to speak about your faith. There’s more than one way to do it, but not every way will work and not every way is good for your soul.
I want to write more on that topic, but for tonight, I will leave you with a story one of the youth leaders at my church once told me.
People of certain faiths like to ring the doorbell (and always at the most inoppertune time, like when you’ve just laid a baby down for a nap) to try to convince you to convert. Even if you kindly tell them you have your own faith, they persist, telling you that their form of religion is better. This was happening to him, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it.
Then he simply decided not to try to beat them, but to join them. These people have the right idea, after all. It is important to talk about your faith. So the next time they came around and rang his doorbell, he began witnessing to them. He continued to do that every time they returned. At first, he was met with some polite, yet apparent, hostility, but soon he had them questioning their faith.
That’s what good witnessing does–it makes us think about our own belief system. After a few weeks, leaders from their church must have found out, because suddenly they stopped coming and new people rang his doorbell. These people were obviously avoiding his discussions that made the other questioned, as though they had been given specific instructions on what to do with “those people.”
So there’s my suggestion for all the readers out there annoyed by religious callers. Take a hint and talk about your faith to them.
Maybe they need to hear it.
witnessing, faith, soul, church, convert, religion, witness
October 31st, 2006 at 12:15 am
Allison…what a nice follow up. I’m happy to read it.
I’m a little confused but still curious…you say “not every way will work, and not every way is good for your soul.” Talking about your faith should be good for everyone’s soul–and if one tactic isn’t working (such as door-knocking) it shouldn’t be up to the person behind the door to modify their behavior–though it could be a combination, certainly.
I don’t think I’m advocating against witnessing as much as I’m advocating for mindful witnessing. I’m advocating for thoughtful expression on both sides of the coin. Repeated knocks don’t typically wear someone down, and just as repeated “we’re not interested” doesn’t shake their tenacity.
I’m saying that I have always been more open to dialogue with people of different churches when they take a moment to understand the person on the other side of the door. After all, it is their life that they are trying to step into for a moment. To exhibit qualities of thoughtfulness, mindfulness, and respect would open more doors, and spread the message to a greater constituency…
That’s my 2 (I know it feels like 50) cents!
Best wishes,
CP
October 31st, 2006 at 8:09 am
Evangelism is such a tricky topic, because what apeals to one person may not apeal to another. For example, I can’t watch more that 2 seconds of any one televangelist without getting a headache, but that same televangelist may bring many people over to his beliefs for everyone one of me who changes the channel.
I was witnessed to in many different ways. The ones that worked for me were the ones in which it was a personal discussions were I felt comfortable and free to ask the questions I needed answered.
While some methods may not apeal to me I’m aware of the fact that others might enjoy a different approach.
I agree with CP, though in that it is important to try and empathize with the person you are hoping to connect with or all you may do is generate hostility.
Great post Alli.