'Talking Jesus'

An article in last week's Church Times caught my eye under the headline 'Survey brings good and bad news for faith sharers'.  It detailed some of the results from a report entitles Talking Jesus commissioned by the Church of England, the Evangelical Alliance and Hope UK and is all about how Christians might share faith and the reactions people have to such conversations.  Perhaps the most significant line was this one:

...after a conversation with a Christian about his or her faith, 42 per cent of non-Christians said that they felt glad not to share the faith; and 30 per cent said that they felt more negatively about Jesus'.

This is a well researched and well balanced report that just highlights how difficult it can be to talk about faith with our friends and colleagues.

Ever since I've been in the ministry I've been conscious of a certain 'activist' mindset among both leaders and members of churches that lays guilt on us by saying mission is essentially about 'getting out there and telling people about Jesus'.  I've always been suspicious that if it was simply that easy why didn't it work whenever I've tried it!

I've often talked to family and friends about faith and by and large the response has generally been the same -  we have agreed to differ.

Words, I would suggest, are not enough.  So many other factors are also important such as the person's background, current situation or experience of local churches.  No ones pilgrimage is ever the same because don't we believe that God can communicate his love and light to us in all sorts of ways: through kindness, unexpected companionship, nature, struggle or simply a eureka moment!  When preachers tell us to 'get out there and share our faith' they are, perhaps, not being overly mindful of the contexts and stories of the people 'out there' to whom we are being sent.

I know none of this is easy.  I'm deeply grateful for people who find it natural to talk about faith and invite friends to church.  Yet I'm equally grateful for fellow pilgrims, perhaps introverts like me, who quietly yet faithfully seek to 'live out' faith among their families and friends.

I'm sure this report isn't intended to stop us talking about faith, rather it just recognises that 'mission' is so much bigger than simply 'one beggar telling another beggar where to buy bread'.  Faith sharing is surely living ones life alongside others in such a way that the presence that hopefully energises and motivates me becomes an integral part of my character and may, or may not, 'touch' others around me.  Surely it's not enough to simply 'gossip the gospel' - instead shouldn't we be striving to 'live the gospel'.

Best wishes,

Ian