Honest Up Front

6/26/14          Steve            54

“Hey man, you happen to have an air pump?” a man asked me as I was out working on my car, walking his bike by on the sidewalk with a flat tire.  I did have a pump, so I was able to help him while engaging in neighborly conversation.  Eventually we got around to talking about my involvement in our local church, so I asked about his spiritual beliefs.  This part of the conversation was friendly enough, but naturally changed to another subject after about a minute, never to return, at least not today.  Why is it that when I begin a conversation with a random stranger on the street we can easily talk for half an hour or more, but when it is part of a more natural conversation it usually moves quickly on to other topics?  I think the key is “intentionality”.  The great commission is full of verbs like “go”, “make”, “baptize”, “teach” - all words that describe actions that don’t happen by happenstance.  If we wait until they happen by themselves – or wait until nonbelievers take the initiative, we will usually be waiting a long time and frustrated that what spiritual conversations we do have don’t get very far.  We will be seen as disingenuous if we try to manipulate natural conversations according to our own hidden agenda.  Better to be honest about it up front.  If we are serious about sharing our faith, we need to take some serious initiative.