First Impressions

10/3/17     Gus       about 50

First impressions…

I recently posted my intention to reach out to my neighbors just as I have reached out with the Gospel to strangers on the streets and in the marketplace over the last eight years.  Here are my initial impressions.

I went into this thinking that it was very different from street outreach; that talking to people on their front steps is completely different from the public square and that I would need to change my approach.  I turned to various outreach ministries online, especially YouTube, for advice.  What I saw there was mostly appalling, and it wasn’t just the false teachers that troubled me.

Besides their false teachings, the complaint many people have about the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons is their canned approach, otherwise known as their spiel.  A “spiel” is defined as “a fast speech or story, intended as a means of persuasion but regarded with skepticism or contempt by those who hear it”. 

The Christian outreach ministries I saw on YouTube were mostly appalling in my opinion because not only did they involve a spiel, they also involved a “bait and switch” sales strategy that I find to be misleading and dishonest.

I think I made the mistake of thinking I needed a spiel, when all I needed was a little honesty and heartfelt conversation.

I’ve only gone to 6 doors since my last post.  Not enough to have learned anything, but enough to gain a first impression.  I tried to go to a lot more, but the newer homes in my neighborhood have locked gates far from the front door with no doorbell.  I guess cell phones are the new doorbell, and you only get to ring if you know the occupants personally.

The first three homes I went to with a spiel and a lot of dread.  My spiel involved presenting myself as a Christian neighbor out simply to get to know my neighbors and let them know how various ministries of my church might be a blessing to them.  People are savvy enough to recognize a sales pitch when they see it, and I had real reason to feel a sense of dread.  I didn’t believe in what I was doing and they knew it, because I came across as pushing church rather than sharing the Gospel. 

3 doors, 0 meaningful conversations.

This phony approach has been weighing heavy on my heart, and I’ve been delaying putting it into action.  Today I finally realized that I should just use the honest approach that works so well for me on the streets.  When people come to the door, just explain that I am asking my neighbors an interesting question – “What do you think happens after we die?”

3 doors, 3 very meaningful conversations.

The last one was beautiful.  Gus came to the door.  He is a local contractor I have known for years but lost track of and didn’t realize he lives so close to me.  He unexpectedly lost his wife to suicide two years ago, and has wrestled with questions about her fate and his own.  I was able to counsel him with the Gospel, as well as catch up on each other and people we know in common.  We talked maybe twenty minutes, but he was running late for an appointment.  He knows where I live, and has all my contact information.  If I don’t hear from him, I will drop by again in a few months.

Throughout my life, when I have taken new steps of faith God often gives me initial success to encourage me in that direction.  He just did again today :)