Art of Rhetoric

2/8/18             Micah           about 25

I walked into our local coffeeshop after work today with the intention of initiating a Gospel conversation.  When I walked in the place was strangely empty, except for three men, one of whom was Chicago’s mayor!  He looked directly at me and we made eye contact, like he was expecting me!  I knew he wasn’t but was probably waiting to meet someone, and when I looked at the other two men standing inconspicuously around the shop, I realized they were his bodyguards.  I felt so intimidated I turned around and walked out!   

It made me feel like the early years of outreach, when I was often frozen with fear at walking into a public place for this purpose and the mere thought of doing so made by blood run cold. 

After running some errands, I returned an hour later and found the coffeeshop back to normal.  I found Micah, in her senior year as a communications major, working on her computer, so I asked if she would be willing to take a study break to respond to a question – “What do you think will happen to you after this life and how did you come to your present belief?”   

I’ve found that by asking how people come to their belief they are far more likely to answer, because many people love to share about the milestones in their life that have made them who they are today.  

 For Micah, it was a chance to do some reflective thinking about things she admitted she hadn’t thought about in years, and she really appreciated the chance to share it with someone who cared to listen.

Micah is African American with a Catholic father and Baptist mother, and her church experiences have left her with the conclusion that its all just basically “B_S_” – which she stated before she knew my position.  Later, after I told her I’m a Christian, I asked what she had meant by this.  She realized that the basic message of Christianity had never really made sense to her.  She had felt that like all religions it is basically about certain morals and values, and the cross was a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice meant to set the ultimate example of self-sacrifice for us to follow.  I walked her through the biblical narrative, beginning with Adam’s broken relationship and the need for all of us to come back into a right relationship with God, not through self-righteousness, but through the righteousness that only Christ can give.

As a senior, Micah’s area of concentration is rhetoric, which she described as the art of persuasion, so it meant a lot to me when she repeatedly told me my explanation of Christianity was the most compelling she has ever heard.  She had to make an appointment to go meet a friend, but stayed as long as she could and received my church invitation and some further information about the Gospel which was now starting to make sense. 

 

I may not be ready to talk with the mayor, but with a lot of practice over the years I have learned how to present a compelling case for the Gospel to people like Micah.  I am grateful for the ability, but I know that no amount of persuasion can bring new life to a heart dead in sin.  This is something only God can do but in which He invites us to participate. I have accepted that invitation and now, for Micah’s sake, I pass that invitation on to you, dear reader.  Will you pray for Micah?