Witnessing for Dummies

Excuse me while I step up onto my soapbox...

There is something that really bugs me about Christians. Christians who do door-to-door evangelism, and when I tell them I am already a Christian and attend church regularly, they continue their speech as if they didn't hear me!!

This happened today- some Jehovahs Witnesses stop by.

The worst situation was one time when this man came from the Baptist church. He began his speech, and I immediately told him that I was a Christian, and he continued his speech. He began to mention Bible verses, and I began to quote verses that I knew that were relevant to what he was saying. He still continued his speech! So I continued to discuss my relationship with God and Bible verses, etc. Finally, he invited me to attend his church after I told him I had a church I regularly attend!

Brothers and sisters, sharing the good news about Christ is one of the most important things a person can do in life. I want to share the goodness of Christ with as many people as I can and do whatever I can to draw more people to Him. But, folks, let's not be idiots! If you knock on someone's door and they tell you they are a Christian and you continue your speech, then 1-you don't really care about the person anyway, you're just out to make a speech, since obviously you weren't listening to what the person said; 2- you are insulting that person's intelligence, as if they were either lying to you or not "saved" enough; and 3- you are mismanaging your time and energy...wouldn't it make more sense to move on to someone who is not a Christian rather than waste your time trying to "save" someone who is already "saved"?

Alright, I'm stepping off my soapbox now... may I live in a way that draws people to Christ without being a robot! :)

Burn out or flood in?

I was talking to my mom the other day about different jobs that I could do in social work, and I started thinking about something that's so crucial.

You hear all the time about social workers getting "burn out" because of working really hard jobs, such as being case workers for child abuse and neglect. Aside from social work, people in society say they could never do certain jobs because of the amount of suffering and evil they would see. People fear becoming jaded and they fear losing their peace of mind that even though evil exists, we're still ok. They fear that somehow in the process of confronting horrible and unimaginable circumstances, that slowly the amount of goodness in the world will dissipate.

Friends, brothers, sisters...I believe these ideals are mistaken. If anything, I believe Scripture and the very nature and character of God would lead us to the opposite. He is the Wellspring of Life! Everything good comes from Him, and nothing that is not good comes from Him. As long as we allow His Spirit to dwell in us, we will be like a spring in a desert, sunshine in darkness, rain in drought. His Spirit gives life, and nothing that it touches remains unchanged. Facing suffering and evil should push us closer to Him, that He may pour out more of His Spirit on us. Facing suffering and evil should provide an even starker contrast that we may see and believe more than ever how good God is and how true the goodness is that He has placed on the earth.

I will boldly and gladly face anything God puts in front of me on this earth. If he sends me to work in the inner-city to counsel murderers, if He sends me to be a case worker for child abuse, if He sends me to war-torn regions of Africa...I will do it all knowing that what is not burned in the fire is refined by it, a beauty to behold. :)