Earlier in October, Andre and I went to the Passion for the Nations conference. One of the speakers, James Choung, addressed this issue. He actually wrote a book called "True Story" that expands on this. But for now, I'll share a couple things from his talk that shed some light on sharing Jesus with my friends...
Before we talk about our friends, let's rewind and think about your parents and other adults you know who are over 45 years old. They're considered part of the "boomer" generation. When they were going through high school and college, there was a big emphasis on finding facts and proving data. The big question they wanted to have answered was "What is true?"
Now, consider some of the younger adults you know, roughly 25-45 years old. I'll include myself here with the "X-ers." We grew up getting "truth" hammered into us, but we saw that even with all that head knowledge, we still ended up with dysfunctional families. Instead of hearing advice, we want meaningful relationships and meaningful experiences. The question this generation wants to have answered is "What is real?"
But, you might be saying, most college students are only 18-23 years old. The people you run into on campus or at the gym already know everyone has their issues, and aren't so concerned with touchy-feely conversation. What they (and maybe you, too...) are interested in is what can be done to fix the problems. They are joining 'causes' on Facebook, volunteering in their spare time, and tackling every problem imaginable from human trafficking to world hunger to cancer. For the "Millenial" generation - idealistic, action-oriented, hoping to change the world - the big question is, "What is good?"
What are the implications of all this? Obviously, these are generalizations. Some people share values with other generations, and there are always those who are counter-cultural. But basically, what James Choung was setting us up for was a recognition of how our culture has changed. Now, the Gospel doesn't ever change, but sometimes the way we present it does...
- If you were sharing the Gospel with a Boomer, you might focus on proving how the Bible is true and that following Jesus makes logical sense.
- If you were sharing the Gospel with an X-er, you might share from personal experience how knowing Jesus has brought peace and healing in your life.
- If you are sharing the Gospel with a Millenial, he or she is going to want to know if following Jesus actually does any good, for their family, their community, and for the rest of the people in the world who are suffering under all sorts of oppression and injustice.
What would you say to that? In your experience, have you seen how Jesus' teachings and His work through the Holy Spirit have brought about good in the world?
In closing.... In your conversations with friends or acquaintances, see what happens if you mention something along these lines:
- that you're trying to figure out what's good in the world
- that you've tested out what Jesus has to say about life and have found that it's good
- that God wants to see goodness and justice and you've found purpose in helping work for those things through your faith in Jesus.
Evangelism often seems scary and awkward. But when we believe that the Gospel truly is good news, we might open the door for conversation with our friends - meaningful, relevant, and good conversation.
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