Week 4 - Sharing your faith story

Okay - so I've been slacking with posts!

But let's recap quickly - so everyone can share their story, you are able to share your faith just the way you are, and you need to build relationships first, share your story second.  I think that about sums it up right?  God can use you however you currently are, you don't need to become a preacher to impact people with your faith.  And in order to impact people, you need to first get to know them.  So like Kat said in class - each lunch with someone.  But there is no need to feel some kind of crazy pressure to say "Hello, my name is Steven.  Do you know Jesus?"

So this past week we talked about a couple of things.  The first was image.  We went through various images from McDonald's to Aflac to Geico, and on.  And our point in that was that when we see certain images, we instantly think of something.  And the challenge was - what do people think of when they see you?  What image do you have to others?  And is it possible to build your image to the point that people will think - There's Steven, he loves God and loves people.

And second to that was how to share your faith story.  We talked about how it breaks down into three parts:  before Christ, meeting Christ, after Christ.  So in general, if you were to tell someone about your faith, you will typically start off by talking about where you were before you believed.  What you did, what life was like, etc.  Then you'll talk about the experience of meeting Christ - how you truly "came to faith".  What did it feel like?  What triggered it?  And so on.  And lastly you will tell them about how your life has changed since you have known Christ.  So this is the after story and usually in comparison to the before.  "I used to...now I am..."

So it is a pretty simple concept that really comes very naturally when you think about it.  But don't forget the other things we've learned.  This is typically not a first conversation with someone.  Take the time to get to know a person.  Take real interest in them and connect with them where they are.  Over time there will be opportunities to bridge your building relationship with your faith and when you take advantage of those times then the discussion will more naturally flow that way.  And when the question comes up "Why do you believe?" then you know you can easily break it down into "before Christ, met Christ, after Christ" and very easily tell the story.

You all continue to be great fun in class and I hope you keep thinking about more ideas for videos!  I will be giving our two new videos to Brad and hopefully we'll get them posted online or something like that soon.

I hope you all are having a great week and look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Second Week A Great One!

I hope you all enjoyed week 2 as much as I did!  I'll recap what we talked about:

Being a Contagious Christian benefits everyone involved!  It makes you better by growing your own faith as well as the joy you get by doing what Jesus asked us to do - go tell people about him!  It benefits the person you reach out to because, well, they get saved!  They get to be in the family with the rest of us!  And it benefits God because His plan is being achieved and, like we talked about with finding the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the entire reason Jesus came, He throws a big ol' party when another person connects with Him through believing in his Son!

We talked about how this is all a process.  Someone plants a seed, someone waters, but God is who makes it grow.  When it comes to being a "seed planter" or Contagious Christian, we talked about how Jesus described His followers as Salt and Light.  Salt has three qualities - adds flavor, preserves things, and causes thirst.  So when we're being the Salt, we are adding something special to people's lives, caring for others and our society, and causing people to want to learn more about the One who makes us salty - God!  And remember, salt just sitting in a salt shaker doesn't do any good!  We need to sprinkle ourselves around!  Light has two big qualities that we discussed.  First, it does not just sit around, it spreads out everywhere!  And second, it causes people to be able to see better and provides "clear vision".  So remember the equation?

HP + CP + CC = MI

High Potency - This is just being really salty!
Close Proximity - This is us getting to know others, sprinkling our salt around!
Clear Communication - This is us being the light, making all this stuff clear for folks!
Maximum Impact - This is the end result - more followers of God, more friends & family in Heaven!

And never forget - we do all of this because people really matter to God.  And I mean, ALL people REALLY matter to God!  Like we talked about, it is challenging to think of everyone that way some times, but it's true!  Jesus didn't come just to save the good people of the time, He came for everyone because PEOPLE REALLY MATTER TO GOD!  Like the story says, the Shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to find the one that wandered away.  Why?  Because PEOPLE, EVEN THE ONES WHO WANDER AWAY, REALLY MATTER TO GOD!

All right, so the "homework" this week is to send me or post here creative ideas on how we can use this word "contagious" in funny ways to get across our points!  And remember, just like the shirt from my work (Strong Enough (front) To Care Enough (back)) ideas don't have to be long and drawn out but short and attention getting work!  So I look forward to hearing your ideas and seeing what we can come up with as various ways to get our message out.

Thanks again for a great week!  See you all at Revolution on Wednesday from 7 to 9pm!

Week one down - let's start talking

Today was fun and it was great to get to know everyone taking this class with us on Sundays at West Ridge!  Help me with learning your names and hopefully it won't take me too long!  I hope many of you take advantage of this blog as a way to voice your ideas, thoughts, questions, etc.  Be sure to sign up as a follower and you'll get automatic emails when I post topics and others make comments.

It was great to hear that we have a real mixture of students who are outgoing and who feel shy.  The wonderful thing about becoming a Contagious Christian is that EVERYONE can be one!  Like we talked about today, you don't have to be a superstar in front of people or the most outgoing student in your school to impact others and lead them into a relationship with God.

Next week we will do our first session - the Benefits of Becoming a Contagious Christian.

Until then - let's talk about where we left off.  I mentioned that Starbucks has a slogan that says "We are known for our coffee, but our people make us famous."  As I explained, what this means is that everyone knows that Starbucks makes coffee, but the real reason people go there and are willing to spend more money to get that coffee is because of the people that work there and the fact that their friends and family tell them they need to try it.  So just like Starbucks, us Christians are known for God & Jesus, but it is our people (you, me, everyone to comes to church, other Christians) that really connect our friends, classmates, and others to God & Christ.

So let's discuss:  What are ways people have made an impression or "told you" about church?  How have you seen others tell people about church?  What do you think works well and what do you think doesn't work so well?

And here we go...

Welcome to the online continuation of our discussions!  Send this link to friends, neighbors, whomever you wish if you think they would like to participate!  I will be posting questions, comments, etc. on here so we can continue to chat during the week.

Be creative and outspoken, and appropriate!