Where do these ideas come from? Am I a glutton for punishment or what? Last Sunday in church, pastor George was weeping as he prayed for the lost people of our city. I have rarely seen that…. and I was moved.
I decided it is not enough to walk out of church and say, ''that was a great service'. After all, how many churches have a sign over their exit door that reads, "You are now entering your mission field"? Is all this motivation just for the 'other guy in the pew down from me?'
So I had this idea. Why not get a couple other people to be accountable to, and let's try to share our faith EVERYDAY this week with someone. I knew it was daring, but certainly I could do it for one week. After all, I am an evangelist! I love to share my faith, but like most others, I often find myself getting too distracted with the busyness of life. I felt I was missing many opportunities just because I was to busy, distracted and fearful.
I like the story of the pastor who was greeting people at the church door as they left the service. He found one lady he did not know, and said, "what is your name?' She said, 'my name is Mary.' "What do you do Mary?" She looked around herself covertly as if someone could be listening. She softly said, 'pastor, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ cleverly disguised as a corporate secretary!'
That's it! Our profession is not who we are. We are His ambassadors, His witness, His spokesman! I think it's time the church came 'out of the closet' and started lovingly sharing our faith often, don't you?
So here we go. For 5 days next week I will send you a daily log of my daring experiment….I am sure I will learn a lot about being an EVERYDAY WITNESS.
Monday, Day One
That's right, I am still doing "daring" things in my 50's! What's my dare? I'm going to be an "EVERYDAY WITNESS' for one week. I am going to share my faith with an unbeliever 'EVERYDAY' this week. How's it going? Well, I am 3 days into it, and by God's grace, I have now shared my faith with 6 people.
Here's what happened on Monday:
I'm driving home from the office and realize I haven't shared my faith yet. I realize I have to MAKE THINGS HAPPEN by allowing myself to be available. So I stop and get gas, even though I don't need any right now. Instead of paying at the pump, I go inside to pay. I figure I will talk to the cashier.
While I am getting ready to pay, I look behind me and see a teen with a cross around his neck. (Crosses are great door openers!) I complimented him on his cross, and asked him what it meant to him. He said it was a gift and he just liked it.
Well, this is my opportunity if I want to take it. So I asked him (remember, always get permission first), 'may I share what the cross means to me?' He said yes, and I shared my story. Nate was genuinely listening.
I said something like this: 'There was a time in my life when I was lonely, discouraged and knew there had to be more to life than what I was seeing. Someone told me about a God who really loved me… not just a dead, religious ritual kind of God… but one who even died in MY place for MY sin! His name was Jesus. I asked Him to forgive me of the junk I had done wrong in my life. I asked Him to be in the 'driver's seat' of my life. Since He is really the one who is making my eyes focus, causing my brain waves to work, keeping my heart pumping my blood one million miles a day, and holding this universe in perfect symmetry , I guess I should trust Him with my life. Anyway, after I surrendered to Him, He forgave me, gave me new peace and direction, and became my very best friend! And I just know that if I had not surrendered my life to Christ, I might be very successful in some areas of my life, but I would be highly dysfunctional in other areas. So, thanks for listening, Nate!"
I gave him a tract he could read, and left my cell phone number on it. He seemed very polite and was intently listening to me. I asked him if he had ever heard this message before, and he said, 'no, not like that'.
I drove away a happy camper, knowing I had lovingly planted a seed that will be hopefully watered by someone else.
Tuesday, Day Two
I have decided to share my faith everyday this week! Notice, I said, 'I decided'.
It really is MY CHOICE if I want to be His witness.
So far, I am really having fun as an EVERYDAY WITNESS! Yesterday, I shared my faith with a 18 year old teenager named Nate. After I saw the cross hanging on his neck, I asked him if I could share what the cross meant to me. He listened intently.
Tuesday: On the way home from the office, I decided to follow up on Nate. He was working again in the gas station, so I went in to buy a newspaper. He was cashiering, so as other people are in line, I asked him how he was doing. He recognized me and said 'OK'. I asked, 'did you read the booklet I left for you?' He said 'not yet, but I will'. I told him I will stop in again.
Well, now I am having so much fun with this EVERYDAY WITNESS challenge, that I am looking for another opportunity.
Later that night, I ended up talking to a customer service rep on the phone. We had to wait a couple minutes for something to boot up, so I said: "While we are waiting, may I share with you the greatest thing that ever happened to me?"
He said yes! So I shared my lifestory: BC –what my life was like before I met Christ TP- what was the Turning Point in my life where I was searching AD- what change Christ has made in my life It only took about one minute, but afterwards he thanked me for sharing.
Once in a while I find myself sharing with someone who is already a Christian. They often say something like, 'I'm proud of you. I wish more people did what you just did." It's going well. So far in 2 days I have shared my faith 3 times. I have a feeling the best is yet to come!
Wednesday, Day Three
My daring streak is continuing. I am choosing to share my faith everyday this week. I am getting less nervous. Does that means I am getting more bold? Isn't that what Paul prayed for in Ephesians 6… more boldness? I guess we all struggle with our fears, don't we?
Wednesday: I am sitting in my office when the UPS man delivers a package. I complimented him on his great attitude and smile, and then asked, "Sir, may I share with you the greatest thing that's ever happened to me?" He said, "go for it."
So I did…. BC, TP, AD… what my life was like Before Christ, what was my Turning Point that got me thinking I needed a change, and what my life was like Anno Domini (Latin for the year of our Lord). In other words, how has Christ impacted my life personally?
When I was done, he said "congratulations!" And with a big smile, I said, 'THANKS!' And he was gone… but some powerful seed was sown.
Later I stopped into a Sprint store and saw a man waiting who was wearing a large gold cross around his neck. Again, cross jewelry is a great door-opener. I complimented him on the cross, and then asked him what it meant to him.
He was a little shy, but told me it meant a lot because he was a friend of Christ. I told him we were brothers! Now I am on a roll.
Later while shopping at the Sharper Image store, I engaged a clerk in conversation. After 5 minutes of chit-chat, I asked him if I could share the greatest thing that ever happened to me. He obliged, and I did. But his manager came around and asked what was going on. I told him, and asked him if I could also tell him my story. He said yes. So I did.
Now both were listening intently since there were no other customers in the store. I left a smile, a tract and my phone number... ..and they had something to talk about.
Wow! Three in one day… it's fun being an EVERYDAY WITNESS!
Tom Elie
Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries
