When I worked as a Medic I worked 12 hr shifts. Some days the time flew, other days the clock seemed to move slower than it did when I was in detention in Jr. High.
Slow days meant lots of time to get to know coworkers. I remember chatting with a new partner one time when the conversation moved to religion. I told him about my education and work in the church and he said, "I don't believe in God."
I asked him which God he didn't believe in and he described his strict religious upbringing, where he felt God was nothing more than an old man in the sky who judged his every deed.
He also talked about how his parents put on "Sunday Faces" appearing one way to their church friends and living much differently the rest of the week.
I told him I didn't believe in that God either. I told him I believed in a God who revealed himself in Jesus, who looked out for those who couldn't look out for themselves; who spent his time chillin' with "sinners," and saved most of his words of condemnation for religious people.
I shared my belief in a God who through his every action embodied love and wanted nothing more than for people to experience life to the fullest, embracing what it meant to be fully human. It was a great conversation.
Maybe the idea is to ask lots of questions. Ask people to clarify when they present ideas that are different than your own.
Get them to share their story. You may find it very similar to yours. You may even find there are some versions of God you don't believe in, and that is a good thing.
8 comments:
I love the question of which God don't you believe in. You are a master evangelist Brandon :p
love this
Thanks guys! CCC: never been called that before :)
When Moltmann brought up Freud, he pointed out that Freud was deconstructing a father god that was mean, angry, hyper-masculine, and was socially constructed to strike fear as to keep you subservient... Moltmann said he agree with Freud on every critique, but that the Crucified God was not the god Freud was talking about.
He said the cross was something completely different.
cool story.
Dig that. Thanks Lance!
According to a recent poll 71% of Americans believe in God with certainty, 58% pray at least once a day, but only 39% attend services - what does this say about our culture and the way we present God within religious settings? How often are religious institutions presenting a God that people CAN'T believe in?
Who is the God that America needs to know and be taught about - how can the church capitalize on nearly 1/3 of people who devoutly believe in God, but don't feel that the church is where they should worship?
Well put pastor!
God is the same today as He was yesterday... when we are deciding how to represent Him to get more people into church we've lost site of a critial piece of the puzzle... HIS WORD! It doesn't need to be softened or changed. Take Him as He is and it's up to us to share the good news. Not soften up parts of it so people will find it easier to believe. I agree there are people who have a twisted view of God.. but lead them to the Word and they have all the answers they need.
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