Principles for Sharing Your Faith

Over the past several months, Dillon and I have been giving radio and TV interviews for Generation Hex, and one of the common questions we are asked is, "So how do I share my faith with someone who doesn't share the same beliefs?"

Here is what I've learned:

1. Listen first and talk later. Ask a person, "What's your spiritual background?" or "Did you grow up going to church?" These questions are open-ended and unjudgmental.

2. Throw your legalism, stereotypes and misconceptions out the window. But hang onto your personal faith and your wisdom.

3. Don't freak out at a person's response to your questions. In today's culture, it's not that uncommon for a person to say, "I'm a witch," "I'm a Rastafarian," "I'm an atheist," "I'm agnostic," "I'm New Age," "I'm no religion," and so on. Heck, someone might even tell you that he has seven wives, or that she was a member of David Koresh's compound in Waco. Everyone's experiences are different. And each person's story gives you clues into what makes that person tick.

4. Identify elements of that person's experiences and spiritual beliefs and use those to build natural bridges for sharing your own faith. For example, most of the time, people will throw the door wide open for me by saying, "I've tried Buddhism, and that's pretty interesting. And I spoke with a Jehovah's witness once, and that sounded good, too. I think that there are many paths that lead to God. There's no one way." And THAT will easily allow you to share, "I understand. There are many ways that seem right, but do you know what the Bible says? "There's a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." But Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me."

I'll share more helpful principles in the days to come! Questions, comments, concerns about Generation Hex or anything you heard on one of our radio interviews? Please post a comment here.