talking to others about Jesus
It’s not easy to initiate gospel conversations in a secular age. There can be various reasons: perhaps unhurried interactions are rare, the vibe isn’t conducive to profound moments, or we fall into relational and conversational ruts that make the thought of going there seem painfully awkward. But what if the reasons for our silence go deeper? One way to become reinvigorated for a task is to reflect on what keeps us from doing it in the first place. Here, then, are three common reasons we keep quiet. 1. We ignore our context. In a post-Christian age, we can’t presume any basic assumptions in those we’re trying to reach with the gospel. So we must lean in and listen well to climb into our neighbour’s way of seeing and inhabiting the world. Otherwise, we’ll speak about terms—even biblical ones—that’ll be misunderstood or rejected outright. “God loves you” is great news but meaningless if you don’t understand the nature of God (or, for that matter, love). “You are a sinner” is true, but me...