By and large, Christians like to speak. They have something of eternal significance to say, after all. Yet how many of us are poor listeners? So poor, in fact, that far too many Christians don’t have any non-Christian friends. They think they do, but they don’t. If you have been a believer for any length of time, count the number of genuine non-Christian friends you have. Not acquaintances, work colleagues or people you knew from back in the day that you see twice a year, but non-Christian people regularly and consistently involved in your life.
Now there are a number of reasons for this, but I think one of them is because we are not any good at listening. We want to reach people for Jesus, and yet I wonder how many of us actually know anything about the people we are trying to reach. What do they like to do? What are they interested in? What are their fears and dreams and hopes and ambitions? Far too many Christians know far more about the life of Jonathan Edwards than that of their next door neighbor.
If we want to build authentic relationships with people, then surely we must develop a genuine interest in them along the way, not just strategically in the hope that an "opportunity" will come along. How many people do we know that we are engaging in conversation with, but we know they’re not listening to us. They are just waiting to jump in with their point of view. No sense of personal interest or dialogue. They just want to talk at you. They know what an unbeliever's ultimate need is, so they just sweat and worry and think of ways they can get the gospel into the conversation. I am asked at least once at every church I visit about how to start a "gospel conversation" with unbelievers in a natural way.
Here are some tips.... Read more
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