A deeper conversation

As I start this one, I've got no real idea what I'm going to say.

Because that's life. It's easy to write and re-write emails to perfection. In fact, these 60 Second Bible Studies take me between 20 and 30 minutes to write before I hit the "send" button. But in life, there isn't a keyboard. Or Google. Or 2-3 Biblical reference guides to help you.

Here's what I'm getting at, my friend Mark went to work on some pottery on Wednesday night at Miami University. When he got to Rowan Hall, there was a young gentleman sitting at the metal smithing station. Mark, being a friendly guy said hello, mentioned what he was doing there and noticed the guy smithing a metal "A". So Mark asked, "Is that for your mom? Girlfriend?"

"No, the 'A' is for 'atheist'", was the reply.

No Google. No Biblical reference guide. What's Dave Workman's phone number again?

So Mark just smiled, muttered out an, "I see...ok" and just kept talking to the guy. Even offered him a ride home as the the rain began to hit Rowan Hall. Later that night Mark called me, told me about his conversation with his new friend, Derrick, and asked me what he should have done.

My guess was (and still is) exactly what he did. Be a friend. Show them kindness in action. A favorite quote of my friend Sean Micheal Murphy is simply, "Proclaim the gospel...if necessary, use words".

I spent the last hour looking up the words "Christ/Witness" and "Atheist/Witness" on Google and I found some strikingly simple results. Tell an atheist they're going to hell and they will more than likely invite you along for the trip. Show an atheist kindness, real genuine kindness, mercy and grace and they'll wonder why. Keep doing it and they'll wonder why they can't do that themselves. That's when the conversations start. Not about high gas prices. Or about the weather.

But real conversations. The deep ones.

And this is where most Christians say they feel the most uncomfortable (I researched that too). So this week, I'd encourage you to think about, maybe even write out your testimony. Just tell it from the heart. If you didn't know Jesus, how would your life be different? Really. Truly.

Because there's an atheist out there crafting a metal "A" out there to wear around his neck. My prayer is that in the near future he can tell people it stands of "Accepted by Christ".

(In the spirit of this message, I didn't edit or rewrite this email. Sometimes you gotta like what you said the first time. Now, go write your testimony.)

Have a great week. Please pray for my friend Bob Fathman's health, for Katie and Clayton's wedding and, of course, Derrick.