An ABC of Faith

Conversation

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6

Have you ever noticed, that when Christians get together they seem to talk about everything under the sun but remain quiet about their faith.  It has been suggested:-

• That in the main, people seem frightened by the notion of sharing the christian experience as they had been led to understand it. They feel they lack the knowledge and confidence to share it.
• The language of faith sharing seems be in pre-formed labelled packages that people do not feel they really understood.
• That our approach to faith has been one of knowledge rather than experience and feeling and that courses and resources are the answer though there is little evidence to substantiate this.

 

So often our concept of Christian Conversation with other solely on the notion of “Proclamation” of the knowledge of faith in the form of “I know something you don’t know, and you need to catch up with my understanding which is more complete than yours” leaves many people feeling excluded.

What if we could grow a new generation of people who are confident and excited about having spiritual conversations based on experiences of life, living and encountering God

Such a conversational model starts with a desire to meet something of the divine in everybody, 

The Art of Christian Conversation has to start with an inner conversation where we get to know ourselves - and God - better. 

The word Paul uses for conversation in the original Greek is logos. It is the same as John uses in his opening chapter, “In the beginning was the word (logos)” Earlier in Colossians Paul talks about the Word (logos) living within us . Maybe that’s where our conversation with others should start. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. – Colossians 3:16 If we follow this guidance I wonder how changed with be our conversations.”

A Prayer:

Teacher God, your wisdom is beyond what I can comprehend. I ask that you open my mind to your teaching. Let me receive it, understand it, and apply it. Let worship be on my lips and in my heart. Let scripture guide my actions. Develop me into a disciple of God. Amen.