If the heart of the Christian faith is the spreading of God’s good news, then what are ways that we do that best. Again, using the List of Ten, I’ve tried to make a list of how I think I can share the good news effectively. Make your own list and then share it with mine.
1. My faith is shared best when it is lived with integrity.
2. If I am going to err, it is best if I err on the side of compassion.
3. An effective beginning to sharing Good News is to listen to other people with sensitivity.
4. I think it is important to be able to be clear about what I believe so that in sharing, the other person can understand.
5. A good sense of humor and even some self-depreciation can be helpful in talking to others about the faith.
6. It is important to learn to resist the need to always be right. The ego is often a barrier to other people really hearing you.
7. Demonstrate care for the other person and their hungers before speaking of doctrine.
8. Be willing to live with questions. To acknowledge that you don’t have all the answers and even that you can learn from the other person’s thoughts, helps what you do believe be more authentic.
9. My witness is more effective if it is clear that I enjoy the journey of faith that I’m living.
10. Part of listening is to listen to tradition and see that those traditions can be a valuable part of understanding.
Because i am from the Reformed Tradition, I am comfortable believing that it is God who evokes faith in other people’s lives. What I hope for is that God can use me as one of God’s effective instruments through which that faith can be evoked.
