Researchers assert that it's a lost art. In fact, not too long ago, I read an article from a Christian leadership website that made the assertion that most church-going people don't talk about their faith. Now, anytime I hear statements like that, I wonder what exactly they mean by that. I think there are levels of faith talk that are important for us to consider, and I can see where researchers may be lead to make assertions like this.
First, there is the level of simply talking about church life. You go to a church, you like your church, and so you talk with other people about your church. This is a relatively safe level. You aren't really getting into anything too personal nor too controversial. This level of conversation revolves around talk of activities and who attends the activities. Sure, you may talk about what you learned at one of the activities, but this level still remains fairly generic, in a sense.
Then, there's the level of talking about why your church does the things that it does. To use an example, this is where you talk with others about why your church wants to have an active youth group. You want to help kids out. You want to provide a safe environment for them. You want them to grow up and know the faith of their parents. You're getting a little deeper into reasons, and as you do that, you open yourself up a bit more. Maybe you don't like the direction, or you think there are other things that could take place that would do a better job. Maybe the person you are talking to doesn't see it as an important issue. The deeper you go, the more open you are about yourself.
This previous level is one that we sometimes dive into. But to take it to the next level is the challenging one, and the one that I would imagine most researchers are actually talking about when they say that people don't talk about their faith. This is the level at which you explain WHY you believe what you believe. It's the level where you talk about the specifics of WHAT you believe, and how it impacts your life. It gets very personal. It opens you up to the other person. They can see your motivations. They see those things that are important to you.
Now, from one standpoint, it's kind of understandable why church people would be reluctant to go to this last level. It's very personal, and we tend to only open ourselves up to those that we know, with whom we have developed trust. But that's also the very thing that is hard to build if we don't open ourselves up to others. We are afraid that someone might not understand, or that they might see us in a less positive light if we reveal these things about ourselves. And so, we clam up about talking about what Jesus means to me, and why it's important that I believe He rose from the dead. We have a hard time talking about the hope that we have in the resurrection. And as we struggle with that, many look at us and wonder why we have such a tough time speaking about it if it's so important to us.
Maybe we need practice at this. Maybe we need to take a new approach, that of opening ourselves up to others regardless of what they do with our openness. And maybe, as we do that, we'll get more comfortable doing it, and our conversations can move from the first level to the last level, and that just might be the means by which God's Spirit works to draw them to Jesus through us.
First, there is the level of simply talking about church life. You go to a church, you like your church, and so you talk with other people about your church. This is a relatively safe level. You aren't really getting into anything too personal nor too controversial. This level of conversation revolves around talk of activities and who attends the activities. Sure, you may talk about what you learned at one of the activities, but this level still remains fairly generic, in a sense.
Then, there's the level of talking about why your church does the things that it does. To use an example, this is where you talk with others about why your church wants to have an active youth group. You want to help kids out. You want to provide a safe environment for them. You want them to grow up and know the faith of their parents. You're getting a little deeper into reasons, and as you do that, you open yourself up a bit more. Maybe you don't like the direction, or you think there are other things that could take place that would do a better job. Maybe the person you are talking to doesn't see it as an important issue. The deeper you go, the more open you are about yourself.
This previous level is one that we sometimes dive into. But to take it to the next level is the challenging one, and the one that I would imagine most researchers are actually talking about when they say that people don't talk about their faith. This is the level at which you explain WHY you believe what you believe. It's the level where you talk about the specifics of WHAT you believe, and how it impacts your life. It gets very personal. It opens you up to the other person. They can see your motivations. They see those things that are important to you.
Now, from one standpoint, it's kind of understandable why church people would be reluctant to go to this last level. It's very personal, and we tend to only open ourselves up to those that we know, with whom we have developed trust. But that's also the very thing that is hard to build if we don't open ourselves up to others. We are afraid that someone might not understand, or that they might see us in a less positive light if we reveal these things about ourselves. And so, we clam up about talking about what Jesus means to me, and why it's important that I believe He rose from the dead. We have a hard time talking about the hope that we have in the resurrection. And as we struggle with that, many look at us and wonder why we have such a tough time speaking about it if it's so important to us.
Maybe we need practice at this. Maybe we need to take a new approach, that of opening ourselves up to others regardless of what they do with our openness. And maybe, as we do that, we'll get more comfortable doing it, and our conversations can move from the first level to the last level, and that just might be the means by which God's Spirit works to draw them to Jesus through us.
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