Keith Battle - Faith Conversations

I want to talk today about the subject of faith conversations. How do you have a faith conversation? Everybody say «faith conversation.» By «faith conversation,» I mean how do you engage in a discussion that is spiritual in nature and intentional? How do you share your faith with someone, expressing what you believe about God? And it’s not like they specifically asked for it. How do you initiate that topic without being offensive? Many of us feel uncomfortable having a faith conversation; we can talk about politics, sports, fashion, our diets, and cars, but how do we transition into a discussion about the Lord? How do we step into that unorthodox terrain that can be controversial? How do you enter that space when it’s not your norm? We often stick to discussing family, relationships, or TV shows, avoiding sharing about Jesus because we don’t want to disturb others. So, how do you have a faith conversation?

If you’ve been in church long enough, you’ll know that subject is often referred to as witnessing. How do you witness to someone? In church terminology, it’s called evangelizing or sharing the gospel. Those terms are fine, but they can sound a bit ecclesiastical. Using such classical terms in today’s generation can intimidate people. That’s why I prefer calling it a faith conversation because we have conversations all the time. How do you introduce your faith in these discussions? Because if I came here today and said, «All right, we’re going to teach on evangelism,» you might think, «Oh no, here we go.» However, if I say, «Let’s talk about how to have faith conversations,» we can relate because, at the end of the day, it is a conversation.

One reason these faith conversations aren’t happening as much as they should is that they could actually change someone’s life forever—like sharing about Jesus Christ during a faith conversation. I don’t mean two people discussing the goodness of the Lord; that’s fine too, but I’m talking about an intentional conversation with someone who doesn’t seem to have a relationship with God, someone who doesn’t practice faith. How do you approach that situation without getting rejected? You want to avoid sounding crazy, right? Some people only talk about Jesus; they turn every discussion into spiritual talk, regardless of the topic. You might be trying to discuss the game, and they’ll pivot to scripture. You could say, «My team won, ” and they might respond with, „We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.“ You’re left thinking, „I just wanted to discuss the playoffs!“

So, how do we engage in a faith conversation without coming across as weird? There are several reasons that make this challenging. One reason these faith conversations can be awkward is that we’re often not comfortable discussing them. If we had tools to help make us comfortable, it might be different. Another reason these faith conversations don’t happen is that some Christians adopt a separatist mentality. Not all, but some Christians are so saved that they don’t interact with unsaved people. They avoid them entirely. „I don’t smoke, I don’t club,“ they might say, binding that spirit. They’re really just scared that they might backslide. I call that out; they go bowling with fellow Christians, attend Christian movies, or share lunch only with other Christians. When they take a break at work, they might even pull out their Bible around unsaved coworkers.

If you become so deep in your beliefs that you can’t have a faith conversation with someone who needs it, then you won’t be able to connect with those in need.