How to leave a Spiritual conversation

I love that God promises to reveal himself to those who seek.  Asking a question starts to roll a ball down a hill.  It may be a tiny bump and the person is not ready to talk.  That’s ok, we give space to process.  If we find the ball going down a steep mountain, we may not have the time to engage in a really long conversation.

We always keep in mind that we do our part and our role is limited. 

When we partner with God in our part, we trust that He will do his part.  So much of a spiritual journey (or spiritual formation) happens with a deep and personal experience with God.

Imagine a complex symphony.  Our role is that of the cymbal percussionist.  99% of the symphony are other players responding to the conductor.  We patiently wait our turn and when our time comes, we bang our symbols and it’s a part of the beautiful symphony.

When we find ourselves in a spiritual conversation, there is a logistic to politely “landing the plane”.     

Here are a couple things we can encourage people to do.

1.     We give them a 2 minute warning and let them go.  When they leave, we passionately pray for them privately.  We ask God to use the interaction for his purposes.  We reflect on our technique.  Was I loving?  Did I honor Christ? Do my positions make sense?  Is there a better way I can say something?

2.     Tell the skeptic to consider how Jesus saw reality.  Even if they reject Jesus, you can encourage most people to sit down and think through his perspective. 

3.     Encourage them to spend alone time with God.  (They need to seek!).

4.     Encourage them to read the Bible.

a.     Ask them if they have a Bible handy?  If not tell them that they are about $15 on Amazon or tell them how they download a free copy

5.     Encourage them to check out a Bible believing church.

6.     Invite them to join a small group / church group.

a.     This is a big step for some, especially if they were hurt in some way.  We don’t shove an infant into a lake and expect them to swim.  No, we put floaties on them, we talk with them by the dock. We get in the water first.  We slowly, carefully and tenderly put them in the water.  We help them start to enjoy the water. 

7.     Offer to meet up with them again in the future

8.     Give them you phone number and email address.