Focus on the Family Magazine - December 2023/January 2024

FAITH & INSPIRATION / EVANGELISM
“Have you ever
wondered where
human rights come
from, if we’re just
atoms and particles?”
my friend John would announce,
“I’m just not interested in God,”
whenever the subject came up. That
threw me for ages, until one day I
noticed an Amnesty International
sticker on his Honda.
“Have you ever wondered where
human rights come from, if we’re just
atoms and particles?” I asked. That
question opened up an opportunity to
discuss how justice and dignity make
sense only if humans are created in
God’s image.
Questions that
lead to Jesus
Sometimes the right question leads
directly to Jesus. I was recently talking
with a university student whose biggest
obstacle to Christianity was the many
examples of church leaders abusing
their power for personal gain. How,
she wondered, could anybody take
the church seriously when some of
its leaders behaved like this?
As I considered how to respond, I
realized that once again a question was
appropriate. So I replied, “I share your
disgust over this, because it’s totally
antithetical to how Jesus behaved.
Have you ever heard the story of Jesus
washing His disciples’ feet?”
She hadn’t, so I read John 13 to
her, and then we chatted about how
10
%
of Christians feel
unequipped to share
their faith
—source: Jesus Film Project,
A Cru Ministry, 2020
countercultural His actions were.
I also spoke about the Cross and how
Jesus had ultimate power, and yet He
laid it all down. Rather than victimizing
others, Jesus became a victim to save us.
As the conversation ended, the young
woman asked for a copy of the Gospels
so she could read more of Jesus’ story for
herself. By God’s grace, the right question
had taken a hostile skeptic to the
point of being willing to give Jesus a
more careful look.
Andy Bannister is the director of the Solas
Centre for Public Christianity, an evangelism
and training ministry. He is also an adjunct
professor at Wycliffe College at the University
of Toronto and an adjunct research fellow at
Melbourne School of Theology in Australia.
His latest book is How to Talk About Jesus
Without Looking Like an Idiot.
“Have you
ever heard
the story of
Jesus washing
His disciples’
feet?”
HOW TO TALK ABOUT
JESUS WITHOUT
LOOKING LIKE AN IDIOT
by Andy Bannister
Learn how to speak about your
faith naturally in conversation.
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STOCKSY - STUDIO FIRMA
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FOCUS ON THE FAMILY CANADA
DEC 2023 / JAN 2024