Thinking about putting your faith into words
 Regular Network Norwich columnist James Knight takes a close look at reaching out to those around us with our faith.
If we are to be good explicators of the Christian faith we must do our best to walk in Christ’s shoes. Hard enough as that is, it has struck me that one of our biggest challenges is to strike the right balance between being both firm and tender with our companions, interlocutors, challengers and antagonists. By ‘firm’ I do not mean ‘harsh’, I mean that sometimes we find we have to convey the message in a quite trenchant way. Or to put it more bluntly there are some people who speak enough nonsense to warrant such trenchancy; we will get nowhere with them if we prevaricate. We are told that we should always be respectful, and that, of course, includes being respectful to people with whom we do not agree. But it is not, I would say, very respectful if you think somebody is mistaken or deluded and yet choose to leave them this way without any attempt to offer an alternative viewpoint if they are open to hearing one.
We find in this world many great people who are outspoken with their convictions and many great people who are more subdued in their method of communication. It seems very likely that the biggest impression will usually be made by those who are somewhere between the two. The main problem arises when the outspoken Christians do not have the first clue about being tender and the introverted Christians do not have the first clue about passionate conviction and strident argument. Of course, there will be variances - there are many strident explicators who know very well how to be tender and there are many subdued Christians who can express themselves perfectly well with sound reasoning and exemplary debating methods. But it is equally true that if too many Christians fall into one of the aforementioned mutually exclusive groups, the Christian faith will suffer because of it.
In the world today there is a tradition which frowns upon those who are able to stand tall in a debate (particularly if they are Christian), but we should not be overly concerned, for even great things like modesty and politeness can be seen as false if the observer happens to wish for something different altogether. The nation places individuals into categories to suit its own ends. If humility is mistaken for sentimentality there will be widespread discontent; and equally, if the seeds of confrontation are allowed to grow into thornbushes we shall see that really precious things face the danger of marginalisation. If the awful atrocities of terrorism have taught us one thing in the 21st century, they have taught us that conviction, bravery, courage, fortitude and togetherness in responding to and countering such acts are still as revered as they ever have been.
One of the biggest challenges is helping people to realise that true charisma is a glorious thing, for it often brings about an impressive duality of respectfulness and assertiveness (although it is always the job of someone else to point it out in others, it would be bad to confer such qualities upon the self). Whenever we meet a Christian man or woman who is able to show an abundance of charisma, we should draw as much influence from them as we can. To be assertive and respectful at the same time is a great gift, for with all the best will in the world, in our discussions with atheists we are bound to experience many more moments when our interlocutor is just about to drive us crazy and bring out the worst in us with his or her (what seem to us) ill-conceived rejections of our contentions - after all, debating can be a frustrating activity.
I do not think that it is merely our job to behave this way whenever we can. I think we are at our best when we take it one step higher; that is, when we actively search for opportunities to exhibit a good combination of love, intellect, conviction, passion, grace, and tenderness - we not only make a good impression on our companions, we make giant strides in convincing people that Christianity is both powerful, accessible, and rich in grandeur.
 A lot of our success is going to depend on our attitude towards serving God. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7) - not just in giving money, some of us don’t have much money to give, but in giving all things that we are able to give, and I think the key to good witnessing is to delight in the opportunities presented to us. Those that try to witness because of reluctant compulsion get found out very easily, for such delight in knowing God should bring with it no reluctance whatsoever in our desire to reach out.
I remember many years ago hearing a travelling preacher speak in one of Norfolk’s local village halls. It seemed very evident to me that he was a charlatan; yet as his collection bag came round at the end, I got caught in the brevity of the moment and reluctantly placed some money in the collection bag. Here was the absolute worst of both worlds. I neither gave with unconditional delight nor turned away in umbrage. I contributed ungraciously, the very worst option of the three. Later on I felt some vindication upon reading in one of the local newspapers that my original analysis of his charlatanism was probably correct; but that did not alter very much my feelings about my giving.
From all this I want to draw the following conclusion - one that we all know very well but of which we need little reminders every now and then. The greater appreciation we have for doing the right thing, the greater our passion and enthusiasm will be for doing it. If our daily journey teaches us one thing, it is this; if our message is not seasoned with love, grace and respect, even in those times when we have to be trenchant, we can succeed in winning many small battles, yet still fail to win the war. The greater our desire to reach out to people, the greater our desire will be to give all that we can whenever we can; our friendship, our sympathetic ears, our kindness, our knowledge, our wise words, our charity, our respect, our admiration, and most importantly, our love and our grace. This is important for two reasons; in the first place, it helps us grow and become better characters, and in the second place, it helps create a better impression for others to see - after all, it is usually the case that people read the Christian before they give any thought to becoming a Christian themselves.
Another message next week.
The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Norwich, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users. We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted below, upon the ideas expressed here. You can also contact the author direct at james.knight@norfolk.gov.uk
James is a Norwich local government officer, author and Proclaimers church member in Norwich. You can access his current collections of columns here
Meanwhile, if you want to find out more about Christianity, visit: www.rejesus.co.uk
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