If I was baptized when I was an infant and never had anything to do with God after that, am I a Christian?


If I do all the “Christian-stuff” – go to church, read the Bible, pay my tithes – but get drunk three nights a week and sleep around, am I a Christian?


If I’m white and I live in America, am I a Christian?


Someone, somewhere, believes the answer is “yes” to these questions.


That’s why, when sharing the Gospel, “Are you a Christian?” isn’t the best question to ask. The definition of “Christian” has become so distorted that many times the answer won’t help you discover much about the person’s belief system, and if it does, it paints you into a corner that is hard to escape. Once they’ve answered that question, to promote change in their life you might have to challenge their core beliefs about a word - "Christian."


A better question is: “Are you a follower of Jesus?”


Because “Christian” means “follower of Christ”, it is the same question but skirts the issue of allowing false definitions of “Christianity.” Asking someone if they are a follower of Jesus gets right to the issue.


Consider these two over-simplified conversations.


A:

“Are you a Christian?”

“Yes.”

“So, have you turned away from sin?”

“I don’t believe you have to do that to be a Christian. God is forgiving.”

(Now, to go further, you would have to attack their core belief about what it means to be “Christian.”)


Or,

B:

“Are you a follower of Jesus?”

“Yes.”

“So, have you turned away from sin?”

“hmmmm, probably not as much as I should.”

(Their views of “Christianity” have been sidestepped.)


Do you see the difference?


Most people would recognize that a “follower of Jesus” would be a person who turns away from sin, but that quality is often lost in many people’s definition of the word “Christian.” Using “follower of Jesus” as opposed to “Christian” moves straight past this problem and goes to the heart of the matter – Jesus wants us to follow Him and following Him means basing our lives on who He is and what He wants. For many, the definition of “Christian” doesn’t include surrendering our lives.

Jesus said, “Go, and make disciples” and disciples are followers. When we share with others, asking the right questions can avoid many difficulties brought on by semantics.


Try it out and see. Conversation is much easier when you know the right questions to ask.

This last Sunday I took a team out holding signs in the court square of Madisonville, KY. There were about 30 people in 4 teams doing different activities throughout the community.

There were 6 of us on the square and only 5 signs.

I distributed the signs and thought to myself, "Ah, I get a break." My goal was to sit on a nearby bench and take a few pictures.

The truth is, doing outreach NEVER comes easy. There always has been, and always will be a part of me that wants to find any excuse to step away.

Thankfully, God stayed on me. I kept thinking, "You are so lame. Here you are motivating people to share the Gospel, and when the opportunity comes, you are the guy trying to avoid it."

I soon talked myself into it and walked about a block down where I saw a guy roofing an awning over a nearby business.

I struck up a conversation with him, telling him we were here holding signs about Jesus and I thought I'd come talk to him.

He came down off his ladder, sat on the tailgate of his truck and spoke with me at length.

The guy had spent 13 years in jail for murder and admitted that, coming out of jail, he had almost slipped back into a "bad life" but that he was trying to walk a better road now.

He said he believed in God and respected people who were religious but he didn't go to church but "someday" he would probably start doing that.

I shared why "someday" isn't a great way to live life. (See more about that HERE.)

When I told him the choices he makes today influence the choices of so many others he listened intently. He said, "You might not understand this, but in the projects, a guy like me - with a background like mine - I don't know, people look at me differently when I try and make something of myself."

He was admitting that people look up to him and that he is directly influencing people each day.

Right then, as I was telling him that his friends and family were, unknowingly, relying on him, a buddy of his pulled up in a decked-out SUV with the bass pumping. The SUV-guy nodded and said, "what's up?" and the guy I was talking to nodded back. And that was it. The guy pulled away.

I said, "Like that guy ... you know he has no guarantees of tomorrow, right?"

My friend said, "You got that right."

As we continued to talk, I explained the Gospel and challenged him not to waste another day. I told him that the only reason I was talking with him is because we had 6 people and 5 signs and that I believed God designed it.

I finally said, "I'm going to lay it on the line with you. Today is the day you should make a decision. So I'm just going to ask. Will you be the man of God He wants you to be? Will you say "yes sir" to Jesus and give Him everything, right here and right now?"

Then I shut up.

And waited ...

and waited.

He stared at his cup and toyed with the straw.

The silence took F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

Then he said, "I know there's only one right answer to that question ... I just don't know ... I just ..."

He told me he had a child on the way later this year and a daughter he didn't meet until she was 13 because she was born soon after he went to jail. I told him that was all the more reason he should serve Jesus - that his new child would always know him as a true man - a man of God.

We exchanged cell phone numbers and said we would stay in touch and before I left I prayed with him - that God would hound him and hound him, that he would lose sleep at night and be frustrated until he surrendered to Jesus. I believe it is just a matter of time.

And ... it all started with me deciding not to "take a break."

Getting started sharing the Gospel will never be totally easy, but once we get past that initial fear and apathy, God often shows up.

When people find out I wrote a book, they often say, "I have a book idea I want to write," or "How do you do that? I don't think I could make it happen."

Writing a book is pretty easy.

Here's a formula that changed my perspective on writing:

Writing = Your Backside + A Chair

It's the soundest little tidbit I've ever heard when it comes to authoring a book. Writing a book takes sitting down and writing, then sitting down and writing, and then, you guessed it, sitting down and writing. Next thing you know, you have a book.

Sure, there's a lot more to writing a good book, but the process is similar. Develop a theme, then write. Receive good writing training, then, write. After that, collect resources, and write. Submit the work for peer and professional reviews, and then write. Edit, and rewrite. Repeat the last step so many times your brain turns to mush and people wonder if you are on drugs.

The only way to write a book is to take it one manageable, tiny, chunk at a time. I started this blog by opening up my word processor, hitting the letter "W" and following that with the letter "h". I'll keep hitting keys till it's done, I'll re-read it and make some changes. I'll submit it and edit a few more times before I send it out.

Anything you do in life follows this pattern. You can only do what you can do right now, and that is always a small and manageable chunk of the big picture. Writing a book is simple because each step is simple. When you put all the simple steps together, you end up with something big and satisfying.

So, what are your big, god-given dreams, and what simple steps are you taking to work toward those dreams?

There is a leader in my church district who has the big goal (some call it a "pipe dream," he said) of doubling the number of churches in Kentucky.

How will it happen? He's meeting today to plan, and then will start, step by step, to implement the ideas. But, it will definitely start with one new church, a 2nd new church, and so on.

Want to lead someone to Jesus? It will start with sharing the Gospel with one person, a 2nd person, and so on.

Want to give away a million dollars? It will start with one dollar, a 2nd dollar, and so on.

The foundation you lay today is the support for the entire structure of your life and big structures require huge foundations.

If God has given you a dream, the only way that dream will become reality is for you to move forward, and the only way forward is one step at a time.