We’re caught up in an epidemic of superficiality. There’s a lot of pressure to give the impression that we have it all together (#livingmybestlifenow), and social media hasn’t helped this at all. It seems that this has invaded our conversations too and made it harder to get beyond the surface level that we’re all so familiar with:
“Hi, how are you?”
“Fine, thanks. How are you?”
“Good…”
And then we part ways.
It seems quite difficult to get past this level of conversation sometimes, and the idea of getting to a place where we can share our faith seems really far off. On the one end of the spectrum is the humble ‘chat’ – which I do love, and it definitely has its place – and on the other end of the spectrum, there is the conversation where we get to share the most incredible news of all time: the Good News of Jesus Christ! How do we get from one side to the other. Often it can feel like we are like Sam and Frodo in ‘Lord of the Rings’ facing a great soggy bog that we have to somehow get across to reach our goal.
Here are a few thoughts for the journey:
- It’s not a soggy bog! – Conversation is a beautiful gift where you get to learn more about people – that’s part of loving them well. Reimagine it as a privilege.
- Don’t put yourself under pressure. . Enjoy being there in conversation, but listen well.
- Get some conversational tools, (here and here).
- Gently ask a question about value, meaning, or purpose to get the conversation moving deeper.
As you begin to converse and bait your conversation with hooks, people will share things that they value, like a cause, or things they enjoy doing – like meeting up at the pub with some friends. These are things that come up quite naturally in conversation, and tee you up to move deeper.
Once they are offered up in conversation you can ask a question about them, such as:
- Why is that important to you?
- Do you feel that gives you purpose? In what way? Why?
These are great to get things moving deeper!
Pray: “Lord, help me to steward conversation well, and see and use opportunities to go deeper”
Previously: Launch Pad #6 Stand Out Online (For All The Right Reasons)
