Just Walk Across the Room: Share (Your Time, Your Self, Your Love)

Have you ever met someone that is different than you? How do you handle meeting someone whose values are different than yours? What do you do if you cross paths with someone who drinks more than you, or votes for "the other guy", or whose life clearly demonstrates that they have no interest in what God has to offer?

In the final session of Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels said that his response would be to demonstrate "radical inclusiveness" and "err on the side of giving grace." That's a far more difficult response than withdrawing or judging.

In Luke 5:27-32 and Luke 19:1-10, Jesus encountered sinners. In both cases, they happened to be tax collectors. Instead of condemning, or giving them a list of sins to stop, Jesus reached out to them and visited them in their homes. Both tax collectors even invited their friends to meet Jesus.

Jesus commanded us to make disciples. To do that, we need to meet those that aren't yet disciples, and we need to demonstrate Christ's love--the radical love and grace that put us where we are, not by our own works or righteousness or value. That means it is up to us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to reach out to the rest of the world.

One way to reach out to potential disciples is a "Matthew Party", inspired by the party Levi (a.k.a. Matthew) threw in Luke 5:27-32. It's simple, really. It's a party. You invite people. Some are believers, and some aren't. Bill Hybels suggests a majority of non-Christians (1:3 to 1:5 ratio). Josh Hunt suggests a majority of carefully-chosen Christians. However the ratio works out, the idea is not to dogpile the non-Christians or force-feed them the Gospel. The idea is to have a party that is fun for everyone, and that can develop relationships through which disciples can (at the right time) be made.

There are, of course, many other ways to reach out to potential disciples. If you'd like to share ideas, post them in the comments!

Just Walk Across the Room: Share (Your Story)

The third session of Just Walk Across the Room was about sharing your faith story in a way that appeals to people. After all, why walk across the room to scare someone off or bore them to tears?

The DVD gave some excellent examples of how to tell a bad story, and of how to tell a good story. In a nutshell, keep it short, clear, and to the point. Briefly tell your listener what your life was like before your experience with God, what your experience with God was, and how that experience changed you.

For a couple of examples of faith stories from scripture, check out John 9:24-25 and Acts 22:1-21.

The end of class was spent working on polishing the way we tell our own faith stories. If you're interested in sharing (or just practicing in a friendly environment and getting feedback), there will be opportunities to tell your story in class in the weeks to come.

Just Walk Across the Room: Care

The second session of "Just Walk Across the Room" was about caring for the people that God puts in our lives. More than that, it was about reaching out to people whose paths we cross, so that we do more than just cross paths.

As Christians, over time we discover that we are surrounded more and more by fellow believers. And while the fellowship of believers is wonderful, we're more effective in reaching unbelievers for Christ if we truly care for all of the people that we meet.

The DVD session told the story of Dave, a guy that Bill met as part of a sailing team. Over time, Bill developed a friendship with Dave. Their common interest in sailing brought them together, but it was Bill's intentional kindness toward Dave--asking how his week had been, how his wife was--that moved them from teammates to friends. It was that friendship that allowed Bill to help Dave through the death of Dave's father. And Dave credits that friendship and care with helping him on his journey to faith in Christ.

Jesus cared for others, and not just people that already believed. Luke 15:1-2 gives a glimpse of Jesus's love for others overpowering the pressure to only spend time with the "good crowd".

This week, I encourage you to prayerfully look at your own life. Who do you share a common interest with, but aren't connected with? "Walk across the room" to them, with no agenda besides loving them and enjoying your common interest.

Just Walk Across the Room: Prayer

It's not often that the sermon and ABF lessons intentionally coincide, but that's what happened tonight. Pastor Bob started his sermon series on Just Walk Across the Room, and Marriage Matters started our DVD-based series.

The DVD told the story of Brian, who came to Christ years after Bill walked across a soccer field and introduced himself. Bill showed Brian that he cared, even after his invitation to come to a holiday church service was rebuffed. Years later, when Brian needed wise counsel, he sought out Bill, and God opened a door to sharing the Gospel.

The focus of our discussion was on having a passion for seeing people come to Christ. In Romans 9:1-5, Paul revealed the depth and strength of his desire to see his fellow Israelites saved. Jeremiah shared an analogy that might be helpful in understanding the stakes: if you were getting off a train that you knew was going to plunge into a river before the next stop, why wouldn't you tell the other passengers?

The first two steps are prayer (for your own heart, for opportunities to build and deepen relationships, and for the lost to come to Christ) and taking that "walk across the room". You don't have to do anything unusual. Just be yourself. Introduce yourself. Ask their name. If it's someone you already know, invite them over for dinner or to do some activity together.

What makes you hesitate to "walk across the room"? And how do you overcome that hesitation?