I am normally not a fan of ten steps to this or five ways to do that. But for one of my recent talks I came up with these six things to remember about being around those who may not yet be Christians, and thought some of you might find it useful.
1) Assume everyone is searching for God. Why? Because everyone is. We were created this way. God has purposely frustrated humanity by creating us with eternity in our hearts, yet with an inability to fathom what that is or what it means (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11). He has done this so that we might reach out for him and find him though He is not far from any of us for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:27-28).
2) Come alongside. This is really the crux of it all. Just walk alongside people and enter into their lives. Listen. Talk. Laugh. Cry. Find out where you can contribute and what you can learn. There’s something to give and something to receive in every relationship.
3) Point. You don’t tell someone what the truth is; you point to it. “There it is over there,” or “Here it is in my life.” This is why we need to learn to identify truth in the context of the world around us. Truth isn’t religious. You don’t have to get into a certain posture to see it. It’s not something that hasn’t been there all along.
4) Find out what people already know before you set out to tell them anything. Don’t ever think you have to clear the table and start over. This is why it’s so important to listen first. Find out what’s already on the table that you can use.
5) You don’t have to tell everything you know. Just the next thing.
6) You don’t have to correct everything someone says that is wrong. You are not the protector and defender of truth. You don’t have to decide where to draw the line. You don’t even have to be concerned if someone may be walking away with the wrong idea. You are not that smart anyway because you don’t know what’s in someone’s head. As long as they have something to think about, that’s a good thing.
And now here’s the one final thing that makes all this possible. It is the most important of all. (This is the one thing that makes all six of these make sense.) We don’t save anybody, convince anybody, “win” anybody to Christ or close the deal. All that is God’s business. The Holy Spirit is doing this all on His own terms and timetable. We are not salesmen, marketing reps, counselors or prosecutors. We are just friends who come alongside.
John Fischer The Catch 
I really like this; it makes much sense to me.
Well said, John!
Thanks, John. Good reminders. May I add one more thought? No one can be “my” disciple; I am only helping helping others be disciples of Jesus. It is not my goal to have anyone follow me, but rather Jesus in me.
Important distinction.
I love all of this, yet this spoke right to my heart: “We don’t save anybody, convince anybody, “win” anybody to Christ or close the deal. All that is God’s business. The Holy Spirit is doing this all on His own terms and timetable. We are not salesmen, marketing reps, counselors or prosecutors. We are just friends who come alongside” have to add an Amen to that and ohhhh how i wish someone could have whispred it to me years ago… In fact something like that came into my life last week and I stopped “witnessing” and trying to correct them and jus listen to them – and lo and behold, I now think / believe a good friendship is begining – thanx brother John
Well said! This one deals directly with my impulse to control the outcome, and learning to yield to the direction of the Holy Spirit and the sovereignty of God. He alone knows what it is that people need. My role when it comes to witnessing is to make sure that His Fruit is revealed in my life, and to manage my walk with the Lord.
I particularly like #2. “Come alongside!” Isn’t that what the Holy Spirit does for us? That Greek word we write as “paraclete” that means “one who goes alongside” always reminds me of the coxswain sounding out the stroke for a crewing effort, the basketball coach running down the sideline to call out a play in the last seconds of a game, the running buddy who comes up beside you when you’re running out of gas and huffs out the idea that you can keep going, the person who shows up and sits beside you when you’re facing a crisis (or pats you on the back as you get ready to do something that stretches you), or the person who comes to your show, game, concert, competition, graduation–even though not caring anything about that type of show, game, concert, competition, or graduation–just to encourage you. That’s the way I experience the Holy Spirit working in my life and, I hear you, that’s the way we ought to “be” for others. As you can tell, that one captured my attention.
Also Cleopas and friend on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35); as well as Philip and the Ethiopian on the road to Gaza (Acts 8: 26-40).
very cool
This sounds like you and Doug Pollock have been hanging out together. His book, “God Space” is right down this alley.
I’m not the only one. Isn’t it confirming to find others are finding out the same things?
John, you know you are bringing the love language of God to print in this writing. Thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit in your heart and seeing the world the way God sees the world.
Thanks … each deserves a discussion on living them out … good for future Catches I hope.
Thank you for this “wisdom,” John! We can learn a lot by watching children, too; I love to watch the way they “come along side” each other at our local park; they too, have a lot to teach us “big ‘folks.” Thanks, again…
Amen!
Hi John – I’m proud to tell as many people as I know that I know you, pray for you and praise God for your influence as a prophet. I posted this email on my blog and am excited to be able to get more people to sign up for the Catch and support you in all that the Spirit is giving you the energy, passion and insight to put your hands to! Love to you brother…
Robin
Thanks John! I’m glad I got turned onto this by Robin. I love how you close. I think those of us in ministry as well as the rest of the church (universal) get caught up in that especially. Perhaps we give ourselves too much credit or we are trying to gain control of something that is more turbulent in nature (the Holy Spirit) and that desire for control bleeds into all the other steps. Thanks again!
This piece made me think of how coming alongside needs to be practiced within the body of Christ, too. People feel the need to fill up the silence and talk, rather than listen or simply be present. Sometimes, words are not needed and can even be hurtful, even when well-intended. I hope you will write a catch piece expanding upon point #2 from this piece.