Two conversations this week have reminded me of the importance of specifics in our missional conversations. Both conversations were filled with 'good' things that I hold in common with those that I spoke with - things like being nice, helping others, righting wrongs, even pointing people to God. Both conversations included a similar thought - believe in God, be good and in the end it will all be OK. Both individuals arrived at their conclusions based on what they believe - which seemed to be a rather baseless opinion - a mix of this and that - firmly rooted in little more than a 'belief.'If I had let the conversation end with 'God and 'Good' I would never have discovered the truth - in our culture far more people believe in and talk about 'God' than not. The Great Divide comes when we push beyond the general and generic 'Good God' to the only way TO that 'Good God' - Jesus. We may have many 'God' things in common with a Muslim, or a Jehovah's Witness, or a Latter Day Saint - but when we push through the generalities and guide the conversation to the specific - Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life and no one (NO ONE) comes to the Father but through Him, When we push through to the true Gospel - we find that all things in common fall loudly to the floor.
We must let the Holy Spirit guide us and be sensitive and loving in our conversations, BUT at the same time being missional means that we understand that the focus of the mission is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore - with humility, sensitivity, and the leading of the Holy Spirit - we must learn to move beyond the comforts of 'God Talk' and wade into the dangerous, delightful, transforming waters of the Gospel!
