Monday 19 August 2019

Speech Therapy Needed?

Speech Therapy Needed?
The New Testament has many examples of people who met with Jesus and who could not keep quiet about that experience.  Some shared how they had been healed; others simply told their friends, or their entire community, what an amazing person Jesus was.  There was no need for any kind of training; they simply shared what they had experienced.

There are some 10 million people living in the rural areas of the UK.  From the age of 17 I spent the following 25 years as a ‘professional’ evangelist, telling people in villages around Britain about Jesus and how wonderful it is to know him as a personal Saviour.  But I became aware that all the rural mission societies put together were only reaching around 2% of the rural population. There had to be a better way to make Jesus and salvation known.

When we started Rural Mission Solutions in 1988, our vision was to encourage and enable Christians in rural locations to articulate the gospel, and for churches to become mission oriented.  I feel that, to date, we have largely failed, and I wish I knew why. What can I do to get rural Christians intentionally talking about Jesus?

The first sermon I preached in a church, at 18 years old, was on Numbers 32:6, ‘Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? “  Even then I was clearly concerned about the passive Christians who form the majority of church congregations.  The story behind the text is Moses seeking to motivate a section of the People of Israel that sought to compromise on the plan God had for them.  Since then I have preached and spoken similarly seeking to motivate Christians to action and to sharing the message of the gospel. Various texts and passages of scripture have been used, such as the following.

2Kings 7:9 “‘What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.”  Four men with leprosy had seen God’s saving power and stumbled on food supply vital for the survival of the people starving in the city a short distance away.

Ezekiel 33: 6 “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.”

Roman 10: 13-15 “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
But, despite a lifetime of encouragement and exhortation, the vast majority of rural Christians (including possibly the clergy) fail to make the message clear and plain to others.  It is as if it does not matter whether they hear about the effect the cross and resurrection could have in their lives. Do we think that our silence has no consequences?

I have a friend who is a speech therapist.  There are several different aspects and causes of speech impediments. Her skill and experience brings the gift of speech to those who would otherwise remain silent or stammering.  Her aim is not only to get them talking but able to converse effectively. I have been wondering whether some kind of therapy is needed to get Christians talking about Jesus.  

What might be the cause of the problem?  In some cases it is that people in our churches know about Jesus but have not come to actually know him.  In such situations they will have nothing to say. Others maybe struck dumb with fear of embarrasment We are frightened of looking silly or being judged.  Still others are convinced that only professional preachers called and gifted by God to speak can tell people about Jesus. And some might like to talk about Jesus but wrongly feel that they need special training and be competent to answer every awkward question.

My first efforts as a new Christian and a teenager were was then called “fishing”.  I stood outside an evangelistic meeting with a bundle of leaflets and simply asked people to come in.  A few days after that I gave my personal testimony in a meeting. That was followed by giving out gospel tracts and simply inviting people to read them  I did this to people sitting on Hastings seafront and sitting in local cafes. I had not training, and was probably not always as effective as I could have been, but confidence and ability grew from these beginnings.

A great tool that used to be available to help get conversations started was an enamel badge which I believe used to come from an organisation called Turn to Christ (no longer existing?).  The badge consisted of three steps sequentially coloured black, red and white. People always enquired what the symbols meant. These days we are careful about using black as a symbol of sin as it can have an unintended racial interpretation.  But there are great badges with the words “Ask Me” that will do the job.

In previous issues of P&P I have written about the value of Guest Services for churches.  Special invitation cards can also be conversation starters. One organisation wisely suggests getting some experience in personal evangelism by working alongside someone who has done it before, and also doing it somewhere other than the village where you live - at least for starters.
I would love to hear from you.  You might like to make a start talking about Jesus and just need some support.  You might have developed your own way of starting conversations. Or the whole idea might terrify you.  Please let me know. We have 10 million people in rural Britain and most still need to hear about Jesus and the change he can make in our lives.  Somebody somewhere needs to be making a start. Is it you?

Please contact me at barry@ruralmissionsolutions.org.uk.  I’d love to encourage you or hear your stories.

Barry 19th August 2019

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