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I have been in a rut lately. A bad rut.
Let me explain.
Dr. Ware made an excellent point in class this past Thursday as he was lecturing on the Spirit’s empowerment for witness and His mission to glorify Christ. He counseled us to beware of all the evangelistic techniques and get straight to the gospel. He mentioned that there is a real likelihood that through building relationships with unbelievers, they can become so familiar with you and you with them that a rut develops which makes it very difficult to go from everyday conversation to the gospel.
For the past 2 1/2 years, I have worked at the same belt at UPS. All my coworkers know me and what I am about. In recent months, I have become frustrated with my inability to communicate the gospel on a more frequent basis with them. So about a month ago, I agreed to be a “quality trainer” where I would spend an entire week with a new hire, teaching and training them in their new environment. One of the reasons I desired to do this is the opportunity to spend one week with someone I have never met so that we can carry on conversation about our lives and more importantly Jesus Christ. This time away from my belt and everyday coworkers has been good for me as it has caused me to miss talking to them as well as spurred me on to spreading the fragrance of Christ (2 Cor. 2:15-16) across the Brown Town.
Last night (Friday night) was my first night back on the belt. I was kind of dreading it because I thought it would be long, boring, and with someone that I have already shared Christ. Plus, the loads on the other side of the belt were relocated, leaving the entire belt with just me and a coworker (my straight loader). The coworker who assisted me last night was a guy by the name of Nick who has been at UPS the entire time I have been here, but he and I have never talked about Jesus (he works on another belt). We got to talking about seminary, about me being a “priest,” then the Reformation (Luther versus the RCC), and finally justification by faith.
Nick was really interested in what I believe (i.e. what the Bible says) about being made right (justification) with God. I began with Luther and the Reformation and proceeded to talk about redemptive history, beginning with creation, the Fall, and redemption. From there I shared about Christ our Substitute, His righteousness as a gift, His blood shed for forgiveness, and His love for those who deserve God’s wrath. Three hours later, I concluded with a sincere appeal for him to flee to Jesus, calling him to repentance and faith. What I had expected to be a long, boring night turned out to be one of the most invigorating and joyous nights I have had at UPS. It also was the start of me getting of the rut.
It is no coincidence that, as I was being encouraged and forged in my faith to share Christ in the power of the Spirit, God gave me a pulpit where I could preach Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2) all night long. The longer we talked, the more excited I became, the more I longed for Nick to treasure Jesus. While he did not trust Christ last night, God did some amazing things (like changing his mind about salvation by works/justification, baptism/original sin, confession/forgiveness, penance, and purgatory) for which I am grateful.
Jesus said that when the Spirit comes that we would be His witnesses and that the Spirit would glorify Christ. Those two things have set my heart a panting. I pray that the Spirit of God would be pleased to empower me to so preach and live the gospel that Christ would be seen, savored, and gloried in. I am eager to see my friend and coworker next week as we pick up where we left off.
I am also eager to stay out of this rut too.
Thanks for sharing this encouraging story, Timmy! May the Lord bless you with more opportunities like the one you had last night!
BTW, the date on the POTW seems off….
Timmy,
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I will be praying for you and your co-workers.
SDG,
James
Beautiful story, brother. Maybe it hits even closer to home since his name is Nick! Dr. Ware’s insight is important — a point that I make with people in my church all the time. We spend a lot of time trying to learn evangelistic techniques, including some who want to say that it may take years of a relationship before we have the opportunity to get to the gospel — yet, that’s only when we wait years to get to the gospel. There is certainly an important element of tact involved, but for the sake of God’s Glory — Get to the gospel!
Thanks for sharing — May God transform the heart and mind of Nick.
I’m happy to read your encouraging experience! It always is a boost to see some potential fruit in our personal evangelism efforts. I think, though, you hit on something that gets overlooked at times when we are so eager to see an acquaintance get to that potential profession of faith or anywhere even close: time. Three hours you labored with Nick, but three hours is short for even asking if he would believe! Praise God for short, but short isn’t the norm.
I know this seems cliche, but you have been evangelizing even when not verbally doing so. Once your coworkers know you are a Christian, there is a silent expectation for you to ‘make good’ on that claim and people will scrutinize you for hypocrisy. It takes time to build trust. It takes time for nonbelievers to accept that you’re a normal guy and not a Christian nut.
Don’t lose your enthusiasm. Thank God you feel out of your “rut.” But remember, you may not be in a true rut even if it feels like it. Thanks for sharing!
*Letitia*
Praise God!
I’m sure you may already know by now, but just in case, we aren’t having any new hires coming out for about 2 weeks. So in light of this post, I’m going to be praying for that rut until we send some more new hires your way, dude!
You know, given our placement in the operation, I just realized it’s kinda weird no one’s tried to start a “church” of sorts at UPS yet.
Paul,
Thanks for the comment and correction!
James,
Thank you brother. I really appreciate your prayers.
Nick,
That’s right. Most of the fellow seminarians I know have a hard time developing relationships/friendships with unbelievers because they either live on campus or work in a church which makes it difficult to be rubbing shoulders with the lost on a daily basis. On the other hand, there are those in my situation who have cultivated great relationships with unbelievers, but due to that fact, find it difficult to confront them with the gospel and call them in love to repentance. I pray that the Lord will continue to turn these ruts into highways for gospel advance!
Letitia,
Thanks for sharing and the encouragement! UPS is a very unique environment to work. I would say that 90% of my coworkers are college-age students (about 60 of them in my immediate area). Two of them are new Christians, three others (that I know) are believers, and the rest are outside of Christ. I find my goal at UPS being not only to win the lost for Christ but also to encourage other Christians in their witness and holiness because the environment is very toxic and dark. But you know how it goes: the darker the night, the brighter the light that shines!
Stephen,
That’s the word I received. No new hires for two weeks. The past three weeks training in Building 1 was quite fun, and I met a lot of people. While I look forward to being back in that area to build on the new friendships, I am really excited about being back on my belt to share life with my coworkers. Earlier this year I had started a Friday afternoon fellowship which usually was bowling at Kingpin where about half the belt came to hang out (all unbelievers). We then would grab dinner together. That time outside of work was helpful in so many ways. I really hope to get that started again. Also, being in Building 1 I met several other Christians who are interested in The Protos Fellowship. We will be starting another fellowship in the UPS cafeteria soon. While I have not desired to start a “church,” I do hope that the Protos Fellowship serves as a ministry to encourage Christians and evangelize our coworkers by making the gospel “of first importance” in our lives.
TB,
I know exactly what you mean about UPS. I worked there during Seminary and it is/can be a very toxic and dark environment.
I praise God for your sharing. The conversion is His work, but the telling is His work in and through us. We are responsible for the telling and you have told.
That’s a blessing.
Now let me add, once you get into a traditional church role, it is even harder to find yourself in situations where lost people abound and your witness can flourish. That is, unless you are Kevin Bussey who trolls Starbucks for the opportunity to witness every day – and he really does do that – or the Journey (Church) in St. Louis who hosts Bible Studies in a microbrewery because that’s where lost people are gathering and talking. Neither are easy and both receive tremendous pressure from fellow believers to not do that.
*sigh*
I trust you will be a mold breaker after Seminary!
I should say about Kevin – I don’t know that anyone at his church has pressured him about being at Starbucks.
My “professional” ministry career (don’t tell John Piper I phrased it that way) has been inundated with people pressuring me to be in the office more and in the community less. It is wrong and driven by the idea that I should be available whenever they “need” me, so the expectation is that I should be in the office and receive them whenever the whim strikes.
I don’t really do it like that, but I also have people pressure me because I don’t.
Anyway…
Thanks for the inspirational post. 🙂
Great story! I wouldn’t worry about being “in a rut” as long as you’re living your life so transparently that such conversations are a natural consequence of living alongside others who don’ t know Jesus.
The genuineness and sincerity of our relationships should remain whether our lost friends come to faith or not, otherwise they feel like an evangelism experiment gone wrong. I agree with Latitia: evangelism is far more than just saying the right words.
~Bill~