In I Once Was Lost, Everts and Schaup unpack five thresholds postmodern skeptics usually cross on their way to faith in Jesus. I summarized them in a previous post and we looked at the first threshold, trusting a Christian, here.
The second threshold is that the skeptic must become curious about Jesus. Just because a skeptic knows and trusts a Christian, doesn’t mean he’s curious about Jesus or on the verge of becoming a Christian. Curiosity tends to grow from awareness of unanswered questions and options, to engagement with someone who can help answer these questions, to exchanging ideas, questions, and opinions with a Christian friend.
Everts and Schaupp suggest several ways we can provoke curiosity in our friends, based on Jesus’ interaction with others in gospels.
1. Encourage questions. Jesus is asked 183 questions in the gospels. He answers 3 of them, and asks 307 questions back. There’s a time to give a clear-cut answer and there’s a time to encourage our friends to ask deeper, more important questions. Are you an answer giver or a question asker?
2. Use parables. Jesus used open-ended stories to invite others into a deeper conversation about the Kingdom of God. What movies, novels, and tv shows can be used to engage our friends in a spiritual conversation? Which of Jesus’ stories are particularly provocative for our skeptical friends?
3. Live curiously. Jesus surprised people with his actions, which prompted more questions. How can we live in such a way to instigate conversation?
The goal in this threshold is to point our friends to Jesus and the surprising things he said and did. Nothing provokes more curiosity than the “Kingdom of God” and the way Jesus talked about it and lived it out.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons