How to Begin a Spiritual Conversation from Scratch

Since there are so many misunderstandings about God, starting spiritual conversations can be difficult and frustrating. Like a car spinning its wheels in the snow, great energy is invested and you feel completely stuck.

How can you begin to talk about Jesus without being weird? What can you do when it feels like the anger is starting to simmer? When a moment arrives to talk about Jesus, it’s best to call a quick time out and begin to think of questions to ask to further a discussion rather than preach a sermon. If there are blatant misperceptions about what the Bible teaches, ask them how they arrived at that conclusion.

Since people have a minimal understanding of the Bible, there can be hidden layers of misperceptions about Jesus.

People are forming opinions about their own spirituality that comes from many sources. Therefore, when people are choosing to reject biblical truth, they are largely influenced by how they see the institution of the church.

Take the time to uncover these misperceptions by listening carefully and compassionately. If necessary, ask for forgiveness on behalf of the sinful actions from those who profess the Christian faith or represent the church. Forgiveness provides a clean slate – a chance to start again — and digs into the heart of why a person may reject the church and close their ears to the Truth.

Asking for forgiveness may even start with poor responses from the past.

I remember feeling the passion when the evangelical church entered politics to solve our nation’s problems back in the 80s and 90s. I enthusiastically supported the “moral majority” agenda. I was tempted to think when the AIDS crisis first appeared, that it was a deserving punishment from God rather than extending a hand of mercy. I favored groups protesting abortions clinics rather than offering a hand of grace to a woman in a crisis.

And I was not alone.

Thirty years later, the seeds of political activism to advance God’s kingdom has produced bitter fruit. This fuels a growing public sentiment that believes that the church is no longer relevant. People are no longer coming to church to find Truth during these troubled times.

Those who profess Christ and desire to share the Good News with others need to understand that for many people the concepts of “God” and “church” are intertwined.

When the church is seen as a place of judgement rather than a house of grace, people can perceive God as an angry, vengeful, temperamental jerk rather than a God who is full of grace and mercy.

How can we change the perception? Perhaps we can follow the example of the early Christian church.

Despite persecution and ridicule, faithful believers responded by stepping out with confidence to share the Good News with others. They verbally proclaimed the Word, and the power of the Word was unleashed. By God’s hand, the church exploded in numbers.

The Word still works today as it did two thousand years ago. We seem to be entering a time in history where believers are needed to scatter into the world to verbally spread the Word rather than waiting for people to come to church to hear it. People are not necessarily rejecting the Truth but rejecting what they perceive to be true. They are turning away from God because they have never heard the Truth in a clear, concise way.

Begin a conversation about God by clearing away false perceptions. Be willing to ask for forgiveness. Be ready to point to Christ and what he has already done. Instead of trying to win arguments on behalf of Christ, win souls through the power of Christ that is present in his Word.