I had a visiting student pull me aside last week. We were having a kick-off big party for our Small Groups. We had food, karaoke, and a enormous slip-n-slide. It was pretty much just a fun night (as it was designed to be). The goal was to have fun and to get students signed up for small groups.
Anyway, this student (which I have never met before was there). I introduced myself to him and he then (very disburbed I might add) asked if he could talk with me. So after about 20 minutes we found each other again and we went off to the side to talk. He then proceeds to rip me up one side and down the other about how church ought to be about God and not all fun and (what we were doing). He was highly agitated. He had obviously spent several minutes working up his argument. I just stood there thinking... "are you kidding me? I was not expecting this."
This kid used more analogies for God and Christianity than I have ever heard in my life. I finally after another 20 minutes stopped him (I had said all of about 4 words) and asked if we could meet up again some other time. He agreed.
I mean this guy was so passionate about what he was saying that he scared me (of course the things he was saying were not even close to being accurate, but he believed them 100%). He has not called me yet (and not sure if he will) but here is my question... What do you say to someone so consumed with thinking that God is all serious?
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6 comments:
I think I'd start with...
"Hey, can we discuss this over a beer?"
Wait.
It might be cool to see if he could tell you some of the things he does for fun. (If you can get him to get un-spiritual for a moment.) What does he enjoy doing with his homies? What does he do when he wants to relax?
The next question is...is God glorified in that stuff or not?
At times like these, I always like a good "Your momma..." joke. For example, "Your momma likes having fun". Or how about "Your momma's God likes to have fun." I think "Your momma..." can be followed by anything.
However, "your momma" jokes can go badly. Like the time I said it to someone with a dead mother, or that time Rachel was trying to sell me a marshmellow barn candle, I politely declined and she responded with, "Your Momma's a marshmellow!!"
I have often found the "Your Momma" evangelizing technique to be quite effective...
I agree with Todd about how God is glorified. I also think that for some reason this kid has been brainwashed into categorizing his life into things that are secular versus sacred. This of course is not biblical. All things are sacred. Therefore, the good "sacred" things that he participates in can actually be abused and used to glorify himself instead of God and that would be sin. Of course, that might blow his circuits if you tell him that.
Let us know if he does end up coming back to talk to you...
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