Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions (28 page)

Second, these missionaries could not have been interested in my salvation. If they were genuinely concerned about rescuing my lost soul, their first impulse would be to find out what I thought and why, then attempt to correct my errant theology. Isn't that why they go door-to-door, to witness to the lost, to give them the truth about God as they understand it? Yet they did not even listen to my point of view, much less try to correct my error. That tells me they didn't care much about my eternal destiny.

Third, I learned that they did not take the issue of truth seriously. Religious evangelism is a persuasive enterprise. The evangelist thinks her view is true and opposing views are false. She also thinks the difference matters, which is why she is trying to change other people's minds. Follow the truth, you win; follow a lie, you lose—big time.

A commitment to truth — as opposed to a commitment to an organization — means
an openness
to refining one's own views. It means increasing the accuracy of one's understanding and being open to correction in thinking. A challenger might turn out to be a blessing in disguise, an ally instead of an enemy. An evangelist who is convinced of her view, then, should be willing to engage the best arguments
against
it.

One of two things would then happen. She may discover that some objections to her view are good ones. The rebuttal helps her make adjustments and corrections in her thinking, refining her knowledge of the truth. Or it may turn out she is on solid ground after all. Developing answers to the toughest arguments against her position strengthens both her witness and her confidence in her convictions.

COURAGE UNDER FIRE

Here is the lesson: Don't retreat in the face of opposition. Too much is at stake. Be the kind of soldier who instills respect in others because of your courage under fire. Make your case in the presence of hostile witnesses. Throw your gauntlet into the arena and see what the other side has to say. It's one of the most effective ways to establish your case and to help you cultivate a bullet-proof faith over time.

Do not lose heart if your audience seems to get the best of you sometimes. There is an easy explanation for why we sometimes feel ill-treated or
ignored,
a simple reason why the scoreboard often reads, "Lions - 10, Christians - 0." Jesus warned us in advance: "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. . . .

If they have called the head of the house
Beelzebul
, how much more the members of his household!"
(Matthew 10:24 - 25).

This is exactly how our Savior was treated, and this is exactly what he said our lot would be. We should never expect a fair shake or whine when it is not given. We are not to play the victim. That is disloyalty to Christ. Os Guinness writes: "Followers of Christ flinch at times from the pain of wounds and the smart of slights, but that cost is in the contract of the way of the cross. . . . No child of a sovereign God whom we can call our Father is ever a victim or in a minority."
³

This is why Jesus finished his comments with, "Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known" (Matthew 10:26). Listen carefully to those words:
Do not fear them.
Jesus is with us. And he promises a final day of reckoning. As someone put it, "There is a justice, and one day they shall feel it."

But even this ultimate victory should not be our immediate concern. If you want to know how I fight off discouragement, consider these words of Alan Keyes that I have posted in my study: "It is not for us to calculate our victory or fear our defeat, but to do our duty and leave the rest in God's hands."

As ambassadors, we measure our legitimacy by faithfulness and obedience to Christ, who alone will bring the increase. The most important gauge of our success will not be our numbers or even our impact, but our fidelity to our Savior.

That opportunity for faithfulness might be a salesman at the front door, a chance encounter at the bank, a casual conversation on an airplane, or chatting with a waitress in a restaurant. It could be anyplace, anytime. If you apply the right tactics, with God's help a lost and confused person will not only see the problem — his own rebellion — but also the solution—Jesus Christ. The question you need to answer in advance is, "When God opens that door,
will
I be ready?"

Study these tactics and learn how they work. They will serve you well when you need them. Know the truth. Know your Bible well enough to give an accurate answer. Tactics are not a substitute for knowledge. Cleverness without truth is manipulation.

Push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Begin to mix it up with others
before
you feel adequately prepared. You'll learn best by immediately putting your tactics into play, even though you may falter a bit at first. That is part of the learning process. Along the way, you'll discover what the other side has to offer, which often is not very much.

Do not be discouraged by outward appearances. Don't get caught in the trap of trying to assess the effectiveness of your conversations by their immediate, visible results. Even though a person rejects what you say, you may have put a stone in his shoe nonetheless. These things often take time. The harvest is often a season away.

Finally, live out the virtues of a good ambassador. Represent Christ in a winsome and attractive way. You — God's own representative — are the key to making a difference for the kingdom. Show the world that Christianity is worth thinking about.

With God's help, go out and give '
em
Heaven.

THE AMBASSADOR’S CREED

An ambassador is . . .

•    Ready. An ambassador is alert for chances to represent Christ and will not back away from a challenge or an opportunity.

•    Patient. An ambassador won't quarrel, but will listen in order to understand, then with gentleness will seek to respectfully engage those who disagree.

•    Reasonable. An ambassador has informed convictions (not just feelings), gives reasons, asks questions, aggressively seeks answers, and will not be stumped by the same challenge twice.

•    Tactical. An ambassador adapts to each unique person and situation, maneuvering with wisdom to challenge bad thinking, presenting the truth in an understandable and compelling way.

•    Clear. An ambassador is careful with language and will not rely on Christian lingo nor gain unfair advantage by resorting to empty rhetoric.

•    Fair. An ambassador is sympathetic and understanding toward others and will acknowledge the merits of contrary views.

•    Honest. An ambassador is careful with the facts and will not misrepresent another's view, overstate his own case, or understate the demands of the gospel.

•    Humble. An ambassador is provisional in his claims, knowing that his understanding of truth is fallible. He will not press a point beyond what his evidence allows.

•    Attractive. An ambassador will act with grace, kindness, and good manners. He will not dishonor Christ in his conduct.

•    Dependent. An ambassador knows that effectiveness requires joining his best efforts with God's power.

CHAPTER 1: DIPLOMACY OR D-DAY?

1
.    Note, for example, Paul's comments in Ephesians 6:10 - 20.

2
.    Sometimes offensive and defensive apologetics are called positive and negative apologetics, respectively.

3
.    Hugh Hewitt,
In, But Not Of
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 166.

4
.    If you follow our radio program, either live or on the web (
www.str.org
), you'll notice I take pains not to abuse callers who disagree with me.

CHAPTER 2: RESERVATIONS

1
.    See 2 Timothy 2:24 - 25.

2
.    E.g., Acts 18:4, Acts 26:28, Acts 28:24, 2 Corinthians 5:11.

3
.    1 John 4:8.

4
.    Isaiah 1:18.

5
.    
1
Corin
thi
ans
3:6 - 8.

6
.    I am thankful to Kathy
Englert
who first introduced me to this concept many years ago.

CHAPTER 3: GETTING IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT: THE COLUMBO TACTIC

1
.    Hugh Hewitt,
In, But Not Of
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 172 - 73.

2
.    
Ibid.,
173; emphasis added.

3
.    See also Matthew 17:25, 18:12, 21:28 - 32; Mark 12:35 - 37; Luke 7:40 - 42
,14:1
- 6,10:25 - 37; and John 18:22 - 23.

4
.    I'm grateful to Kevin
Bywater
of Summit Ministries for the improvements he helped make on the questions used in
Columbo
.

5
.    The Stand to Reason booklet,
Jesus the Only Way,
contains one hundred verses proving this point. They are taken from the teaching of Jesus and those he trained as followers. For the sake of argument, Jesus and his followers might have been mistaken about his claim to exclusivity, but make no mistake about what claim they were actually making. The booklet is available at
www.str.org
.

6
. I believe in such arguments and even offer them (e.g., "Has God
Spoken
?"), but I don't think this is the most effective way to persuade on this issue.

CHAPTER 4: COLUMBO STEP TWO: THE BURDEN OF PROOF

1
.    I first heard this quip from apologist Phil
Fernandes
.

2
.    When neighborhood evangelists knock on your door, you might also ask, "Why should I trust that your organization — e.g., the Mormon Church, the Watchtower, etc. — speaks for God?"

3
.    Richard Dawkins,
The
Blind Watchmaker
(London: W.W. Norton, 1996), 89.

4
.    Philosopher Richard Swinburne calls this the "principle of credulity," a notion accepted by most philosophers and by all ordinary folk.

CHAPTER 5: STEP THREE: USING COLUMBO TO LEAD THE WAY

1
.    Incidentally, I rarely use
Columbo
in an on-air, crossfire environment because the clock is always ticking. The more time the other person is given, the less opportunity I have to make my points. I do not want to surrender valuable airtime to my opponent by asking questions he may take a long time answering. It is difficult to get the floor back once I've given it away. The exception to this rule is when
I
am the host. In that case, I am "the man with the microphone" and can keep the conversation from becoming too one-sided.

2
.    This phrase was suggested to me by Frank Beckwith.

3
.    They might attempt to sidestep this challenge by saying, "I think my views are right
for me.
You're trying to force your views on others; I'm not." I call this the "postmodern two-step" because I think it is intellectually dishonest. The whole reason the other person is engaging you
is
to correct you. He thinks you should adopt his more "tolerant" view instead of the "arrogant" and "intolerant" view you hold. He wants to change your mind because he thinks his view is correct and yours is wrong, the very same thing that brings his charge of intolerance against you.

4
.    These are classically known as
ad hominem
attacks, literally "to the person." They are attempts to distract from the main issue by attacking the messenger in some way instead of addressing the message.

5
.    
Jonathan Wells,
Icons of Evolution
—
Science or Myth?
(Washington, DC:
Regnery
, 2000), 79 - 80.