The J Word 3: Find Common Ground

John 4: 1-8: “Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is baptizing and making more disciples than John” (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them – his disciples did). So, he left Judea to return to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually, he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.”

This summer, we are taking a linear, step-by-step look at personal evangelism – me and you telling another person about Jesus, and where Jesus is within our respective lives.

If we had a job description as followers of Jesus, we would see the requirement to love God, love others, and make disciples. So, it’s not an option – followers of Jesus will tell people about Jesus.

Last week, we looked at Step One: Be Social. We have to get out among people in order to have opportunity for talking about Jesus. We have established that Jesus was constantly on the move, and constantly around people. He was social.

Okay, now I’m out and around people. What’s next?

Establish A Common Interest

In John’s account of the woman at the well, above, Jesus didn’t rush to say, “Well, here I am.” No, he first established a common ground with the woman. They were both at the well, and they were both in search of water. But, there’s something else in there, too. Jesus took the initiative to speak first, and get things started. I think that’s very important to personal evangelism – the notion of taking the initiative to seize the opportunity around common ground.

Oh, I’m not suggesting that I’ve always been bold and brave. No, quite the contrary. For 90 percent of my life thus far, I would have approached the well, gave a pleasant nod to the woman at the well, got my own water, and kept on walking.

And, I would have lied about following Jesus in the process. Jesus, as we see, stopped and took initiative to talk about common ground he shared with the woman at the well.

Can’t we do that? What if we approached the grocery store, the golf course, the tennis courts, schools, work, ballparks, gymnasiums, neighborhood pools, neighborhood card games, church buildings, the lake, the hardware store, the restaurants . . . everywhere . . . looking for the common ground on which to begin conversations with other people. Let’s say I’m in the bleachers, watching a ballgame – well, that’s common ground with everyone around me. So, I take the initiative to introduce myself, talk about the game or the sport, and that leads to questions about vocation, home life, and even church. And, on this common ground, a relationship – even a temporary relationship is born – and the Holy Spirit moves the conversation toward Jesus. Can’t we buy into that? What does it say about my faith life if I know I should talk about Jesus, but reject the opportunity to do it? Gulp.

In April, Vicki and I were at a Braves baseball game. Two young couples sat down behind us. We couldn’t help but listen. One couple was from Alabama and the other from Tennessee. They had common ground around the ballgame, around being from the Deep South, and also around their family size. Both couples were newlyweds. Their conversations began about the Braves and baseball, and then they talked about their respective weekends in Atlanta. They talked about what they had done and where they were staying. These conversations led to talking about their hometowns, and that led to conversations about work, and someone dropped a word about “church.” And, that’s all it took. The Alabama couple was very involved in church; the Tennessee couple had not found a church as a young newlywed couple. The Alabama couple, having built several innings of common ground, shared what they had found in churches, and this all led to – yes – the Alabama woman stating how much she loved Jesus. After the game, I listened as the they shared e-mail addresses and the Alabama couple pledged prayer support. They parted as friends – not in an awkward way, but in a way knitted by the Holy Spirit.

Common Ground.

I’m not suggesting any of this is easy. In fact, it’s very difficult.

I will tell you what works for me, and you can pray for the Lord to convict you as He needs you to step into building common ground with others.
Traditions
Take The Initiative to speak first, and let the Holy Spirit take over.

I put myself in public places, and look for opportunities to speak to people. Then, I trust the Holy Spirit to guide the conversation, knowing at any time I could be prompted to talk about Jesus. I am ready. I am willing. I am nervous. But, I am trusting.

I have found it easier, at times, to talk about church and let the Holy Spirit take that discussion on to faith in Jesus. Talking about my church is not threatening, and church often easily leads to faith. Sometimes, I have to jump right in and talk about Jesus. But, I let go of it and just the let the Holy Spirit use me.

Just look for the common ground in your day-to-day journey. On that common ground, begin conversations.

Get on the FAST track to Common Ground faith conversations:

Family

Activities

Shared Experiences / Locations