A Thrilling Counter to "Fear of Man" by Ted Slater on 09/07/2007 at 6:04 AM

We miss out on so much because of fear. We fear asking her out. We fear going there. We fear what they might think. How might we begin dismantling this intimidating prison? Read on....

* * *

I was provoked by Carolyn McCulley's article addressing Fear of Man and its antidote, the Fear of God.

For years I've been trying different ways of growing in this area. One of the simplest, for example, was to start engaging in conversation with the person behind the check-out lane, asking if they could tell I was gearing up for a picnic, eating healthy, or making flan. Over time, my anxiety about talking with someone I didn't know faded.

But now I'm kicking it up a notch. I've found a thrill that gets my heart racing more than participating in extreme sports.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to California to interview Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, and was further challenged to grow in the area of Fear of Man. This time, specifically in the area of evangelism, something infinitely more significant than a mere chat with the person scanning my canned goods.

Inspired by my time with Ray and Kirk, I've been taking "baby steps," handing out a million dollar bill "ice breaker" (along with a generous tip) to pizza delivery guys. I've only given out three or four, but am encouraged by the responses -- every one of them smiled and took the tract, seeming genuinely thankful.

I may appear foolish doing something as silly as giving out tracts. But frankly, I don't care. Life is too short to fear rejection from the pizza guy. And besides, what if the Lord uses my Jesus Freak foolishness to help someone think about their eternal fate, and perhaps turn to the Lord? The possibility of my looking foolish pales when compared with the possible consequences of my engaging in talk of the eternal.

A Thrilling Counter to "Fear of Man" by Ted Slater on 09/07/2007 at 6:04 AM

We miss out on so much because of fear. We fear asking her out. We fear going there. We fear what they might think. How might we begin dismantling this intimidating prison? Read on....

* * *

I was provoked by Carolyn McCulley's article addressing Fear of Man and its antidote, the Fear of God.

For years I've been trying different ways of growing in this area. One of the simplest, for example, was to start engaging in conversation with the person behind the check-out lane, asking if they could tell I was gearing up for a picnic, eating healthy, or making flan. Over time, my anxiety about talking with someone I didn't know faded.

But now I'm kicking it up a notch. I've found a thrill that gets my heart racing more than participating in extreme sports.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to California to interview Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron, and was further challenged to grow in the area of Fear of Man. This time, specifically in the area of evangelism, something infinitely more significant than a mere chat with the person scanning my canned goods.

Inspired by my time with Ray and Kirk, I've been taking "baby steps," handing out a million dollar bill "ice breaker" (along with a generous tip) to pizza delivery guys. I've only given out three or four, but am encouraged by the responses -- every one of them smiled and took the tract, seeming genuinely thankful.

I may appear foolish doing something as silly as giving out tracts. But frankly, I don't care. Life is too short to fear rejection from the pizza guy. And besides, what if the Lord uses my Jesus Freak foolishness to help someone think about their eternal fate, and perhaps turn to the Lord? The possibility of my looking foolish pales when compared with the possible consequences of my engaging in talk of the eternal.

Comments

[1. Mike Maroney said the following at 8:17 AM on Sep 7:]

1

So many Christians think that you have to be an extrovert in order to talk to strangers. I think the only people that shouldn't talk to strangers are children. God has called every Christian to share our faith in Jesus Christ to people, and this includes people that we don't know. I really like how Ted overcame his fear by talking to the person at the checkout, very good idea for people who don't like to talk to strangers!

[2. Adam Sloope said the following at 9:59 AM on Sep 7:]

2

Kudos Ted. Taking steps towards telling people about Jesus in the face of fear is a great thing. Tracts are a good way to start, but in my opinion are an easy way to get out of a conversation in the long run. Again, great baby steps towards just walking up to people and "evangelizing". I put it in quotes because the American version of Christianity has seperated it as if it is something you go out and do on a specific night. Evangelism is a lifestyle and the more you get comfortable talking to tohers about Christ in casual settings the more you begin to have no fear of man in talking about Christ and the less you will need the blanket or a tract. I think they are and can be effective and by no means think I have the market nailed on telling folks about Jesus, this is just my pure opinion. Good post though. By the way, the street evangelist I have seen in my city make no eye contact and do no smile yet give me this paper that is the best message in the world? Is that evangelism? Maybe that is a good blog to start i nthe future though...

[3. Seth said the following at 10:27 AM on Sep 7:]

3

I just finished the Way of the Master small group with a bunch of guys from my youth group. We went out to our state fair and talked with people and handed out tracts. Almost all of them were genuinelly thankful and some even prayed on the spot. Sometimes we were even talking to 4 or 5 people at once, we must have talked to hundreds of people over the course of those 6 hours each day.

Some christians may be called to evangalism specifically, but every christian should be able to one on one evangalize and if you can't I suggest you order the dvd's for this series and watch them. They give you a very easy and short way of communicating the gospel and why they need Jesus that allows the Holy Spirit to work conviction on someone's heart. None of this modern foolishness devoid of the true gospel, a God shaped hole in your heart is not the gospel nor is God will make you happy any better.

Also a disclaimer, I know it can be scary, take small steps but keep pushing yourself. Pray about it before you talk to them and pray after, even during if you can keep your mind on it.

[4. Anna said the following at 10:28 AM on Sep 7:]

4

I love this. I especially love his conclusion: "I may appear foolish doing something as silly as giving out tracts. But frankly, I don't care. Life is too short to fear rejection from the pizza guy." That last sentence is so true! How ridiculous it is to go through life fearing rejection from people around us when we serve such a great God whose love is all we need.

[5. Jacob said the following at 12:58 PM on Sep 7:]

5

I have been studying 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 this last week, and Paul clearly states that the Gospel is folly according to the wisdom of the world. Not caring if the world thinks you foolish is the right response we overlook. Our security should rest in God, not in the approval of men. On the same note, Paul writes in Galatians 1 that the Gospel he preaches is not man-pleasing. I'll be the first to admit that fear of men overcomes many opportunities to convey the Gospel. I am thankful for when God's grace overcomes my weakness. I've taken high schoolers out street evangelizing almost thirty separate times now, and I'm still nervous!

[6. RJEllie said the following at 4:49 PM on Sep 8:]

6

Quick side note (not directed at Ted) to anyone who likes the million dollar bill - leave a real tip, too! I know that sounds like a duh, but there's a surprising amount of people I have seen and heard of who just leave that. Is Jesus better than five bucks? Yeah, but that's NOT what's running through the mind of the frazzled single mom waiting tables so she can put dinner on the table. I've known servers who have received those (with no money) and been so angry. One did become a Christian several years later, but that act was a turn-off, not a witness.

Okay, former waitress rant mode off. : )

Okay, not quite yet. At work, the other servers all hated Sunday afternoons; they said those were the meanest and the stingiest customers.

Any coincidences?

Folks notice.

Okay, seriously, rant mode off.

Great post! : )

[7. R said the following at 10:11 PM on Sep 9:]

7

So inspiring! I like the idea of taking 'steps'...

[8. Mark Willard said the following at 6:34 PM on Sep 10:]

8

I just wanted to comment on something Ray Comfort said, related to fear of man:

"I'm a very strong believer in relationship evangelism, building relationships. Sometimes I wait two or three minutes before I witness to someone. I build that relationship and get to know them and chat with them... Besides, who are the hardest people to witness to? Relations. I mean, my mom — I'd rather talk to a thousand atheists than witness my mom. It's uncomfortable. And the reason for that is if I witness to a stranger and offend him, he says, 'Get away, you fanatic.' It's forgotten; it's gone. I haven't lost a thing except my dignity. But if my mom says that to me, I've lost a relationship."

This really bothers me. I feel like Comfort is caving to fear of man here. As someone very active in Campus Crusade at my university, I share my faith with complete strangers several times a week, and Comfort's right. It's much easier than sharing your faith with family and close friends. It's also a lot less effective. Just as it's easier to be rejected by someone you don't know, it's easier for someone you don't know to reject you. Every poll I've ever heard has shown (and my ministry's experience on campus would back this up*) that people are more likely to go to church with and/or seriously consider the religious convictions of one of their close friends rather than a random evangelist.

Comfort shouldn't bash relational evangelism just because he's afraid to do it. It's harder and scarier. It may take a lot more time and effort. It's also worth it.

*Anecdotally, we used to only really talk about/train students in random evangelism. If you know anything about Campus Crusade, this is traditionally a strength of the ministry. However, when our ministry started emphasizing relational evangelism in the context of an authentic community within our movement is when we really started to see a lot more conversions and less falling away.

[1. Mike Maroney said the following at 8:17 AM on Sep 7:]

1

So many Christians think that you have to be an extrovert in order to talk to strangers. I think the only people that shouldn't talk to strangers are children. God has called every Christian to share our faith in Jesus Christ to people, and this includes people that we don't know. I really like how Ted overcame his fear by talking to the person at the checkout, very good idea for people who don't like to talk to strangers!

[2. Adam Sloope said the following at 9:59 AM on Sep 7:]

2

Kudos Ted. Taking steps towards telling people about Jesus in the face of fear is a great thing. Tracts are a good way to start, but in my opinion are an easy way to get out of a conversation in the long run. Again, great baby steps towards just walking up to people and "evangelizing". I put it in quotes because the American version of Christianity has seperated it as if it is something you go out and do on a specific night. Evangelism is a lifestyle and the more you get comfortable talking to tohers about Christ in casual settings the more you begin to have no fear of man in talking about Christ and the less you will need the blanket or a tract. I think they are and can be effective and by no means think I have the market nailed on telling folks about Jesus, this is just my pure opinion. Good post though. By the way, the street evangelist I have seen in my city make no eye contact and do no smile yet give me this paper that is the best message in the world? Is that evangelism? Maybe that is a good blog to start i nthe future though...

[3. Seth said the following at 10:27 AM on Sep 7:]

3

I just finished the Way of the Master small group with a bunch of guys from my youth group. We went out to our state fair and talked with people and handed out tracts. Almost all of them were genuinelly thankful and some even prayed on the spot. Sometimes we were even talking to 4 or 5 people at once, we must have talked to hundreds of people over the course of those 6 hours each day.

Some christians may be called to evangalism specifically, but every christian should be able to one on one evangalize and if you can't I suggest you order the dvd's for this series and watch them. They give you a very easy and short way of communicating the gospel and why they need Jesus that allows the Holy Spirit to work conviction on someone's heart. None of this modern foolishness devoid of the true gospel, a God shaped hole in your heart is not the gospel nor is God will make you happy any better.

Also a disclaimer, I know it can be scary, take small steps but keep pushing yourself. Pray about it before you talk to them and pray after, even during if you can keep your mind on it.

[4. Anna said the following at 10:28 AM on Sep 7:]

4

I love this. I especially love his conclusion: "I may appear foolish doing something as silly as giving out tracts. But frankly, I don't care. Life is too short to fear rejection from the pizza guy." That last sentence is so true! How ridiculous it is to go through life fearing rejection from people around us when we serve such a great God whose love is all we need.

[5. Jacob said the following at 12:58 PM on Sep 7:]

5

I have been studying 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 this last week, and Paul clearly states that the Gospel is folly according to the wisdom of the world. Not caring if the world thinks you foolish is the right response we overlook. Our security should rest in God, not in the approval of men. On the same note, Paul writes in Galatians 1 that the Gospel he preaches is not man-pleasing. I'll be the first to admit that fear of men overcomes many opportunities to convey the Gospel. I am thankful for when God's grace overcomes my weakness. I've taken high schoolers out street evangelizing almost thirty separate times now, and I'm still nervous!

[6. RJEllie said the following at 4:49 PM on Sep 8:]

6

Quick side note (not directed at Ted) to anyone who likes the million dollar bill - leave a real tip, too! I know that sounds like a duh, but there's a surprising amount of people I have seen and heard of who just leave that. Is Jesus better than five bucks? Yeah, but that's NOT what's running through the mind of the frazzled single mom waiting tables so she can put dinner on the table. I've known servers who have received those (with no money) and been so angry. One did become a Christian several years later, but that act was a turn-off, not a witness.

Okay, former waitress rant mode off. : )

Okay, not quite yet. At work, the other servers all hated Sunday afternoons; they said those were the meanest and the stingiest customers.

Any coincidences?

Folks notice.

Okay, seriously, rant mode off.

Great post! : )

[7. R said the following at 10:11 PM on Sep 9:]

7

So inspiring! I like the idea of taking 'steps'...

[8. Mark Willard said the following at 6:34 PM on Sep 10:]

8

I just wanted to comment on something Ray Comfort said, related to fear of man:

"I'm a very strong believer in relationship evangelism, building relationships. Sometimes I wait two or three minutes before I witness to someone. I build that relationship and get to know them and chat with them... Besides, who are the hardest people to witness to? Relations. I mean, my mom — I'd rather talk to a thousand atheists than witness my mom. It's uncomfortable. And the reason for that is if I witness to a stranger and offend him, he says, 'Get away, you fanatic.' It's forgotten; it's gone. I haven't lost a thing except my dignity. But if my mom says that to me, I've lost a relationship."

This really bothers me. I feel like Comfort is caving to fear of man here. As someone very active in Campus Crusade at my university, I share my faith with complete strangers several times a week, and Comfort's right. It's much easier than sharing your faith with family and close friends. It's also a lot less effective. Just as it's easier to be rejected by someone you don't know, it's easier for someone you don't know to reject you. Every poll I've ever heard has shown (and my ministry's experience on campus would back this up*) that people are more likely to go to church with and/or seriously consider the religious convictions of one of their close friends rather than a random evangelist.

Comfort shouldn't bash relational evangelism just because he's afraid to do it. It's harder and scarier. It may take a lot more time and effort. It's also worth it.

*Anecdotally, we used to only really talk about/train students in random evangelism. If you know anything about Campus Crusade, this is traditionally a strength of the ministry. However, when our ministry started emphasizing relational evangelism in the context of an authentic community within our movement is when we really started to see a lot more conversions and less falling away.