Arguing People to God

At least in evangelical churches, there has been a constant focus on apologetics for at least the past two generations, because pastors started reading C.S. Lewis and assuming themselves and their flocks able to argue others to Christ.

This focus includes all of the more willfully ignorant doctrines of inerrancy, creationism, eternal torment, the "rapture," etc etc. and has kept churches devoting huge amounts of energy to training their members to defend these doctrines, to the exclusion of any kind of help for the poor or reaching out to the community in any kind of authentic way.

Of course it has coincided with the evangelical push into politics, which has further crippled any attempts to help the poor (who are treated as moochers and given tracts instead of food or blankets) in individual communities, and alienated people who are not already members from even attempting to come into the church, or Christianity as a whole.

When all you have to offer people is arguments, you can't act surprised when they won't give you the time of day, especially when there are Christians willing to reach out with compassion and share personal experiences of Christ's presence in their lives, instead of launching a hermeneutical laundry list at them.

The best evidence of our faith is our personal testimony, always and forever, because no one can disprove your experiences. No rational person can say "That didn't happen to you!"
And it is our experiences which leave the most indelible marks upon us, which most influence our growth as Christians and as people.

And personal experience of God is no respecter of persons. Whether it's a push in the middle of your chest during an altar call or a sense of peace in the desert after a terrible battle or sudden strength in the midst of weakness, these are the moments when God feels most real to us, and through these experiences we can reach out to others, especially after surviving trauma.

Doctrinal minutiae can be argued 'till the cows come home (as we see 24/7 online), but it's just philosophy if the contestants don't have personal experience of the divine in their lives.

We cannot bring others into Christ.
The Spirit brings them.
We must simply hold the door open.

And the way to do that is not to argue them in, but to reach out, take hold, and build a relationship.

The knowledge of Scripture and one's personal doctrines comes into play AFTER the relationship has been established, or not at all.
And "not at all" happens much more often than pastors are apparently comfortable with, because the Spirit does not follow our timetable.
So keep yourself focused on building and strengthening the relationship.
Be ready to answer questions, but until they are asked, focus on the other person's needs, not on your desire to convert them.

Brain Vomit for the beginning of my Thirtieth Year

I have found these last few months that for myself and my own soul, solitude is not conducive to art.

What did I want to do with life before reality and lack of solid employment set in?
Write?
Sing?
Play in a band (the concert or marching or jazz type)?

I can never tell, with as foggy a memory as I now have, if I ever stopped to think of my musical exploits in any kind of categorical manner between "passion" and "profession".

Maybe I was just swept along, and didn't stop to think until I found myself abruptly tossed from the river.
And of course, by then it was too late to think of passion or profession because I was too much in shock at my own abrupt ejection.

"The longer you wait to finish, the less likely you are to ever do so."
-somebody somewhere

And while my own mental musicianship has greatly benefited my marriage and several very deep friendships, there is ever the gnawing sensation in moments of clarity that I have a large store of potential which continues to lie fallow.
Both because I seem unable to make a profession of it and because I find so little true outlet for it.
Especially due to my own introspective nature leading more readily to depression than to creativity.
And yet the clock still ticks, and each time I raise my head above the flood of time I find myself that much closer to the waterfall, that point at which there will be no more chance to plant my own eternal stone in the riverbed to say to all who pass that way after me that I WAS HERE!

I envy my wife to no end, not only for her lack of introspection but for her simple flow from passion to profession to indelible mark upon the next generation.