How to bring up Jesus at Christmas (and nail it)

Making the most of sharing Jesus this Christmas means making the most of the conversations we’re having.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all had that awkward moment when you feel a really witty comment jump out of your mouth. You expect it to fly through the air to the sound of laughter and instead, it crashes and burns in silence. It didn’t hit the comedic mark. Here’s three ways to open the door to Jesus conversations with friends and family without crashing and burning.

• Content — relevant themes or language
• Context — the relationship between people, place or knowledge
• Timing — connection to the mood or conversation flow

We all have a natural desire to feel understood, and if we want to introduce people to Jesus this Christmas without the ‘crash and burn’ sensation, then it’s worthwhile paying attention to these three elements in our conversations.

Research by UCLA suggests that “feeling understood makes individuals feel valued, respected and validated”, which can lead to more positive social interactions and relationships. What better way to talk about faith than through this filter of understanding?

3 Ways to Open the Door to Conversation

1. Content

Be aware of the content that is relevant to the people you are interacting with. What are the questions about life or spirituality that *they* are asking?

2. Context

Be willing to talk about spiritual and philosophical ideas with an open-handed posture.“…we articulate these realities with the words imparted to us by the Spirit and not with the words taught by human wisdom. We join together Spirit-revealed truths with Spirit-revealed words.” — 1 Corinthians 2:13.

Society attempts to articulate spiritual concepts with language that may be different from the way we would describe it within the church. It’s important to be a translator of this language and bring context to the spiritual awareness that people are trying to express.

3. Timing

Be sensitive to the different pace each person moves at as they explore faith. Create open spaces for discussion that meet people where they are. We should default to listening, acting as a sounding board for their ideas and thoughts without feeling the need to defend ‘the truth’ as we know it.

“Right wins the argument but wise wins the person.” — Erwin McManus

Make the most of Christmas this year by approaching Jesus-conversations with empathy and a desire to learn, not just to give. Be OK to leave absolute truth at the door and trust the Holy Spirit to be at work through you as others search out faith.