A kind, courteous Christian is the most powerful argument that can be produced in favor of Christianity. —Ellen White, Gospel Workers, page 122.

If we would humble ourselves before God, and be kind and courteous and tenderhearted and pitiful, there would be one hundred conversions to the truth where now there is only one. —Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, Volume 9, page 189.

Around town

• At the supermarket checkout line, let someone go ahead of you — especially if it is a frazzled-looking mother with a bunch of crying kids, or someone who looks like he or she is about to miss an appointment.
• Offer to help your neighbor with a chore or simple task. You do not have to renovate someone’s house. Just helping carry out the trash or mowing the lawn is a good start.
• Offer to baby-sit.
• If you own a car, offer to run an errand (take kids to a school event, pick up an item at the store, and so on).
• Donate items to a used clothing store. Make sure the clothes you donate are clean and tasteful.
• If you can accommodate guests, open up your home temporarily to a person or small family who has lost a home to fire, flood, or other disaster. Or offer storage space where they can keep their remaining possessions until a better place is found.
• Help a neighbor child with homework.
• Visit or call someone who is lonely or not feeling well.
• Donate nonperishable food items to a local food bank. Ask what goods are most needed.
• Offer to help with a Vacation Bible School or a children’s division at church.
• If you have a green thumb, consider joining Plant a Row for the Hungry or a similar project in your area.
• Join or start a singing band, and visit nursing homes, a children’s hospital, or shut-ins in your area.
• Bake a loaf of bread and deliver it — either at home or at work.
• Do laundry or other chores for someone who is sick.
• Offer to give someone rides to the hospital when needed.
• Visit a local prison.
• When you go on vacation, send your neighbors a postcard — let them know you’re thinking of them. (You need to get to know them first.)
• Be the “welcome wagon” for newcomers in your neighborhood.
• Invite someone new to join you on a family outing.
• Compliment people on their yard, home, etc.
• Attend important events in the lives of your friends and neighbors: weddings, recitals, graduations, etc.
• Invite someone to a meal at your home who hasn’t been there before.
• Maintain your own home and yard so as to create the right “atmosphere.”

Anywhere

• There are many ways to witness on the Internet. Try some active methods (such as participating in chats, e-mail discussions, and so on), rather than settling for more passive methods (such as posting thoughts on your own website, which may be very seldom visited).
• Smile at strangers — using discretion, of course.
• When traveling by bus, train, or airplane, try to steer conversations with seat-mates in a spiritual direction. You do not have to give a Bible study; avoid preaching. Share how God has led in your life and which approaches to problems have worked for you.
• Write an encouraging note to someone. The person could be a friend or relative who is going through a difficult time. It could be a Christian whose ministry you appreciate.
• Leave magazines and tracts in conspicuous locations. Consider using a highlighter or pen to mark a few key passages (as if marking for yourself).
• Pray for people silently. Pray with people as the Holy Spirit leads.
• Remember friends and loved ones on their special days (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays). Don’t assume people’s needs are being met at these times; sometimes these special days are the most lonely. (Have you had that experience where no one remembers your special day?)
• Offer to pay a bill or a debt for someone who can’t. (You don’t want to initiate a pattern; just something to say you care.)
• Pick up the phone and call.
• Visit non-Christian relatives more often.
• Practice good manners. People seldom say “Sir” or “Ma’am” anymore, but some people — especially seniors — appreciate it. Show proper respect to officers and dignitaries.
• Give up your seat to someone who needs it more than you. Always show preference to elderly or handicapped persons.

It counts for something that the first book of the Bible to record the lives of the apostles after the resurrection is entitled “The Acts of the Apostles.” It is not called “The Beliefs of the Apostles,” or “The Apostolic Enlightenment.” Although the deeds of the believers were heavily grounded in beliefs and spiritual vision, it was their works and lives that attracted attention. This supports the commonly held view that people do not respect what a person or organization says, until they respect what that person or organization does.

Of course, the apostles were not the only ones active in behalf of the gospel in the book of Acts. We are given glimpses of a church body that was very motivated to spread the good news. Among the deeds attributed to them, we find they:

• Held all possessions in common (Acts 2:44; 4:32)
• Prayed for the apostles, especially during times of crisis (Acts 12:5)
• Sent missionaries (Acts 15:22)

Discipleship is not merely inward restructuring of thoughts, aims, motives, and ambitions. It is discipline that shapes who we are and how we live our lives. It is training for service. The simple fact that discipleship imparts spiritual graces requires that those who have been discipled share those blessings with others. As Jesus said, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8. To the extent we have been lifted up and helped by God, we are obligated to benefit others.

Of course, what we speak is part of who we are and what we do. The apostles understood that having a testimony and speaking it are inseparable. This is evidenced by the following texts: “We … believe, and therefore speak.” 2 Corinthians 4:13. “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Revelation 12:11.

The tendency among believers seems to be to drift from practical testimony (what God has done for me) to theological argument, and to drift from Christian practice to pseudo-Christian philosophy. This tendency is something to guard against. As James sternly warns, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22.

In my lesson study class, most of our discussion of this topic was taken up in exploring how we can help others who face obstacles to service and witnessing. I had not intended to spend so much time on it, but there were so many good comments that we remained on this point until the end of the class.

Obstacles to service

I might mess up / I’m not perfect. God could have sent angels, but He chose humans. Why? Precisely because of our humanness, weakness, and imperfection. We have a bond with one another. We can sympathize with one another. (See 2 Corinthians 1:3-6.) And through our weakness, we are led to give praise to God. (See 2 Corinthians 4:7.) Furthermore, when Jesus sent out His disciples, He did not send perfect evangelists. They did not do everything right. But He still sent them. It is also worth noting that sometimes He sent them two by two, so that one could help and learn from the other.

Clay Trumbull, former editor of a religious publication, is quoted as saying: “There can be no mistake so bad, in working for an individual soul for Christ, as the fatal mistake of not making any honest endeavor…. NOT doing is the WORST of doing.”

People might reject me / My help may not be appreciated. The weakness here is the focus on self. Being accepted and appreciated is not my mission as a Christian. Jesus was rejected, ridiculed, mistreated. He was killed by those He came to save. He told His disciples, “The servant is not greater than his lord.” (John 13:16 and 15:20.) Bearing our cross of shame, whatever it might be, is an essential part of what it means to be a Christ-follower. Nevertheless, this sacrifice is not all loss. It is this quality that will attract those who are seeking salvation.

I don’t know what to do. Christianity is the perfect religion for amateurs. God doesn’t expect us to use our human reasoning alone. He guides us. He gave us an example in Jesus’ life. He explains what to do in the Bible. On top of that, He tells us, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally.” James 1:5. And even though we make mistakes, we learn from them. We grow and improve.

My family doesn’t approve / My friends will think I’m weird.Sometimes the greatest obstacles in our mind are the people in our own household or in our circle of friends and associates. But to refuse to do what we need to do on their account is to make an idol of them. Jesus said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37 (also see verses 32-42). While our family and friends are important, and even the strangers we meet, God’s will always comes first. Following God’s will is the only way to do what is best for all the others we care about.

I have no time / I’m too tired. God does not give us more than we are able to bear. But He does expect us to prioritize and do the most important things. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1. “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” Matthew 13:22 (also see Mark 4:19).

“It is wrong to waste our time, wrong to waste our thoughts. We lose every moment that we devote to self-seeking. If every moment were valued and rightly employed, we should have time for everything that we need to do for ourselves or for the world. In the expenditure of money, in the use of time, strength, opportunities, let every Christian look to God for guidance. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5.” Ellen White, The Ministry of Healing, 208.

Types of service — what should we be doing?

Do the work that lies nearest. Start by being a Christian in your home. Work out from there. Jesus told His disciples to begin at Jerusalem (our community, our church), and then expand to Judea (our denomination, county, state), Samaria (broader circles of nationality and religion), and the world.

Care for the urgent needs. Deal with family crises. Look after the widows and orphans. Help the sick and destitute. Help the cow in the ditch.

Share your testimony. Tell others what God has done for you.

Don’t hide. Jesus said we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Let your salt season those around you, and your light shine. There are two ways to hide our light. One way is to run from God, like Jonah. The other way is hiding our light passively: Failing to make something of opportunities that we know about is hiding our light. Job went further: “the cause which I knew not I searched out.” Job 29:16.

Other “do’s”: Continue in His word (John 8:31)—keep studying and learning. Abide in Him (John 15:4, 5)—maintain the connection. Bear fruit (John 15:8)—reach out and blossom. Practice love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25).

“Jews do not associate with Samaritans,” John says (4:9) in commenting on Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well. The two groups had a long and grievous history, like estranged family members. They had a partly shared worldview (both revered the Pentateuch, though in different versions), a shared point of origin (“our father Jacob,” as the woman put it to Jesus), and well-defined points of contention (where should you worship, at Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem?). They knew each other; therefore, they did not associate with each other.

Gospel-writer Luke tells us of the Samaritan village that refused hospitality to Jesus and his followers. Why? Because they were Passover pilgrims headed for Jerusalem. Samaritans didn’t like Jews doing their Jewish thing. James and John took the inhospitality for a religious affront; in fact, they were ready to firebomb the village (Luke 9:51–56). These groups had a familiarity that bred suspicion and mutual grudges.

So I sometimes find life in America. The problem is not that my religion is strange. The problem is that my religion is familiar. Like Samaritans and Jews, Christians and non-Christians have a partly shared worldview (our Western traditions, which include the Bible), a shared point of origin (Christendom), and well-defined points of contention (the exclusivity of Christ). We are familiar with what each other believes. We’re suspicious of one another. So we start off with a grudge.

You can read the full article here.

I thought his article presented an intriguing parallel. While no comparison is perfect, there are some compelling similarities between Samaria’s relationship to Judea and postmodernism’s to Christianity.

How can we communicate new ideas to the people of a culture that think they understand everything about us? who think that all our best qualities they already possess in purer form? who in their narrowness and prejudice can only see us as narrow and prejudiced?

How can we deal with a smug and cynical movement that seems determined to view all of us collectively in the disfigured, pretentious form of medieval European Christianity? that tries to recast moral imperatives as political jockeying? that gives more credit to Christians on the outer fringes than those who make up the greater portion of the fabric of faith?

Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well gives some important clues. One of them is that arguing is pointless. Interact. Meet needs. Speak plainly. Offer salvation.

The recent post, “Rick Warren on Engaging Culture Relevantly and Biblically,” is worth reading. I really like their posting style: bite-sized and “salty.” Definitely recommended reading.

Here are a few snippets I really liked:

• It is easy to be relevant if you are not biblical. It is easy to be biblical if you are not relevant. You need to be both relevant and biblical.
• It takes different types of churches to reach different types of people.
• If you can’t learn from other people, you have an ego problem.
• The problem with a lot of churches today is they would rather be creative than effective.

If you know of any internet sources that would help others be more relevant and biblical in their ministry, please share them with me.

1. If you weren’t on staff at your church, would you worship there?
2. If you didn’t know ANYTHING about Jesus, what would you know about Him after a normal weekend at your church?
3. If you had a loved one who didn’t know Christ, and they had one week left to live, would you take them to your church or another?