Compassion Challenge

Two Sundays ago, one of our pastors asked those in the congregation to accept a Compassion Challenge and make small step efforts influencing those around us in the everyday world by being open and up front about our faith...even something as simple as praying before a meal at a restaurant. I accepted the challenge and gave him my email address as accountability.

A couple of days later I received this email from him as a reminder of my commitment...

"I really appreciate your willingness to step forward out of Sundays message. I believe that individuals need to step forward in faith and for our church to see that God will honour our faithfulness to just be obedient to His call. We must live out our faith and relationship with Him in the everyday aspects of life.Please let me know how you go with this challenge. Wether you simply say grace at a restaurant, read your Bible at work or in coffee shop or park, listen to worship music in a car with others in it whatever. I really want to hear your experiences.

Can I encourage you: with a quote from Oswald Sanders: A great deal more failure is the result of an excess of caution than of bold experimentation with new ideas. The frontiers of the kingdom of God were never advanced by men and women of caution! "

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So...a couple of days later I sent him these stories that he had requested. (He thought they were encouraging, so I thought I would add them to the blog!)

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Subject: Re: Compassion Challenge

1) Read my Bible (instead of my novel) while waiting in a public place for an appointment.

2) Chose a table at a food court with someone already sitting there for a follow-up appointment with a new Christian (rugby player). The older gentleman at the table either heard the entire appointment (on "assurance of salvation")...or he was deaf!

3) Thinking perhaps it would generate more awareness if I were to actually sing a praise song out loud on the train into work (instead of just reading my Bible) but have to admit I decided against it (using the rational that I seek to make the gospel as "winsome" as possible and my off key screeching would probably be counterproductive.)

4) Got in to very brief discussion with a taxi driver about the Lord (and his criticism of "the church") ...which ended quite abruptly when we arrived in record time...but gave him a gospel booklet with a $2 tip. I told him the next time somebody said something negative about Christians I wanted him to remember that there was one time when a Christian gave him a $2 for a $6 fare so it wasn't really true that all Christians want is your money.