How to be a Successful Ineffective Witness for Christ
Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2008
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
Over the years, I have thought about the days before I surrendered my life to Christ. What made the difference? Who made a difference? As I considered how to present my findings, I could not ignore the common denominator in what did not work and how the methods they chose played a major role in causing me to nurture my wall called "Ruin."
Fortunately, (or unfortunately, in this case), the list is short. As a result, you will find that one does not have to go too far to accomplish their goal. This said--following these few simple steps will assure you great success.
1) Always remember: It's not how you win a soul, it's that you win a soul. The goal is to make sure the sinner invites Jesus into their heart, even if it takes all day and night. Eventually, they will see the light and thank you for showing them the love of God.
2) Never be seen having lunch or going to a see a movie with the sinner you are trying to win to Christ. It's quite possible that other Christians will see you and get the wrong impression-like you're their friend or something.
3) Always discuss the negative things about all other religions. Don't offer any positive information, and if they happen to tell you that they practice a particular faith, be sure and tell them why that one is especially bad. They will respect you for that.
4) Be sure and tell them that when they give their life to Jesus, all their problems will go away. After all, they are in the mess they are in because they have chosen to be stubborn. Again, they will respect you for that.
5) Never expose the real you. Don't share your weaknesses or your failures. Rather, speak in spiritual language using phrases like--you just need to be plugged in and set on fire! This way, they will wonder at how spiritual you are and not think for a moment that you might be human.
~~~~~
This might be funny if it wasn't for the fact that in many cases it is the truth. From personal experience, these tactics were 100% ineffective on me. On the other hand, those that were the exact opposite had a big impact on my life. Even though I never let them know it, my walls began to crumble. Until the day when God broke through and my closest friend, Ruin, was slowly replaced with Jesus.
From that day forward I have purposed to be a genuine witness for Christ. Never perfect, but genuine. It's all God requires me to be.
If you are a Christian reading this, and you were offended, the point is well made and I pray it made you think and repent. Apologize to the one you have mislead or mistreated. They will respect you for it. (At least, that's what someone told me.) I am not saying we all do this on purpose, but after we have been a Christian awhile and our lives have changed, we forget that we have been forgiven of past sins and tend to think that we don't sin anymore, or at least not the "big" sins. However, we must remember that God hates pride more than anything else.
If you are not a Christian, especially for the reasons listed above, I ask your forgiveness on behalf of everyone who has made you feel like you are just a target-a soul to be won and not a person with real feelings. As you might have guessed by now, I can relate.
Being on both sides of this issue, I would hope my heart would be heard when I say this: Non-Christian, don't use a bad witness as an excuse to stay away from God. They will be accountable to God for their actions. Though the delivery of the message may be warped, the message, according to the Bible, is true. I would hope and pray that you would search it out for yourself.
P.S. Please forgive my sarcasm, old habits die-hard. ((Smiles.))
Taste and see that the Lord is good. You will never regret it.
© Teresa Ortiz
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Top-level comments on this article: (10 total)A very solid message, Teresa. We do not always say things with the intention of being ineffective in our witness. I agree with you as we must not forget we have yet to be changed from mortal to immortality. Thank you for teaching the Word of God! Blessings and love, Avis.Hi Avis, thank you for your honest reponse. One never knows what kind of comment will be left on this subject. May we continually be open to God's transforming work in our lives. I appreciate the support. It's good to have you back, your articles are always Inspiring, encouraging and sometimes just great trivia. Blessings and Love right back to you. PS, write me, how is the fundraising Going for Geovi's house?Teresa, I may have not finished my thought, properly. We don't intend to be ineffective but sometimes we are. I agree with you. Your sarcasm, as you call it, is truth-filled and helpful to each of us as we reach out to the lost. Thank you for thinking of me. I will write very soon. *hug*Hi Again. I figured that's what you meant :-) This has been on my heart for years and I am grateful for the experience because it keeps me in check and gets me back on the right path when I stray! The whole thing is ironic because when I was not a Christian, I used to expect Christians to be perfect and act a certian way. Of course, that was hypocritical of me as a person because I wasn't perfect either. Hmm, I think it is funny in a sad way that non christians have a higher expectation of Christians while justifying their own bad behavior by saying "at least I'm not a hypocrite". For me, the reason I was so offended by the message is because I knew it was true. After all, how can something like the Bible be offensive if we truly-deep down inside didn't believe it was true? What an example of the the battle between the spirit and the flesh the Bible talks about. Thanks again. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Oh man, Teresa, we came from a background that promotes your 5 "tips" and eventually woke up that there was much religious manipulation taking place. The guilt trips were frequent and one day my husband and I looked at each other and said "is this all there is?". We ran from it and never looked back. There were so many "thou shalt nots" thrown at us that we never could see what we were and could do and be. I'm glad you encourage those who have been condemned by those on a mission to seek God. He is who makes the difference in our lives. It is easy to say they are hypocrites so I won't go near them. Yet, there are hypocrites everywhere, work for instance, and we don't stop going to work. People mess up. God can clean up the mess. We now are involved with a group of Christians that are about as real as you can be. We are blessed and thankful. Excellent article! I'm glad you wrote it.Hi Lorrie, thanks so much for sharing your experience. It's a sad thing, I remember defending Catholics when I was in High School because their was a Christian girl in choir that was telling us how wrong it was. I wasn't even Catholic! Or anything for that matter, but she made me so mad. I do recoginize now, that she was a young and zealous believer and that was a good thing and I have faith that God taught her, but the Christians that adopt a holly than thou attitude are the ones that have no excuse and they become a pawn in the devil's hand and don't even know it. You are so right. It is God who changes the heart. We are not the Holy Spirit, we are to lead first of all by example and be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within, not shove it down someone's throat until they gag. But the truth is there is a hell and those that remain in there sin will be forever separated from God, there are no second chances, and many will go that way because Christ has been misrepresented. Unfortunately, God will not accept the excuse. Each of us are responsible for our own accepting or rejecting of the Savior. I'm so glad God opened your eyes and freed you from that bondage and has used it for the good in your lives. Keep it real. Blessings to you, Teresa
Great article, Teresa. I love the way you included your 'friend' in this article and didn't let her 'ruin' your life. Too many people still share that same friendship---it hasn't been so long ago that I too knew her well. God Bless you and yours. SandraHi Sandra, thanks for reading and for your comment. I did feel it was important to include her because it was the basis for this article. I'm so glad you found it relevant. Keep moving away from her, Sandra. She's not the kind of friend any of us need. Blessings to you, my friend.
hi t, i think this is the best article so far. your writing has really come a long way, and it was good to begin with. this was a great article for me, because i don't mind sarcasm, i am quite able to use it myself at times:) you got your point across. my best to you, sueThanks Sue, I appreciate the compliment and the encouragement more than you know. I'm glad the point was made. Blessings back to you. T.
Another good article from the "street smart" kid. Sometimes you have to go through the fire to understand. Love and best wishes, Robert.Hi Robert. So true, but my hope and prayer is that many learn from "watching the fire" and being in it. :-) P.S. Still waiting for the tales of the boy named Robert :-)....not lettin' you off the hook. Love & friendship, Teresa
I had a hard time understanding the side she stands on. I know she introduced alot of sarcasm. But sometimes it was hard to tell when she has being honest or sarcastic.
Hi Anon. Thank you for your comments, I am sorry that I left you confused. I was being both, I hope this explanation helps: Before I became a Christian, I was very hard-hearted and a I survived my little world by by using sarcasm to hide the real me. But since then God has changed my heart and I have no more wall built around my heart. I have been forgiven and I have forgiven. The reason I wrote this article this way was to point out the obvious ways that cause non-Christians to be "turned off" to God. I know this because its was some Christians did to me. They didn't want to associate with me, but they wanted me to become a Christian. It made no sense to me, and it only added more reasons, or rather, excuses to stay away from God even though my heart was crying out for freedom from my personal prison. I did try to make it clear that those Christians who did the exact opposite, meaning, explaining and not preaching, those who cared about me as a person and befriended me, and those who showed a geniune concern for the pain they new I was in--these made a big difference in my life. And even though I was too stuburn to tell them that, I welcomed their input. That ,together with what I already knew I wanted deep down inside helped to break through my hard heart. Finally, I wanted to encourage others who experience what I did not to let that keep them coming to God. So I was 100 % honest and the only thing that was meant to be sarcastic was the "list of five things to do" That is do them if you wanted to be sucessful at turning people away from God. Of course, no true Christian really wants to do this intentionally, and I pointed this out as well, but sometimes we just do because we are human and have flaws. I do hope this helps and again, I am sorry that I left you confused. May God Bless you and keep you in His care. Teresa
Teresa, I loved this article! One of the things I love the most about Jesus is His disdain for superficiality! May His followers learn to imitate Him.Thanks for the reading. And I say Amen to your comment! Blessings to you and yours!
Well written article. If you are passionate about anything, your light will shine. It Christ, means messenger. Our message should be that of light and enlightenment. This doesn't require beating anyone over the head. Love supercedes all. Again, well written article.Thank you for your comment and I agree with you, love is the greatest gift. Blessings to you, Carmellita
Thank you Teresa. Your article is a blessing and is so profound. I am a born again christian that truly needs and welcomes such eyeopening reminders and truths daily. May God Bless you. I am hoping you will choose to join my fan club also.Hi Bikerlady, I love the name! I am glad you were blessed. I think we need to keep ourselves in check and make sure that we are being a geniune and compasionate relection of Jesus. I will read your articles and bio. I can assume by your "call sighn" you are into motorcyles :-) Blessings and welcome to searchwarp. Teresa
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