Start with Why- Sharing Faith

Have you ever wondered why, how and for what reason one church is thriving and another that is doing the exact same things is dying? Or wondered why, how and for what reason a program led by a 50-something, well-liked, long-term church member is a great success while the program led by a different church member with the exact same credentials utterly fails? Perhaps the problem is starting with why (or not).

Simon Sinek, in his book Start with Why, contrasts the impact Apple has as a successful enterprise versus TiVo as a commercial failure. Both are tech companies with state-of-the-art products; yet one is cutting-edge cool the other nerdy. What is the difference between them? One started with why.

Apple started with why: its vision and self-identity is to make connections easier for an individual to become a community and for personal ideas to become shared encounter. TiVo’s vision and identity is to produce a remote control that allows you to manipulate your TV watching experience; this is not a “why” but a “what.” Apple’s vision leads to energy, enthusiasm and passion and just happens to get fulfilled by creating gadgets. TiVo’s vision leads to the making of gadgets for the sake of gadgets; no wonder TiVo failed.

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            Starting with why is a theological issue. Why proclaim the gospel? Why share the gospel? Why seek justice? Why live out the gospel in the world? These are the questions that energize our faithfulness, that bring passion in the pursuit of fruitfulness. For instance, David Gortner, in his book Transforming Evangelism, suggests that beginning with why is essential for our understanding of sharing our faith: “No program or formula will work. Evangelism that emerges from our gratitude and compels us to speak is a chosen habit….”Gortner suggests three spiritual practices to energize the habit of sharing faith:

·       I will remember my own wonder, joy and gratitude.

·       I will speak; I will tell my stories.

·       I will meet other people listening for the Holy in their lives.

Implicit in Gortner’s spiritual practices is the notion that faith sharing must start with a clear and compelling sense of why Jesus matters and why our relationship with Jesus matters. Because Jesus is the most amazing man, a true revolutionary, a he-troubles-my-soul-in-all-the-best-ways prophet, a “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39) Savior of the world, I love telling his story. Because Jesus is both an abiding presence and my guiding light, both my Friend and Savior and Lord, it is a joy to tell his story. Faith sharing then is neither a “program orformula” but a way of living and moving and having our being. May we be these kind of faith sharing people, move in the direction of telling good news, and live into the fullness of joy that is found in Jesus Christ.

Abounding in hope,

Brad Munroe