Becoming a Christian—But Not Here

The construction activity had caught my eye as I was passing by.

So I stopped.

The offices of a Christian retreat center were being connected to their church/chapel building which was about sixty feet away.

The maintenance man saw me watching the concrete being poured. I asked him: “Does a person have to be a Christian to work here.” He said it wasn’t a requirement, adding, “It helps.”

He affirmed that he was one. So I asked a favorite question of mine: “How do you become a Christian?”

He motioned with his head toward the offices, “Maybe someone in there can talk to you.” Then near-instantly, essentially recanting his offer, he said: “You should stop at a church; that’s what I suggest.”

A couple of years prior I engaged four teenage Christians at a coffee shop while visiting a southern state. I approached them, asking basically the same question. I didn’t reveal my Faith-in-Jesus status.

Later I found out they attended the top academic high school in their state and were members of a church known around the world. Yet, by their own admission, not one of these four outstanding teenagers offered a fully correct answer to my inquiry. One of them even e-mailed me two days later saying: “We sat there for a couple of hours discussing our inability to answer your simple question.”

Way, way too many Christians are incapable of instructing a person in the essential how-to’s of becoming a Follower of Jesus.

The Bible says: “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that is in you.”

Beyond that, be prepared to give an answer to someone desiring the same Hope. Someone who needs Jesus.