Bible Study Evangelism

So back to your example of the neighbor. Those are tough, because I think the relational risk is really high when it’s a person that you see often. I talk about relational risk in my book because I think my personal fear is relational risk. I’m much better on the mission field than I am in my neighborhood because I don’t think I’m ever gonna see that person again. I probably won’t. But my neighbor I will see every day, and it’s gonna be very awkward. So I have to get over the fear. I have to love the person more. And I have to be willing to take the risk knowing that the reward is eternal.

As you study the Bible with nonbelievers, has there been anything that’s surprised you or opened up a new aspect of Scripture for you?

Yes. I love that. So I’m gonna share two stories. One is a positive story, one is a bit negative, but they both serve the purpose of answering the question. I read the Bible one time with a woman who … I’m a fitness instructor, so she used to take my classes. We developed a relationship, and I asked if we could read Scripture. I sensed that she was sort of anti-God, anti-church, so we started reading the Bible together at a restaurant. And my goodness, I was shocked [at] her insights. When we were reading Genesis 1–3, I’m thinking only Christians would come up with this answer, but no, she did. She would read the passage out loud, and then I’d ask her a question. And her answers were just so biblical. 

I remember one time she said something like, “Well, this is why same-sex marriage is wrong. And I thought, my goodness, you got that. You got that just from reading. I didn’t prompt anything. So it’s amazing sometimes when you read with a nonbeliever the Lord can show them things. You might not have to say a word. Just read it and see what they see, what they come up with. 

Then on the opposite end of that spectrum, I read with two ladies. They were best friends. One was very open to reading the Scriptures, the other one was very closed. But she came every time. And we read probably for about a year, off and on. But I was surprised that the LGBTQ issue shut down her openness. That was really the wall. She had a child who was living a gay lifestyle, and it didn’t matter what we read, it didn’t matter what I said. She was not having it. She was so angry. Every time we read something, it didn’t matter what it was. It could have been something that had nothing to do with sexuality, but she always knew in the back of her mind that if I accept this I have to reject my child’s lifestyle. We stopped meeting, and I don’t think she was any more open at the end than she was at the beginning.