Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

 Jonathan McKee, president of The Source for Youth Ministry, is the author of numerous books including Ministry By Teenagers, Connect, and the award winning book Do They Run When They See You Coming? Jonathan speaks and trains at conferences, churches and school assemblies, all while providing free resources for youth workers on his website, www.TheSource4YM.com.

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Real Conversations Participant's Guide

ZONDERVAN

Chapter One

OUR FAITH

AN AUTHENTIC FAITH OPENING DOORS TO REAL CONVERSATIONS

ALONE TIME

Grab a pen and read this section while you're alone.

SCARED SILENT

In this training we're tackling a scary subject for some of us: Sharing our faith. I'll be the first to admit it's scary for me. (If you haven't looked at the READ THIS FIRST section at the beginning of this book, quickly read it now—I believe you'll be relieved by what I have to say.)

Some of us might have some big fears when it comes to sharing our faith. Maybe we don't know what to say. Maybe we're afraid to bring it up because our friends have seen how imperfect we are. Sadly, sometimes these fears scare us silent.

That's why we're gonna look at these fears right now ... and sidekick them in the face! (Sorry, sometimes I get a little bit expressive.)

This guide not only will help us sort through these fears and feelings, but also it will equip us to live out an authentic faith, which will open doors to authentic conversations.

I believe you'll really enjoy this!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Take a moment and write down your feelings about sharing your faith with others. I'll ask you a few candid questions, and you write down your answers. (This is just between you and God. No one else will see this.)

1. What's your biggest fear about sharing your faith with your friends?

2. What would make it easier for you to share your faith with your friends?

The Apostle Paul—after all of his religious rearing and training—knew he couldn't depend on his own wisdom and power to talk to others about God. He explained this in one of his letters to the church in Corinth:

1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

3. What are the some of the words Paul used inverse 3 to describe how he approached the people of Corinth?

4. What's the one thing Paul resolved to know, mentioned in verse 2?

5. What was the source of his power for his message and preaching, mentioned in verse 4?

As smart as Paul was, he knew he shouldn't get cocky and rely on his own abilities. Paul knew his wisdom and fancy words were nothing compared to God's power. So he decided to focus only on the message of Christ on the cross, giving Jesus all the attention and all the credit. Paul basically said, "It wasn't because of my good preaching and slick presentation that you guys were convinced; it was by God's power."

6. Why would it be smarter to rely on God rather than our own abilities?

7. What elements of human wisdom do you sometimes rely on?

8. What would be a way that you could rely on God's power instead of human wisdom?

In this section of Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he makes it clear that he didn't come to them with any eloquence or wisdom; instead he came in weakness and fear. This evident weakness made it clear to others that Paul was relying on God's power, not his own strength or street smarts! In other words, when people looked at Paul, they didn't see a really smart guy—they saw a guy whom God was working through. The focus was on God, not Paul.

9. What would this look like in your life? (pointing to God, not yourself)

A MOMENT TO PRAY

Let's talk to God about this.

Talking to God is simple. You don't need to use any magic words. In Matthew, chapter 6, Jesus told his disciples just to go into their rooms, close their doors, and be real with God who sees everything unseen (so we might as well be real with God—who knows everything about us anyway).

So let's do that now. Take a minute and pray specifically that we can rely on God's power instead of our own wisdom in the way we detailed in question #8. Let's also pray that we can live out an authentic faith that will point other people to God.

LARGE GROUP TIME

Do this section with your group: I find it helpful to talk with other Christians and discuss life and receive encouragement to live out my faith in Jesus. That's why we're going to do much of this training as a group.

OPTIONAL ICEBREAKER

Your leader will take us through a fun activity to break the ice during this large group time.

WATCH SECTION 1 OF DVD

A quick word from Jonathan: Hey! This is cool. You've been reading what I asked you to read! Now you get to hear what I have to say. Watch SECTION 1 of the DVD right now as we talk about how sharing our faith begins with ... our own faith!

GROUP ACTIVITY

Your leader will take us through an activity to help us process what we just learned.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Think About This: Many of us might get a little uncomfortable when we talk about sharing our faith. Maybe it's because we know that it has a lot to do with how we live out our own faith. Maybe it's because we're just scared of having conversations about our faith with our friends. Either way ... you're not alone. Most of us probably feel scared and ill-equipped at times.

1. Some of us might have had some bad experiences or witnessed some really negative examples of people telling others about Jesus. Does anyone want to share one of those experiences?

2. Many of us have probably encountered people with very genuine faith in Jesus—so real that you almost wanted to ask them about it. Does someone want to share what you saw in this person that made you think, "I'd like a faith like that" or "If I had questions about my faith, I'd want to talk with her"?

3. Jonathan introduced the session talking about the feelings, fears, or apprehensions many of us might feel if we found out that tomorrow one of our friends was going to ask us about our faith. Let's look at our feelings honestly for a moment: How would you feel right now if you knew that tomorrow you'd have to share your faith with a friend? Why would you feel like that?

In the verses we just studied, we learned that sharing our faith requires WORDS and ACTION. First, we live out our faith in our ACTIONS. And then those actions—that authentic faith, the "hope" others see in our lives—open the doors to conversations: WORDS.

4. What does it look like to do what the verse says and "revere Christ as Lord"?

5. In what ways might your friends see that authentic faith and "hope" in you?

6. What areas in your life right now might distract people from seeing that "hope" in you?

7. What can do to try to fix those distractions and live a more authentic life?

8. Are you ready to have conversations, explaining the reason for your hope? What would you say?

SMALL GROUP WRAP-UP

Hopefully this training we're doing together will help us not only to live out that hope of Christ in our lives, but also to prepare us for those real conversations. As we continue this training, we'll talk a little bit more about how to articulate our faith.

SOMETHING YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK

We've just discussed the "hope"...