- Has being ill made any difference in your thinking or feeling about God or your religious faith?
- How has being ill affected your devotional life?
- When you are ill, do you ever feel that God may be punishing you or that it is His will for you to be sick?
- How do you feel about suffering?
- Do you trust God with your future?
For information on ministry to the terminally ill, see "Six don'ts for ministry to the dying."
The above questions are based on a list compiled by Harvey Elder for mental health counselors to use in personal history-taking.
Wouldn't you like to have faith in something?
"Help me overcome my unbelief!" -- Mark 9:24
Leading a friend to faith in Christ
Brint Montgomery, former professor of philosophy at Southern Nazarene University, starts conversations with those struggling in their spiritual journey by asking the question: "Wouldn't you like to have faith in something?"
He then tries to lead a conversation through five steps:
- Admit to yourself that it is at least possible there is a God.
- Isn't daily life often an unsatisfactory affair?
- Ask yourself: "What would a meaningful life look like?"
- Commit yourself to becoming a new person.
- Evaluate whether the Church has something to offer [ more ].
This is usually not a journey that is completed in one conversation. It is more of a process than an event.
"Without God" graphic from a Church Ad Project poster.
Walking away
A personal evangelism case study
What had gone wrong? Dereck thought the pre-evangelistic interviews he had prepared for his evangelism course would have equipped him for a profitable religious discussion with Roger. But the conversation hadn't turned out like he had hoped. Something had gone wrong.
It had begun early one wintry morning several days before. Dereck Smith had headed down Camelot Drive toward the Village Inn. Snow was falling and sand trucks were moving up and down the streets. Dereck, however, was too busy thinking about his interview with Roger Larson to be concerned about whatever dangers the wintry weather might pose.
Dereck was a very intelligent student with a for evangelism. His fellow students at the Logos Metropolitan Seminary enjoyed hearing Dereck talk about his encounters with non-Christians. He was always reading and researching to build the best arguments for validating Christian faith. Most students on campus knew that a conversation with Dereck involved lots of listening and very little talking.
Dereck was very concerned about Roger Larson's spiritual life. Dereck had worked for United Parcel Service for two years where Roger was his supervisor. Dereck knew that Roger was thirty-three years old, married, and the father of two children.
Roger was known around work for his deadly sarcasm. Roger's co-workers delighted in seeing him confuse new employees with his sarcastic remarks. Nevertheless, these same co-workers knew Roger was an honest person who loved his family and who cared for those around him.
Roger had agreed to meet Dereck for breakfast and to talk about religion and philosophy. That morning they drove into the parking lot at the same time. Together, they made their way through the slush under the dark gray sky into the heated, crowded restaurant. The waitress took them to a corner booth.
After ordering breakfast, Dereck pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. Quickly, he glanced up and down the page trying to find a question with which to start the conversation.
Finally, he asked, "So, tell me, Roger, how do you think human beings came into existence?"
Before answering, Roger took a sip of coffee and a deep breath. Then he began, "I think something must have created us. We had to start somewhere."
Dereck was excited about Roger's response. He thought to himself, My first impression of Roger led me to think that he might be a naturalist, but though he's a skeptic, he's sounding more like a deist or even a theist.
To press Roger further about the logical implications of seeing human existence as a result of the work of a creator, Dereck asked: "Who do you think that 'something' could be?"
Then, before Roger could answer, Dereck proceeded to suggest that the something could well be God.
Dereck launched into an exposition of the arguments on the existence of God. He gave long and intricate elucidations on the cosmological, teleological, ontological, moral, and existential arguments for God's existence.
Summing up, he said, "It is quite obvious to me, Roger, that the 'something' you refer to is God. Such a God must be intelligent, personal, and transcendent." By this time, Dereck's pancakes were cold, but he wore a triumphant smile.
Looking directly at Dereck, Roger said, "I really don't feel that God is involved or that He affects our daily lives. I'd even venture to say that God doesn't answer prayers."
"What? What do you mean: God doesn't answer prayer'?" countered Dereck.
"Well," Roger replied, "God may answer prayer in one sense. But, in another, I don't believe He does. Look, it doesn't make sense to ask God for help when we can help ourselves. God answers prayers only when it is a collective need in contrast to personal needs. Why should I pray for money, for instance, when I can work for it?"
Dereck decided to return to the question of human origin to which Roger quickly responded: "I think we are the result of an evolutionary process."
"Why then do humans have a higher level of intelligence than animals?" asked Dereck.
Roger chuckled. With a grin, and exuding a bit of sarcasm, he said, "Well, we just evolved further!" He also added, "I don't think there is that much difference between humans and animals."
Dereck sensed a rising intensity to their discussion. He decided to break the tension by ordering a fresh stack of pancakes. He also decided to move to another subject. Glancing over his sheet of questions, he concluded that morality would be a good topic to discuss.
Roger said he believed that morals were learned through society and one's upbringing. He viewed morals as the result of an evolutionary process. "Moral values grow out of the human experience. They evolve, depending on people's needs and interests. This is why morality differs from culture to culture. Values are formed as people seek a harmonious adjustment with each other and with their environment," he said.
Dereck tried his best to present the Bible as historically accurate and reliable. He laid out evidence to demonstrate that Jesus was the Christ, citing fulfilled prophecies and miracles, especially the resurrection from the dead. As they talked, Dereck sensed that while Roger was casually interested, he did not seem willing to change his life or make a decision for Christ.
As they got ready to leave, Roger surprised Dereck by taking his hand, giving it a firm shake, and saying, "Thank you."
Surprised, but newly emboldened, Dereck placed a hand on Roger's shoulder and said, "What would happen if you died today?"
"I don't know," replied Roger, adding, "and that worries me." Putting on his hat, he walked away in the direction of his car.
Though Dereck and Roger saw each other three times a week at work, for several days neither of them ventured to bring up their breakfast meeting.
Then, one morning, as they finished unloading the cargo off of an aircraft, Dereck approached his supervisor and asked: "Have you given any thought to our discussion?"
This time, Roger did not even resort to his usual sarcasm to avoid the issue. He just walked away.
At that point, Dereck decided to . . .
The original of this case study was written by Lemuel Schaffer and Hugo Venegas of Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary. © Case Study Institute. This edited revision is used with permission.
What does Dereck do now?
Here are some questions to process this case study in which a seminary student tries to evangelize his supervisor at his part-time job.
- What positive things happened?
- What negative things happened?
- Have you been in a situation like this one? In the position of either Derek or his supervisor?
- Did Dereck miss some important cues? If so, which ones and how might he have responded differently if he had caught those cues?
- Are there any signs in Roger of openness to the gospel?
- Assume you are Dereck's friend. What would you advise him to do now?
- Assume for a moment that you are Roger. Why did you walk away at the end without responding? What are you thinking now?
- Suppose you are Dereck, and you could turn back the clock. What would you do differently?
- Would you suggest a different way for Dereck to open the conversation in the restaurant?
General guidelines for discussing a case study
