I'm a Scaredy Cat

Lisa and I have been in China for over 7 years together. Before that Lisa was in China for a while by herself and I was in Peru for a short time. And before that we both served as student directors at UTC's Christian Student Center. So we've been doing ministry related work part-time or full-time for the last 12 years. And I'm still a scaredy cat about sharing my faith.

I became a Christian while at UTC and it was intimidating to talk about Jesus with other students. I don't think anybody ever gave me any guidance, mentoring, or teaching about it either. But every now and then I got over it and tried. There are so many things to be worried about aren't there? Whenever we move to a new city we're a little bit scared about who to share our faith with and how we should start. We get used to life and ministry in our old city, but when it's time to start over it can be scary. I'm getting older, so talking to young students can be tough sometimes. And talking to an adult freaks me out, too. It's intimidating to talk to adults who have their own set ideas and ask tougher questions.

Once I get used to a new city, new people, and have a few "successes" talking to people it all gets easier. But starting is always hard. It's hard to start sharing my faith in a new place and it's hard to talk about it with new people. Even after 12 years it's hard. The only thing that I've found easy is to talk to total strangers about faith. That's pretty easy because there's almost no risk involved. It's much easier for me to fly to Nicaragua and have a Bible study in Spanish with a total stranger than it is to find creative ways to love and share faith with my next door neighbor. I think that's as true for full-time missionaries as it is for anybody else. The only way I can overcome my nervousness, fear, and scaredy cat tendencies are with prayer, accountability from my friends, and an extra portion of courage from God's Spirit.

So to all those Christians out there who are a little bit intimidated about sharing Jesus with others: I feel ya'.

And to all my friends and neighbors who I haven't gotten the courage to talk to about Jesus yet: Sorry about that. Be patient. I'm a scaredy cat.