Bryan, many years ago when I was posting regularly at CF God gave me a vision. I could argue toe to toe with the best of them. I knew my scriptures. I was sure I was right and I wanted to make sure everyone else knew it. I convinced myself that I needed to impart my grand wisdom into these people whether they wanted it or not.

So one day when I was posting, I had a vision. It was me. Standing outside a locked door. Screaming and yelling at the door. Pounding on the door. But no one was listening. It was just me yelling at a door. Then God showed me a kinder, gentler version of me. A me that would listen to people. A me that didn't need to "prove my point" or "win" the argument. A me that really cared about people and not just winning an argument. And for that me, people would open the door and I could talk with them. Sure, we might not fully agree, but we could talk and learn from one another.

Love opens doors. And I think what you're saying about "preaching" goes along with that. There's nothing inherently wrong with preaching. In fact, we're instructed to go into all the world and "preach" the gospel. But the negative connotation that goes along with preaching is exactly what you allude to in your OP.  Beating people over the head with scripture is rarely an effective way of teaching or evangelizing.

Of course, I've been accused of compromising what I believe, but nothing could be further than the truth. My core beliefs absolutely have not changed. But the way I present them has. I have learned that it's not my job to make another person believe something. That's the role of the Holy Spirit and He is much better at it than I could ever hope to be. But if we don't Love people first, they won't even be receptive and we're just yelling at a closed door.

To paraphrase one of my favorite sayings, people don't care what you know until they know that you care.

Hey there David, 

I wanted to say Thanks for sharing. I know that was personal.

You've always been truly welcome here and I, for one, appreciated your sharing. I hope you truly love your job and that days are looking brighter each and every morning.  

So the two of these need not be in conflict with each other, but something Ive always wondered is how many opportunities do we as a church or even individuals lose out on because we want to preach at people instead of talking time to teach them about sin or even life in general.

What I mean is best explained by a familiar rebuttal I've heard people express:

Stop preaching at me!

Usually said in response to a rebuke or the sort.

Now before I go further I would like to express Im not saying preaching is bad, but really am just curious about its effectiveness in situations.

Instead of approaching a person who needs correcting with a sharp tone, perhaps an opportunity for true discipleship can be fostered by taking the individual to the side and explaining what went wrong and how they can correct it.

I have seen and done (probably more times than I care to admit) the exact opposite, when someone makesma mistake or even disagrees with me.  I jump on my soapbox and take a rather preachy tone instead that Sunday School Teacher tone thats more welcoming and inviting.

I think if I approached more people in the latter sense, theyd be far more willing to listen and perhaps, just perhaps, a live and spirit can be redeemed.

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Just saw them now! Weird, I missed it first time

Quote from: DavidMcClean on February 01, 2019, 08:16:32 pmDid you listen to the links I posted by any chance?

What did you mean by "honor her life in any way I can"?

TBH it was hard for me to share very personal things about her, and it seemed...I dunno....more about my job.

O well...whatever.

I believe acknowledging someone's life, sharing a memory, remembers that person and honors the good things. And, no, I didn't see any links?