As a follow-up to my post about some door-to-door evangelists that came to our house, Sam Riviera wrote this fantastic guest post. As with everything Sam writes, I think that this approach to door-to-door evangelism is loving and kind, and helps us represent Jesus to those who come to our door trying to convert us to their religion.

Visits from Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and others can be an opportunity to show them the love of Jesus.

Many years ago I was in the grocery store. A woman approached me.

“Remember me?” she asked.

“You look very familiar, but I haven’t seen you recently, have I?”

“No, you haven’t. I was one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who came to your door several times. I remember you because you were the only Christian I met who was nice to me. I’m not a Jehovah’s Witness anymore and want nothing to do with religion, especially Christians. They were mean to me. I won’t even talk to them.”

“You’re talking to me.”

“Yes, I’ll talk to you. You were nice to me and talked to me about me and my family.”

We continued talking for about fifteen minutes, and then parted ways.

Showing the Love of Jesus

I grew up next door to a Kingdom Hall. I know that many people cycle through the JW movement, and many end up burned on religion, both the JW religion and especially the Christian religion (mostly because of the reception they received when they knocked on the door of people who said they were Christians). I view having these folks show up at my front door as an opportunity to show the love of Jesus to someone who is showing me that they are searching for answers.

There are techniques that usually work in dealing with these folks, both the “newbies” and the “dyed-in-the wool” fanatics, techniques which allow us to show them Jesus’ love. I usually find these folks easier to deal with than some “Christians” who are extremely certain of (their understanding of/their “version” of) Christianity and the Bible.

Talk to People

When “evangelists” for any religion show up unannounced at my door, I never invite them into my home. Having worked in law enforcement, I know that some people are not who they claim to be and are not associated with the group of which they claim they are a part. However, I have seating on my porch, and a table and chairs on the patio by my front door where I can talk to people I do not know.

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…if you don’t “Like” this post, it must be because you hate God.

I am kidding, of course. But every so often I see these sorts of posts come through Facebook and Twitter. “Retweet this if you love Jesus!” “Love God? Like this!”

So I laughed when I saw this comic.

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When I learned Greek and Hebrew, I found it helpful to use mnemonic devices to memorize vocabulary. I would take what the Hebrew or Greek word sounded like, and take the English translation of the word, and then try to come up with a sentence that included both.

So, for example, the Greek word speiro sounds like “sparrow” and it means “to sow.” The mnemonic device I used was “I sow seeds the sparrows eat.” Another example is with the Greek preposition epi. It sounds somewhat close to “I pee” and means “upon, on, at, by” and so I used the mnemonic device “I pee upon, on, at, or by the tree.” It’s crude humor, but it worked for me!

One Greek word I always thought was somewhat ironic was the Greek word allelon. It means “one another.” The device I used to memorize this word is “all alone with one another.” I found this device ironic because you would think that no one can be all alone when they are with other people, but the truth is that some people are never more alone than when they are with others.

Some of the most lonely people I know are those who have the most friends and go to the most parties. They party as an attempt to fight back the encroaching loneliness that threatens to choke them every minute of every day. Their nearly manic efforts to always be with people and around other people are all because they feel loneliness taking over their lives. Though they are with people all the time, they are all alone most of that time.

The reason behind this is that although such people might be with others all the time, very few of those others actually know the person.

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We were in the middle of packing up for our move from New York to Oregon.

There was chaos everywhere. Piles of stuff to pack. Piles of stuff to throw out. Phone calls to make. Errands to run. Landlords to deal with.

In the middle of all this chaos, we received a friendly visit from the the Jehovah Witnesses. My wife answered the door, and here is roughly how the conversation went:

Knock, knock. 

Wendy (opening the door): Hello?

JWs: Hello, do you have a few minutes so we could talk to you about Jesus?

Wendy: No, we’re in the middle of packing up for a move, and everything is chaotic right now. Besides, we already know, love, and follow Jesus. Thanks, though!

JWs: Oh, your moving? Well, is there a time we could come back and talk?

Wendy: No. We’re moving out of state. Look, I have phone calls to make and boxes to pack. I gotta go.

JWs: Okay, but would it be alright if we gave you some literature for you to read and had someone call you?

Wendy: No, we’re moving. We don’t need more books, and definitely don’t need more phone calls. We already believe in Jesus and read the Bible. We’re good. Seriously, I gotta go.

JWs: Okay, well we just wanted to tell you about how to go to heaven, maybe if we could come in for just a minute…

Wendy (wisely interrupting): Look,  my father died last year, and we know he is in heaven because he believed in Jesus. We know the same will be true of us because we also believe in Jesus. Now, goodbye.

And with that, she shut the door on them.

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