Sharing Your Faith

I didn’t expect Jesus to show up in a bar that evening. No, it wasn’t a hipster dude with a big beard. It was at my high school reunion where I reconnected with Chris—a formerly awkward and quiet student who now sported snazzy glasses, stylishly gelled hair, and an identity as an openly gay man.

What comes to mind when you hear missions or missionary? Does it conjure up images of rural living in straw huts in underdeveloped Africa? Is it a life devoid of all knowledge of American pop culture, technology, and internet? I’m a missionary, and I live in Madison, WI.

Because it’s the human thing to do. That is, it’s the image-of-God thing to do. When we walk into the studio or theater and start talking with artists, we enter a world of creativity that represents the other half of God’s design for our lives. 

As I drove to school to start our week of New Student Outreach, I prayed for divine encounters. God was listening and I did not have to wait long for a response. As I passed a guy on a moped, I felt God say to me, “You are going to talk with him today.” I glanced at the guy’s brown shirt so I’d know what to look for.