Recently I had a couple people knock on my door to share their faith with me. My immediate inclination was to close the door and avoid all conversation. I have dealt with people from their religious persuasion before with disagreeable results. Argument evangelism prioritizes winning over facts. Everything you say can and will be used against you in an effort to win. Argument evangelism is not about discovering or even establishing facts. God reveals Himself to whom He wills, when He wills, with or without discussion.

One of the evangelists asked an innocuous question about the plants on my porch before I could, as politely as possible, evade a debate and close the door. This started a conversation. I told them openly that I disagreed with their church, but I was openly willing to talk about Jesus. I determined not to share anything about my church that would conflict with their beliefs. Once religion was put aside, the conversation rolled along nicely.

We did not get lost in church or religious “speak.” We spoke about the beauty of God the creator and Jesus our savior. We spoke about the proofs that show that faith is more reliable than cultural philosophies and how much people truly need Jesus in their lives to teach them, rescue them, and draw them into all the true values that people can’t achieve without help like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities aren’t natural in humanity because they are other oriented instead of self oriented. We spoke about how much Jesus loves each of us and proves it every day no matter the condition of our lives.

The conversation ended with Jesus being praised and all persons in the conversation being encouraged in their faith. Quite frankly I was humbled by the event. I realized, as it went forward and came to an end, that I had too much of an investment in being right and less in just proclaiming Jesus, what I know about Him and how I’ve experienced Him. I realized that I can’t blame others when I have an argumentative mentality. I must learn to love others, all others, the way Jesus does. Jesus is the truth I can rest in without having to prove anything. He is alive and concerned about conversations between disagreeable people. Jesus will draw all people to Himself when He is the focus.