(excerpt from Chapter 10, “Sharing My Faith: Having Authentic Spiritual Conversations with My Friends” The Christian Man [Zondervan, May 2019]

Every Christian man knows he should share his faith. Not many do. As one man said, “Sharing my faith scares and intimidates me.” But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t weigh on him.

That’s why so many of us want to know, “How can I acquire boldness in spreading the gospel? What are some practical ways I can share my faith at work? What is a great way to break the ice with people?”

In the chapter on friendships, I described how the world is a never-sleeping juggernaut that crushes everything in its path without pity and takes its toll on men. We need to be aware that most men are much more fragile than we would ever imagine—certainly far more vulnerable than they would ever want us to know. For this reason, in this chapter we will emphasize that evangelism is, at its core, a ministry of reconciliation. We need to treat people with love, kindness, empathy, and respect.

The big idea for this chapter is that we’re not trying to trick people into becoming Christians. Evangelism is simply taking someone as far as they want to go toward Jesus at that particular moment. We do this because Jesus loves them and wants them to live with him in eternity. As his ambassadors, we are commissioned by him to broker the deal. This chapter will equip a man how to do exactly that in detail.

Patrick Morley