Style Points

A few months back, I had the chance to speak at Northeastern University’s InterVarsity chapter. I was unaware at the time, but in attendance that night was a student who I’ll call Carrie; she was there to observe our meeting for a class assignment, in which she hoped to prove true that her many negative stereotypes of Christians.

In the paper she wrote for class, Carrie described my talk this way: “The talk was less like preaching than I had expected, and much more like a personal account of the speaker’s journey to faith… Instead of preaching, instead of telling non-Christians that they were on the wrong path or attempting to tell them what was right, (he) merely shared a story.”

What’s funny is that my talk that night was loaded with scripture, and even contained a call for Christian students to share their faith with non-believing friends. I had to double-check to make sure Carrie was describing the same message!

I take her feedback as a major compliment. I’ve believed for a long time that it’s possible to deliver a message that is substantial, deep, and Bible-based while at the same time accessible to skeptics and spiritual newcomers. This is what I aim for every time out, and it’s nice to receive a sign that I’m at least getting there…

As it turns out, that meeting was the first of many InterVarsity events that Carrie has attended, and as a result she now says, “At first I was a skeptic about the whole experience. I wanted nothing to do with Christianity…The one thing I'm not skeptical about anymore is God, and his refound role in my life.”

Paul