This is the fourth post in a six-part series, 6 Barriers to Sharing Your Faith—And How to Overcome Them, taken from the book, Lit Up with Love: Becoming Good-News People in a Gospel-Starved World by Derwin L. Gray. If you like what you’re reading, you can click through to the next post when you’re finished reading this one. Want to start at the beginning of the series? Click here to start with the first post. This post dives into Barrier #4. It’s based on Lifeway Research and a framework created by Ken Boa and featured in his book, Conformed to His Image (with a change in Barrier #5 from A Barrier of Isolation to Derwin Gray’s A Barrier of Shame, which we dive into in this post).
According to Gray, these barriers aren’t walls; they’re invitations. When you’re lit up with love, you know that barriers are opportunities to press deeper into Christ and rely on the Holy Spirit’s power.
The Barrier of Indifference
Sadly, many of Jesus’ people are indifferent toward sharing the gospel with the lost. Indifference means that a person is unsympathetic, unconcerned, or lacks interest in something. Why does this happen with something as important as the gospel?
My conviction is that if we do not feel like it matters for us to share the gospel, we have lost our first love. (Read Revelation 2:4.) If we are not intentional about remaining connected to Jesus, our light of love will grow dim under “the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things [that] enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Read Mark 4:19.) Instead of worshiping Jesus and abiding in him, we start to worship the things God gives us: our job, our money, our kids, our status. When we become self-centered instead of Christ centered, we go through life asking Jesus to bless our agenda, instead of joining Jesus in his agenda of restoring people to God.
But all is not lost. Our relationship with Jesus must be—and can be—cultivated. Just as quality time and regular conversation in a marriage breathes life into that relationship, the Holy Spirit will connect our hearts deeper to Jesus’ heart as we soak in the Scriptures, live a life of prayer, set our minds on Christ, and participate in corporate worship. (You could read Lit Up with Love together with your church!)
We are also often indifferent because we no longer see the world’s deep need. The longer most people follow Jesus, the fewer non-Christian friends they have. Often new believers are the most passionate about sharing their faith because they still have lots of friends who are lost. But as they participate in the church more, they increasingly hang around other Christians.
The church should be a missionary training center, not a country club for the saved. As a pastor I am supposed to partner with God the Holy Spirit in activating believers to reach those who don’t know Jesus; as a follower of Jesus, I should ensure my time with other Christians encourages and equips me to be in relationships with the lost. (Read Matthew 28:18-20 and Ephesians 4:12-16.) When you’re lit up with love, you know that the stakes are too high for you to be indifferent. (Read 1 John 5:11-13.)
When you’re ready, move on to The Barrier of Shame.
Derwin L. Gray
Dr. Derwin L. Gray is the co-founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church (TC), one of the fastest growing churches in America. TC is a multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped community near Charlotte, NC. Pastor Derwin and his wife, Vicki, have been married since 1992 and have two children: daughter, Presley, and son, Jeremiah. He is a bestselling author of several books including The Good Life, Limitless Life, God, Do You Hear Me?, Building a Multiethnic Church, and How to Heal Our Racial Divide.