The Barna Group released a study a few months ago detailing research on spiritual conversations. Social media and mobile devices have fundamentally changed the way we communicate — particularly about faith. I and many of my preaching colleagues have had scores of Bible discussions online, but we’ve found that those discussions are harder to come by — probably because of shifts in the way the public perceives or subscribes to religion in the first place.
People who don’t talk very often about faith offer different reasons, but most of these fall into two broad categories: avoidance and ambivalence. For instance, the two avoidant responses (among the top four) given for not engaging in conversations are: “Religious conversations always seem to create tension or arguments” (28%) and “I’m put off by how religion has been politicized” (17%). The other two responses indicate ambivalence: “I’m not religious and don’t care about these kinds of topics” (23%) and “I don’t feel like I know enough to talk about religious or spiritual topics” (17%).
Both the avoidance and ambivalence categories can be helped by remembering Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Ecclesiastes 10:12 adds, “The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.” We do what we can to “persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11) with the true gospel of Christ, not with a politicized version. We also teach and admonish, but arguing rarely makes a convincing case. Proverbs 18:6 says, “A fool’s lips enter into contention …”
Furthermore, we don’t come off as spiritual “know-it-alls” which puts off the people who are uncomfortable that they don’t know as much. Instead, we gently nurture more knowledge (Acts 18:26). Teaching is not easy, but wisdom and patience, along with knowledge about the current spiritual climate, can go a long way in easing the difficulties.
Kyle Campbell