Ben Jack on seizing opportunities to speak of faith

Ben Jack

I was playing recently at a club night organised by an old friend. It was great to head back to a town where I've deejayed a lot over the years, and particularly to catch up with some familiar faces. But I'm getting ahead of myself already in this story. It really should begin a few years earlier.

I was just starting a DJ residency at a bar just down the road from where I lived. It had taken quite a few months of working on the owners to get a chance to play at the bar, but eventually they grew tired of our badgering (we were VERY persistent) and gave me and my buddy a shot at Thursday nights. Over time we built up a really good relationship with these guys and we spent a lot of time hanging out at the bar even when we weren't playing. Sure enough one day I got a phone call from one of the managers - we will call him Adam for the sake of this story - asking me if I wanted to play in the coveted Friday night slot. Needless to say I snapped his hand off (not literally of course, that would be a horrendous handshake mistake). This is what we had been working towards! One Friday eventually turned into three out of four Fridays each month and although my social life was going the way of the dodo, my DJ diary was filling up beautifully.

We were always really open with the guys at the bar that we were Christians, and although from time to time the odd thing came up about it, for the most part it was just business and casual chat with them all.

One busy Friday night, at about midnight, Adam walked up to the DJ booth as I was in full flow. He would often come and stand with me to survey the dance floor to make sure the vibe was right, and then head back to the bar. This night, though, he stayed for longer than normal. As I was just about to drop a mix from one track to another he leaned in close to me and said loudly over the booming music...

"So, what's this God stuff all about then?"

I was a little taken aback at the timing of his question. As I was trying to juggle these two records for his busy dance floor, he was trying to get into a deep and meaningful about God. I remember trying to field his questions succinctly (anyone who knows me will know how difficult that is for me) whilst also keeping the tunes flowing! As far as I could tell that night though, it was a really positive conversation.

I had been working as an evangelist for about 4 years by this point but I learned two huge lessons that day. The first was the importance of relationship in evangelism. The second was having the patience to wait for, and then seize upon the right opportunity that God presents you with from that relationship, which could spring up at any time!

As far as I knew Adam had never become a Christian. I had never found out how that conversation had impacted him as I finished the residency at the bar and moved away shortly after for a new chapter of life. The last I heard he had moved out of the country to pursue a new business venture. Still, it was what it was and I thanked God for the opportunity to share the gospel with someone through basing myself in the club and bar scene.

And so we arrive back at where we started this little adventure.

I finished my set at the club night and grabbed a drink to catch up with old friends. As I did a saw a familiar face coming towards me, it was Adam! Now at this point you may be thinking that this is going to be one of those encouraging stories of finding out about God working in someone's life after the seed being planted years before... Believe me I wish more than anyone that this was the case, but, that night didn't quite have the Hollywood ending.

Adam began to fill me in on the activities of the years since I had seen him last. He had indeed been out of the country a few times and had tried a few new business ventures. Girls had come and gone, most notably the long-term girlfriend he was with when I had been at his bar those years earlier. Adam began to tell me about how unhappy he was, how he couldn't settle anywhere and couldn't find what he was looking for. He talked, and I listened. And then the strangest thing happened. The conversation came to a natural lull, he stood up, said goodbye and walked away, and I sat and watched him do it. Some other friends of mine came over and I began catching up with them.

Driving home that night I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, and then it hit me like a freight train. Why hadn't I told Adam that God loved him? Why hadn't I told Adam that he could find his peace and his place with Jesus? Why hadn't I offered to pray for him? Why hadn't I jumped head first into the opportunity that God had entrusted into my hands that night to reveal his truth to someone in need?

I've always hoped to be a good communicator and an effective evangelist. Sometimes it is too easy to boil those things down to speaking at a youth event, going into schools and universities, writing an article for a website and so on. All that stuff is great, but a huge chunk of my evangelism should be an extension of the relationships that I have in the day to day. My friends, my family, my work colleagues, casual acquaintances... Whoever it may be. Most of us will not have 'Evangelist' down on our CV or in our official job description, but in this life God calls us all to share his good news with the world. If God gives me an opportunity to reveal something of him, through my life, actions and my words, am I ready and willing ALL the time?

Paul writes in Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

The first opportunity to talk to Adam came through 'deed'. The way that I lived when I was around him made him see something different in me, which led to questions (and an opportunity for word). The second opportunity those years later was strongly about word, taking the opportunity to speak the truth and love of God in that moment.

Often in our culture it's easy to favor the deed aspect of our evangelism over the word. Sometimes it's easier to do something that reflects God, than to speak out about the truth of God. This is where we so often go wrong though, word and deed are not meant to be separate things; they must go hand in hand. As soon as you separate one from the other you are not presenting the full reality of the Gospel. God is looking for his people to both live and speak in a way that glorifies and reveals him. Through this model we can also move beyond merely introducing people to the good news, to actually walking with them in discipleship.

My prayer is that the way I live my life will promote Jesus, which in turn will raise questions and opportunities to speak of who he is - that I will speak truth whilst backing it up with my actions.

If we can be the answer to our own prayer by choosing to live in this way, God through the power of his spirit can work in us to transform lives, starting with our own.

Will you pray this with me?