you heard a sports star say, “I don’t want to be a role model.” Well, whether they want to or not, they are. Kids listen to what they say, watch what they do and want to imitate them.
The same is true of you when you profess to be a Christian. You may not stand on street corners and shout about your religion. You may not quote the Bible or even feel comfortable praying in public, aside from church on Sunday. You may not even mention your faith to anyone. But people know. At least, they should know. By the way you speak and the way you conduct yourself, your words and actions should give you away.
Well, that’s all fine and good, you say. But I’m no evangelist. I’m not going to push my religion on anyone. Leave that stuff up to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. Let the Bible-thumping televangelists tell others how to live their life. I’ve got enough to worry about with just me.
This brings us to Big Mistake #2: To evangelize means to push your beliefs on someone else. WRONG! Evangelization has nothing to do with shoving your religion down someone else’s throat or telling anyone else how to live.
At its core, I believe that evangelization is simply telling others your story. Sharing the story of how God has worked and continues to work in your life. Just sharing your experiences, your journey. That’s it. No preaching necessary! I know that is awfully good news to most everyone. Because while very few people like to be preached at, even fewer like to preach.
So let’s start out by acknowledging that evangelization is a good thing. It is done best without being preachy, without trying to foist your beliefs on someone else. Evangelization is simply sharing the blessings that you have received. So how does one go about this evangelization process? That’s what I hope you’ll learn more about as you read through this book.
How To Use This Book
The beautiful thing about being human is that while we’re all part of the same family, we’re all quite different. God has created you as a unique, one-of-a-kind masterpiece creation of His. There has never been another human being on planet Earth that was exactly like you, and there will never ever be another person exactly like you. You have been given a distinct personality, and a very special set of gifts that only you have, and only you can use to benefit the Kingdom of God in the way that God has designed. I hope that makes you feel special, because you are!
Not only does God love you, but God wants you to use the special gifts and personality traits that you have to help others get to know you, and by getting to know you, to know God. As Christians, we have a great responsibility. We are responsible for using the gifts and talents that we have been given. We’ll discuss this in much more detail later.
As we begin this journey of examining and putting into practice the things that we’ll discuss, I realize that everyone has a distinctive personality. Some of the traits that we’ll look at are already a strong part of who you are. Some of them may not be. Some you will be able to relate to, and others may make you feel quite uncomfortable. But that’s okay. None of these traits are “better” than the others. Just because you or I may possess more of one trait or another doesn’t make us better or worse than anyone else.
The purpose of this book is to help us understand how to use those traits that God has given us to draw others to Christ, and to see if there are ways we can strengthen other traits that we may be underutilizing or are even afraid of. After each chapter, do an assessment of yourself and see if you may be strong or weak in that particular attribute. Ask God if this is something that He wants you to improve upon. I’m pretty sure that we can all use some degree of improvement in every area. If you find that you have been blessed with an abundance of a particular attribute, praise God! Use your strengths for God’s glory.
If you find that you may be weak in certain areas, praise God! These can be things that you can allow God to work on. Ask God to give you opportunities and put you into situations where you can work on those things, and allow Him to fill you with whatever you need.
You may choose to read this book from cover to cover in one shot. That’s fine and good. But if you do that, I suggest that, after you’ve finished, you go back and read it again, one chapter at a time. Spend a good bit of time with each chapter. Think of stories from your own life that may fit into the chapter. I hope you’ll find that God speaks to you through it all.
I’m excited about the journey we’re about to take! Are you ready? Then let’s get started!
MAJOR ATTRIBUTES OF A MAGNETIC PERSONALITY
Have you ever met someone that drew you to them the first time you met? I think we’ve all met someone who, when they enter a room, all eyes are drawn to them. People gravitate towards them; they want to be near them. We’ve often heard this termed “personal magnetism,” or think of that person as having a “magnetic personality.” But have you ever really thought of what it is that makes a magnetic personality?
Let’s start by eliminating a few things that some may mistakenly put on the list. At the top of the list of what doesn’t constitute a magnetic personality is good looks. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve met some people in my day who were very physically attractive but who no one wanted to be around. Sometimes physical attractiveness can actually be a deterrent to having a magnetic personality. Why? Because sometimes very attractive people can tend to look down their noses at others they may not deem as “hot.” Madison Avenue and the world today want you to think that if you don’t have a rock hard body and the face of a supermodel, you are somehow inferior. This, my friend, is a lie straight from the lips of Satan. A magnetic personality has nothing to do with how you look. This isn’t to say that very attractive people can’t have a magnetic personality; many certainly do. But it is not a prerequisite.
The next thing on the list is intellectualism. As with physical attractiveness, having great knowledge can also be a stumbling block to having a magnetic personality. Again, this is a sweeping generality, but I have found that some people who are uber-smart know that not only are they uber-smart, but you are not. Possessing a great deal of book smarts can be a very good thing. We should always be learning and growing in knowledge. But uber-smartness is not necessary for having a magnetic personality.
Next up – money! When you first meet someone with a magnetic personality, you probably don’t know how much money they have. Hopefully you don’t care. There are plenty of people with boatloads of cash I wouldn’t let my dog go near. As well, there are plenty of people who don’t have two nickels to rub together that you just can’t get enough of. Some people may be attracted to money, but money cannot buy attractiveness. You may be able to buy a nose job or a face lift or liposuction, but you can’t buy the things that make a magnetic personality.
The last two things on our list of things that DON’T make for a magnetic personality are power and fame. Isn’t it interesting that these are two things many people would sell their soul for? Yet, just like all the other things on this list, power and fame have nothing to do with having a magnetic personality. Some people may achieve power or fame because of their magnetic personalities, but it does not happen in the opposite order.
That’s a short list and I’m sure we could come up with many others. I want you to notice the things on the list are things so many people today are striving after. They’ve bought the bill of goods that being “hot” or smart or rich or powerful or famous is going to fulfill them. But you and I both know that this is a false gospel. Life is really all about relationships. We can only find true happiness, peace and joy by enhancing our relationship with God, and our relationships with others.
If
