We live in a culture where many people are asking questions and putting Christians on the spot. This makes some Christians nervous and so they avoid spiritual discussions all together.

Is there a way to remove this nervousness and build confidence in these situations?

One summer while in college, I decided to try my hand at being a baseball umpire. I had played the game my whole life and didn’t think it would be too hard. Knowing that it was my responsibility to understand the rules and be ready to respond to the coach’s objections, I spent time before every game studying the rules that were different for each age level. When I knew the rules well, I had a confidence when I entered the game and I was able to respond to any objections raised by the coaches. This removed much of my nervousness that I had before each game.

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There was one game I remember very well. It was a special tournament and I couldn’t find the adjusted rules anywhere. After searching and not being able to prepare, I entered the game a bit nervous. When I made a questionable call at one point, it all started to fall apart. The coaches began to object to my call and I didn’t have an answer. I wanted to hide behind my mask and get out of the situation.

I think a similar thing happens to many people that want to enter into a spiritual discussion with unbelievers. They know that many of their unbelieving friends will raise objections and ask questions, and they don’t feel prepared to respond. The fear of being unable to respond keeps them on the sidelines and they never attempt to share their beliefs. I believe that just like I had to prepare for each game, we as Christians need to prepare to share the hope that we have with unbelievers. When we feel prepared in our ability to respond well, we will be confident to dive into a spiritual discussion the next time the opportunity presents itself. Spend some time studying objections to Christianity that are common in today’s culture and understand why you believe what you believe. This will build up your confidence to share your faith with others and destroy many of your fears.

Don’t stay on the sidelines watching others… Get in the game!