We’ve just had a delivery of new business cards at Dundonald this morning and the timing couldn’t be better. Perhaps you already have a personal card you use with work, but you’d be forgiven for thinking perhaps they’re not that necessary in the digital, smart-phone age.
But last night at our 7pm congregation, our Senior Pastor; Richard Coekin was explaining to us how he always tries to carry a couple of the Dundonald business cards around with him in his wallet to be ready to give them away to those he meets who ask him about what he does.
He readily admitted that he is able to share with people quite easily what it is he does for a job and why he would love for you (the person he’s speaking to) to take the card and come and visit us at church…for one he gets paid to tell people about Christianity, but more than that he enjoys it.
As we looked at the words from 1 Peter chapter 3 and verses 8-16 we were reminded of the need to ‘be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.’ Our hope is Jesus Christ and yet many of us find it really hard to say that out loud and share with those we meet and live alongside. We often want to try and get to a point in the conversation where we can invite someone to come and visit our church, or at least explain why we find it so important to our lives. And yet time and time again, we whimp out, we can’t find the right words to explain our faith, our hope, and so we say nothing.
The business cards aren’t a solution to our lack of confidence or eloquence, but they are a step towards our readiness…by taking a few away with us on a Sunday and keeping a couple in our wallet it means we’re a little more ready to invite someone to church, to explain the hope we have should the occasion arise. All that’s left to do now is pray God would give us those opportunities…and for us to be prepared!