Stories From The Field

I want to share with you my latest CP.E. witnessing opportunity with a taxi driver this last weekend. Most of you know that one of my introductory questions for taxi drivers is, “How long have you been driving a taxi?” followed by “What led you to change your job?” These two questions can be helpful because the answers can provide a better understanding of what is going on in their life and give you clues as to how to build your bridge to the gospel in the conversation.

For example, if their change to a new profession was a result of being retrenched or some kind of personal trouble, this kind of admission can make it much easier for you to share how God provides strength in times of crises in your own life. It can also specifically provide the clues to know what kinds of questions you can ask or issues you can raise to help move the conversation more in a spiritual direction. This last weekend was no exception. In the course of our conversation the taxi driver confessed to me that he only drove a Taxi on the weekends because during the week he had to take care of his sister (who has a physical handicap). He further explained to me that no one else in his family could take care of her.

I realized from his admission that there was an opportunity to move the conversation into a spiritual direction fairly easy. I said to him that part of my job is to teach in churches throughout Singapore and I’ve noticed that some churches even have programs to help the handicapped. (Notice that in saying this to him I was telling him something about my religious beliefs. FYI, this might help to make my religious questions seem not so abrupt when I raise them later). So I asked him if his sister was involved in any of these church programs? He said she wasn’t but as we kept talking he somehow let it slip that he was a catholic.

I know some Catholics that are really devote Christians, but I also have met some that are more religions and less devote. I also know some Baptist who are really devote Christians and yet I attended church (I grew up Baptist) with some who really just played church and were not real Christians. One of the issues that I’ve learned over the years that helps clarify where a person is at spiritually (especially when I know they are at least a religious person and claim to be a Christian) concerns the issue of “belief that” and “belief in.” So in the course of my conversation with the taxi driver this was the next issue I discussed with him.

I pointed out to him that I grew up Baptist and that there were some guys I went to church with in my youth that knew a lot about Christianity and believed in fact that Jesus was the Messiah. However, I said the problem is that they were never really Christians because they never believed “in Him” (Notice I used the example of my Baptist friends in my church so as not to get him to conclude this issue is really a Protestant/Catholic disagreement).

This seemed to peak his interest when I explained to him this distinction between “belief that” and “belief in.” I explained that the bible teaches in James 2:19 that the demons believe that God exists, but that they certainly don’t believe “in Him.” He agreed that this was true. I then gave him the illustration about marrying my wife and pointing out that I can believe my wife would make a great wife (base on the evidence), but the evidence would never force me to say I do to her. I explained to him that in a similar way you and I may “believe that” Jesus is the Messiah, but it doesn’t force us to “believe in” Christ. To make a long story short, at one point of the conversation he seemed to have an epiphany when he confessed…“wow, believing in Jesus is a whole lot harder than anyone can ever imagine!” Now his English was not so good and I was nearing my destination so I gave him the Chinese tract “Discovering God In Chinese Characters” and encouraged him to read the tract to understand more about what it means to “believe in” Christ (I also wrote my name and contact info. on the tract). I could tell he hadn’t made that decision yet to “believe in” Christ. It seemed as though this may have been the first time he really understood what it meant to believe in Christ! I encouraged him to contact me (he didn’t have e-mail) if he had any questions about the tract. To me it was clear that God had given me a divine appointment that day to help him at least take one step closer!

Recently I was in the Philippines doing training in a church in the area near former Clark Air Base. After the training a taxi was arranged for me to get to the airport (the ride to the Airport was about an hour). As a result I had a lot of time to talk to the taxi driver about spiritual issues.

My transition question from casual conversation to spiritual matters went something like this. I told him that I was originally from the U.S. and that in my country many people consider themselves Christians, whether they were or not. Yet in Singapore where I now live, many people consider themselves Buddhist, even though many are not really pure Buddhist. I said that I know in the Philippines that there are a lot of people who are either Protestant or Catholic Christians. (I used these examples to help him think more carefully about what he would say to me about his own beliefs and to help anticipate any clarifications I would have to make in our spiritual dialog).

Then I asked him if he had any religious belief? His response right away was that he was Catholic. So I mentioned that I grew up in a Baptist church myself. However some of the guys I went to church with “believed that” Jesus was the Messiah, but never really “believe in” Him and so were not Christians. I then explained more what I meant by “believing in” Christ. I repeated over and over that “believing in” Jesus was more than just knowing facts about Jesus or even intellectually accepting the idea that Jesus really did die on the cross to take away the sins of the world. It is asking Jesus to not only forgive us of our sins but also to take control of our life and make Him the Lord and master of our life. So I asked the Taxi driver did he merely “believe that” or did he “believe in” Christ. Through the interaction that followed I was convinced he really did “believe in” Christ, even though he was a little confused about some doctrine. I also sought clarification concerning his understanding about faith and works and he agreed that it was not his works that save him, only Christ. I quoted for him Eph. 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5 I encouraged him to meditate on these verses.

I also asked him a hypothetical question to clarify some things for him without making him defensive about the teachings of the Catholic church. I said, “if you were to talk to some of those who attend Catholic mass with you, would they have this understanding that being a Christian would involve more than “believing that” Jesus is the Messiah? Would they understand that being a Christian means we “believe in” Christ?” He told me that he thought that some of them would not have this understanding. I further asked him if someone were to ask most of his church members if they would have any assurance that when they would die they would go to heaven, what would they say? (This question was to prepare the stage for my question to him about this and yet limit the potential for his defensiveness). Then I asked him the same question concerning himself. He said that for him, he would hope he would be able to go to heaven. I then quoted for him 1 John 5:11-13. I explained to him that these verses taught that he who has the son has eternal life and then asked him if he had the Son? He said he did. So I said according to this verse what do you have? He said, I would have eternal life. I further reminded him of what I said about Eph. 3:8-9 and Titus 3:5 and further clarified to him that no matter how much good we do it will never be enough. He thanked me for explain these things to him. He also said he felt like that God may have a purpose for him but he wasn’t sure what it is.

 I suggested to him that being a taxi driver he has many opportunities to have many conversations with people about the Lord. It was an important mission field. I also said that God could use him to help the people in his church understand the difference between “believing that” Jesus is the Messiah and “believing in” Him. Before I left the taxi I prayed for him that God would bless him and his family and open up doors for him to talk to more people about Jesus.

 It was a good reminder that not only can we look for opportunities to share our faith every day, but we can look for opportunities to encourage others to make the most of the time they have to reach out to others and tell them about Christ! After all God has a mission for each of us no matter what our training or background!

Today I got into a taxi for a doctors appointment (Normally I take the car). The first thing I noticed was that ‘the taxi driver had a bunch of small little animals on his dash board. After a few minutes of introductory conversation I asked the key question:

Uncle I’ve notice you have a lot of little animals on your dash board where many taxi drivers keep their Buddhist statues. I then asked, “why not any Buddhist statues?” He remained quiet in response so I asked again. This time he said in his broken English…”I am….freethinker.” So I asked, “what about your family?” In reply (and to my surprise) he said his wife and two of his five children were Christians.

Immediately my mind was flooded with a ton of possible questions I could have asked him in response to his previous revelation. I was most curious what kind of “Christians” they were so to get a better idea I first asked, “I am curious…what church do they attend?” He said he didn’t know. I asked, “but haven’t you ever visited their church?” He look back at me and said no (to my surprise again). So I said, “Uncle, but you free thinker…right? You must go visit?” He smiled to my attempts at broken English and my approach. He said,  “I go jogging on Sunday morning.” (He is 72 years old and has been driving a taxi for 23 years).

I could see my approach wasn’t working…so I tried another. So I said, “Uncle you know that Chinese emperors use to worship only one God, right…the God of heaven (Tian). Isn’t it pronounced Shang Ti,” to which he nodded. I followed up with “Uncle did you know that there are a lot of similarities between the Chinese language and the bible?” I then proceeded to pull out the tract I usually keep in my pocket (Discovering God in Chinese Characters). I said for example the Chinese word for righteousness literally means “Lamb over me.” At this point I wasn’t sure what he was picking up from what I said because of his English difficulties. Uncle I said, “can I give this to you to read?” He took the tract and said,  “I am sure my wife will be interested to read it.” I further added, “let me put my name and e-mail on the back in case you have any questions you can contact me.” He seemed appreciative of my offer to not only give him the tract but also to offer my contact info. I explained a few more examples in the tract but wasn’t sure if he caught it because of his broken English.

After a few minutes I decided to change the conversation to other topics so as not to overwhelm him with spiritual dialog, especially since I wasn’t certain how much of my English he was really picking up. As I was getting out of the cab he was about to  hand me the 50 cent change that was due me from the money I gave him and then I saw another opportunity to make him curious to read more. So I said, “Uncle keep the change but don’t forget to get your wife to read the tract to you” to which he nodded that he would. Certainly it was 50 cents well spent!

In reflecting on this experience I was encouraged that God had a divine appointment for me this morning with this taxi driver, especially since I don’t get many opportunities anymore to talk to taxi drivers since I am always driving my car. I am praying that God will use the tract in his life and his family’s interaction with him to help him to take that step of faith before too long (Since he is 73 years old). Today I was given a little reminder that God is always at work in people’s hearts. You and I just need to discern what is God doing and get behind it and make the most of the opportunities He gives us! I trust that God will use this experience to stimulate your thoughts and help you to consider what opportunities God may have for you this week!

I want to share with you my latest CP.E. opportunity with a taxi driver. Recently I had to bring in my car for a tune up. As a result I had to leave my car there for a few hours. Coming to pick up my car I took a taxi. The first thing I noticed when I got into the taxi is that the taxi driver had some kind of Buddhist statue sitting on his dash board. But I could tell it really wasn’t a Buddhist statue, it was a cat that looked somewhat like Buddhist statue. After a few minutes of pleasant conversation I decide to use it as a conversation starter to find an opening to deeper spiritual conversations.

I pointed to the statue and said, “so is that a Buddhist statue?” (knowing it was not but knowing it might create an open door. FYI, I was making the most of the situation). He answered me that no it was a cat. Now I could have asked him many questions at that point.

I could have asked if there was any significance in a cat being on a dash board of a taxi where many taxi drivers keep Buddhist statutes, but I felt that the conversation would cause me to drift further away from where I wanted to go with the time I had with him. I could have just asked him if this cat statue was significant to him for any reason. Again I felt I would have digressed too far with the time that I had. 

So the next thing I asked him was “So are you a Buddhist” to which he replied to me that he was. Now rather than ask him what he meant by Buddhist (clarifying question), I sought (in this circumstance) to clarify this by giving him an example. I told him that my wife is Chinese Singaporean and her parents are Buddhist and have many idols in their home but pointed out that their Buddhism is not a strict Buddhism, it is more a combination of Buddhism and Taoism. Then I said, “I’ve noticed that a lot of Chinese Singaporeans, who say they are strict Buddhist, are really not because there are certain things they desire (Like wining the lottery or etc.). He agreed with me that many who call themselves Buddhist are not strict Buddhist (somehow implying he was more of a strict Buddhist). So I asked him, “So is it really possible to be a strict Buddhist because none of us can actually live without any desire?”

Now this must have triggered something because he became very silent after I said this. So I used this silence to provoke his thoughts further and move him closer to a spiritual dialog about Christ. I said, “Do you know what Jesus taught about desire as opposed to Buddha?” I waited a few seconds to see if he would reply but again he was silent. I could see my question caught him a little by surprise, so a few seconds later decided to press the conversation further. I said, “Whereas Buddha taught that the answer to man’s problem is that we are to get rid of desire (all desire), Jesus taught that instead we were not to give up on the idea of desire, but develop the right desire.” After I said this I just waited to see if this would hook his interest to go further in the conversation. Yet he didn’t say anything so I tried next a clarification question. “So have you heard anything like this before?” He nodded his head yes but didn’t say anything else. So I asked another question, “Do you have any Christian friends” to which he replied yes. I asked, “have they told you things like this?” He said yes but he didn’t elaborate further and his body language communicated to me he was not very interested in further dialog about Christianity. So I put the focus back on Buddha. I pointed out to him that Buddha himself taught that he was not God and only claimed to point to the truth. Yet it seems like I had finally hit a wall and any further dialog would not be very profitable. But at least I had made him think a little deeper about the kind of Buddhism he really believed in which could lead to further questioning of his beliefs to create more open doors for deeper spiritual dialog.

Every day we may not have the opportunity to share the full gospel with our friends, co-workers, and even strangers, but God can use us every day to help them take a step closer, even if it merely means getting them to consider whether their own beliefs are solid enough to build their lives on.

Recently I got into a cab to meet up with the pastors who have been a part of my pastoral coaching group this past year. The first thing that caught my attention was this guy seemed rather young. My first digging (uncovering) question to him was, “Uncle how long have you been driving a taxi?” He answered, “about ½ year.” So my next question was, “Uncle, I am curious why did you stop your previous job…is it because you got retrenched?” (Sometime this is the reason that leads to the Taxi driver sharing more about his life. This gives me the kind of info. that helps me to know how best to talk as I am building bridges to the gospel with him).

He went on to talk about the fact that it wasn’t because he got retrenched, it was because he couldn’t get along with his brother whom he’s been working with in the business for the last 10 years. I could tell in his voice there was some deep hurt because of this so I next sought to “listen” and “empathize” with his situation. I said I was so sorry to hear that this happened to him and gave him some time to talk a little more about this. A few minutes later after some more casual conversation I decided that the time was ripe to move the conversation in a more spiritual direction.

Pointing to the three Buddhist statues he had sitting on his dashboard, I said, “Uncle I notice that you are a Buddhist…are you a devote Buddhist?” He replied that yes he was a devote Buddhist. I explained to him that I was surprised by his answer. I explained to him that I meet (notice I am putting this in the third person not focusing on his belief but others) Buddhists in Singapore all the time who tell me they are devote Buddhists, and yet they also seem to want to be the first in line for their lottery ticket. He smiled after I said that but repeated again that he was in fact a devote Buddhist. The other thing I told him about my experience with “devote Buddhists” is that “It seems difficult for them to really live out their beliefs because as a Buddhist, the moment you desire to stop desiring, you are still desiring something.” He smiled again…but his body language this time gave me the impression that his fortresses were starting to crumble.

I next wanted him to understand that people who call themselves “Buddhist” actually hold different perspectives sometimes and are unclear about their beliefs themselves. I mentioned for example that my Chinese Singaporean wife and I were Christians but that her parents were folk Buddhists and they have many different idols in their home and worship different gods for different purposes. I asked, “Uncle why do Chinese have this perspective of worshiping different gods?” He said, “maybe because they hope to get something more…the more the better.” I said, “But why would they ask a lesser spirit for help with something rather than the One who created them?” Furthermore I asked, “Why should they feel any obligation to these lesser spirits?” To make my point I asked, “Uncle, shouldn’t we have a greater obligation to our parents than our distant cousins?” He nodded in agreement. I further explained, “didn’t the Chinese emperors at one time worship only one God, the God of Heaven (Tian) called Shanti?” He acknowledged that this was true. So I asked, “Shouldn’t we feel more obligation to our parent, Shanti, rather than these lesser spirits?” At this point he retreated from his “devote Buddhist” perspective and confessed to me that he really didn’t practice any religion (though he called himself a Buddhist) and didn’t really believe in anything. I said next, “But don’t you believe that you were created…you didn’t just come here by accident right?” He reluctantly agreed (I could tell he even felt uncomfortable admitting this to me). So now I could build on this agreed belief.

I said, “Out of all the religious leaders who ever lived, which one do you think is giving us the right path to God?” He paused for a moment and didn’t know what to say next. I continued, “For example, let’s say you were coming to end of your life and you met Jesus and other great religious leaders and each suggested a different path, whose advice would you take? Wouldn’t you take the advice of the one who’s been to the other side of life and come back to tell us about it?” He paused to reflect on what I had said. I could see now by his reaction that I really had gotten him to think more deeply about these matters, much more than he is accustomed to. I further added, “As a Christian, I believe that Jesus is so unique compared to other prophets. For example, I know that Buddha claimed to point to the way, and Mohammad claimed to be a prophet of God, but that Jesus Christ is the only major religious leader that ever claimed to be God and then he did three things to proof this. He lived a sinless life, fulfilled prophecy written hundreds of years before he ever existed, died on the cross and rose from the dead.” I further added, “Now if Jesus rose from the dead he has power over death and if he has power over death he must be God because only God has power over death.” Then I asked him “Don’t you agree that if you are making decisions about the afterlife it would be better to consult someone who’s already been there to tell us about it?” He paused and reflected and nodded (as if to say “yes that makes sense”).

Then I proceeded to try to build heart bridges for him. I told him that Buddha did correctly put his finger on the problem that man has by pointing out how bad selfish desires are. I told him however that Jesus had a different solution to man’s problem. He didn’t see the answer as having to get rid of all desire (I explained to him earlier how hopeless this process is). I said that Jesus saw the answer is developing the right desire, “As a Christian I believe that when we invite Christ to come into our life he can change us from the inside out so we no longer desire to do bad things that Buddha was so concerned about, but we desire to do the good things that God wants us to do.”

I realize I had given him a lot to think about and he seemed reluctant to go further and since we were nearing my destination, I backed off of the spiritual conversation to talk about something else. As I was ready to open the car door and get out, to my surprise, the last thing out of his mouth was, “I enjoyed our conversation.” I realized that because of my conversation with him, he might be open next time to going even further in the spiritual dialog with another Christian. It was a good reminder to me that as Christian, if we are going to make progress with some people over a period of time, “we must give ourselves permission to sow and we must make efforts to till the soil so that we can sow effectively.”

During this time of the year I know that many of us take time to think about how we can use the “Christmas Holiday” to reach our friends and loved ones for Christ. But don’t forget that we can treat every day just like Christmas! Every day we can be looking for divine appointments with people that God puts across our path. Sometimes it may involve planting or watering the seeds of the gospel (1 Cor. 3:6). But as you know, sometimes God’s divine appointments may be merely “tilling the soil!”

Let me share one example from my own life recently to clarify what may be involved in tilling the soil here in the East. I trust it will stimulate your thinking in the area of pre-evangelism.

A few weeks ago after I finished speaking at a church in downtown Singapore, I got into a cab to make my way back home. On this particular night I was really tired (I had just spoken for 2 hours) and had no desire to engage the taxi driver in spiritual dialog or any dialog for that matter. Despite that, I told God, “Lord I’m really tired but if you want me to say something to this taxi driver, you will need to make it clear to me you are already working in his life and in this situation.”

I didn’t say much to this taxi driver but for some reason he started talking to me (to be honest, I wasn’t really sure of what he was saying to me as I wasn’t really listening very carefully since I was so tired). A few minutes later, I realized the taxi driver was saying some things that I don’t hear taxi drivers ever say on their own without me asking them probing questions. He was talking (for some reason) about how all people are basically good. Immediately I recognized that this was the sign I asked God for and so I started to listen more carefully. So I asked him, “Uncle, (this is a term we use in Singapore in talking to older men, even those we don’t know), do you really believe that all people are basically good? Again he repeated something to the effect that yes we are all basically good and amplified this even more. After he paused for a moment, I said, “Uncle, let me explain why I asked you this question by telling you a story. One day I was talking to my wife’s Uncle (who is a Chinese Singaporean) who is a Confucianist (a follower of Confucius) and reminded him that Confucius taught that man is born basically good. Yet I said to my wife’s uncle you would never know it by the way some of these old ladies push each other out of the way to sit on a seat on the MRT (Train).”

At that point, I told the taxi driver that my wife’s uncle laughed at what I said because he realized that there is something inside of us that, although we can do good at times, has a bent to do what is bad. I explained to him that I am a Christian and explained to him how the Bible teaches us something different about mankind other than what Confucius taught and pointed out this did seem to match with our experiences with people, if we were honest with ourselves. Realizing he was beginning to lose this argument (that all people are basically good), he did what many people do when the feel like they have bitten off a little more than they can chew, he changed the subject to something else that he thought could help get him off the hook and escape the pit he had somehow fallen into! “Well,” he said,” it really doesn’t matter because all religions are basically the same.” So after a pause in the conversation, I asked him, “Uncle do you really believe that all religions are basically the same?” He paused for reflection and then he repeated that yes he thinks we all do believe the same things. In response I said to him “Certainly I would agree with you that there are some things in every religion and culture that we all believe is right or wrong. We may all believe we should be kind and loving to others, but it is not in our similarities where we are distinct, but it is in our key differences. Then I said “Uncle, did you know there are some major difference between Christianity (remember I already told him I am a Christian) and all the other religions?” He paused for a moment and said no he didn’t. Then I said to him, “Uncle, my understanding is that Buddha claimed to point to the way, Mohammed claimed to be a prophet of God, but Jesus Christ is the only major religious leader who ever claimed to be God, then he proved it by doing three things: He lived a sinless life, he fulfilled prophecies written hundreds of years before he was ever born, he died on the cross and then rose from the dead. I asked him “Have you ever heard this before about Jesus?”

His goal from this point on seemed to be centered on trying to water down the impact of my statements about Jesus’ claims, so he ignored answering my question and immediately launched a different tactic. “No disrespect for your beliefs,” he said, “but I’m sure if people in Jesus’ day were living today and they saw modern day magicians, they would probably think they were God also.” It was clear in his response that he definitely had some hard soil that needed to be ploughed up before he would respond in a positive way to anything related to the Gospel. It seemed obvious now that this was what God had intended for me to do in this divine appointment. Again I challenged his assertion. “Uncle do you really believe that if people in Jesus’ day were living today and saw the magicians today they would think they were in fact God?” I continued, “Certainly they might not be able to explain how they do things, but would that be enough to make them conclude that they are in fact God?”

As he was pondering, I continued, “It seems to me that only someone who actually died and then came back to life (and so has the power over death) could make the case for this kind of claim.” I further pointed out to him that I know of a Christian magician who does many of the tricks that people do today (Andre Cole) but said during his performance that the kind of thing Jesus did in being crucified and rising from the dead is on a different level than anything magicians can do today. Now at this point he seemed unsure of what to say next, so for the first time in the conversation he kept silent.

While it seemed that I did make some progress with tilling the soil of his mind, it was clear that I would not make much more progress with him that night. The Holy Spirit would have to do a greater work on his heart before he would be open to going much further in this conversation. So I changed the subject and asked him questions of a non-religious nature to let him off the hot seat.

As I reflect on this experience I am reminded of the fact that every day can be just like Christmas. Every day we can and should look for those divine appointments to help others take a step towards Christ. Certainly this is something we should not forget as we enter to the Christmas holiday period.