Understanding the Neighbor Next Door

Lance and I are going to teach a breakout session at our regional denom conference meeting in June titled something like "Understanding the Neighbor Next Door." Here are some notes:

Start with why? John 1:14 -- The word became flesh and dwelled among us. Matthew 25 -- Go and make disciples of all nations. Paul -- I became all things to all people.

Understand your local culture by listening to people. Here are some ideas of what to look for.

1. Don't assume you know how they think or feel. Don't assume they feel empty. Don't assume they feel guilty. Don't assume they aren't interested in God. Don't assume that they are less moral than you. You have to know them to know them.

2. If they swear around you that might be a sign they trust you.

3. Find out what they watch on TV. You don't have to ask. It always comes up. They won't be watching what you watch. I was with a group the other night and everyone but us had been rivoted to Revelations.

4. Don't come in with an agenda. If anything, simply introduce them to Jesus Christ the Person, not Jesus the idea, or Jesus the belief.

5. People will test you. My neighbor had a habit of throwing out questions which he knew the answer to, just to see if I thought he was dumb. I didn't bite, but it is easy to want to answer stuff.

What else? Comments?