Her curiosity didnt surprise me. Folks at my new church are also interested. One threw back his head and said: "Wow! You must have met a fabulous salesman. Its tough to evangelize Jews!" Another pulled me aside and asked: "What magic words convinced you to come to the Lord? I never know the right approach to make to a Jewish person."
Again, Im not surprised. I used to be an unswerving hard sell. I enjoyed bellowing "Not interested!" at on mission Christians who put me in their sights.
But, here I am todayan enthusiastic Christian. Which brings me back to those questions my friend asked.
When I chart the road to my conversion, I find that I jumped six major hurdlessome intellectual, some emotional. Perhaps my experiences getting past them can help you be on mission more successfully in your encounters with your Jewish friends.
Paul might have been thinking of me when he wrote that Jews demand miraculous signs (1 Corinthians 1:22, NIV). I certainly needed a compelling reason to consider Christianity. The folks who tried to convert me by quoting the Gospels received a curt answer in return: "I dont accept the writings that you call the New Testament." "You have to accept the Bible!" was the inevitable comeback.
"Sure I accept the Biblemy Bible! It ends with Second Chronicles, and it doesnt say anything about God having a son."
"But ... but ... but ..."
This is the familiar motorboat imitation done by confused Christians who cant find the right opener to start a conversation about Jesus.
The Christian who finally got my attention introduced me to the miracle of the early church: A band of uneducated Jewish peasants, from a hick town in Judea, whose leader had been executed in a horribly demoralizing way
conquered the cowardice they had consistently demonstrated
found the strength to become missionaries and martyrs
carried their faith throughout the known world.
Its hard not to be impressed by this "pragmatic proof" of Christianity. Remember what Gamaliel, Pauls superstar Jewish teacher, said about Peter and the other apostles: For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men (Acts 5:38-39, NIV).
I used to think Christians were gloomy folk, who seemed obsessed with heaven, hell and salvation. One of my favorite ways to end a discussion was: "Im not interested in Christianity! It doesnt offer anything I need while Im alive."
Of course, I was wrong. Christianity offers something everyone needs: the peace of Christ in a world full of fear.
I left this hurdle behind when a cheerful Christian friend talked about the peace of God, which transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7, NIV). It got me thinking about what my thoroughly Jewish father had told me decades ago. "Sincere Christians seem happyat ease with themselves and the world around them." He added: "Theres something real there."
Today, I know Who and What the something real is.
Christianity drips with complex doctrines: the Trinity, the Incarna-tion, the atonement, predestination (or the lack thereof). At first, they baffled and discouraged me. C.S. Lewis came to my rescue. The essential principles of Christianitywhat Lewis dubbed Mere Christianity in his classic book of the same nameare easy to grasp. As Lewis explains: "The central Christian belief is that Christs death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start."
Simple and succinctwithout the heavy baggage of theological language, or the "theories" (as Lewis calls them) beloved by specific Christian denominations. Exactly the encouragement I needed to begin delving the riches of "full Christianity."
Speaking of denominationsI now recognize that my friends made Christianity seem even more complex by trying to bring me to Christ and to their particular churches. Trust mea non-Christian has great difficulty grasping the distinctions between, say, Southern Baptists and Episcopalians. Trust me againback then, I didnt care to learn. I chose my denomination after I decided to become a Christian.
My recommendation: Use your church as an examplebut dont be upset if your friends heart leads him or her to a different door.
After a business colleague made a valiantbut unsuccessfuleffort to share Christ with me, I asked: "Why do you care about my religion?" "I hate to see you separated from the Lord," he answered. "Dont you realize that Judaism doesnt work? Read John 14:6. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus!"
I got spitting mad and told him why: "Jews believe that every human being has direct access to God. I certainly do. Go see Fiddler on the Roof. Who do you think Tevya is always talking to?"
"How dare you Christians claim ownership of God?" I blurted back.
What we have here is a terrible "marketing strategy." My friend chose to advocate Christianity by trampling on my beliefs. He used Christian polemics, when he should have used Christian apologetics.
The differences are enormous.
A polemic screams: "Youre so wrong you must be stupid!" An apologetic invites a change of thinkingwithout the implied insult.
A highly effective evangelist wrote: Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15, NIV).
Speak gently and argue respectfully. This may mean biting your tongue, taking a few deep breaths, leaving tough concepts for later or putting a softer "spin" on controversial passages.
Use explanations that invite more discussion and dont raise hackles.
Here are three Christian doctrines along with why they set off warning bells in Jewish minds:
The Trinityseems to challenge monotheism (which Jews "invented").
The idea of Christ dying for someone elses sinsstrikes Jews as contrary to fairness and justice.
New Testament notions of hell go far beyond Jewish concepts of eternal punishment.
Speak gently and argue respectfully when you introduce these concepts. Youll be a more productive on mission Christian.
Lets be frank. For nearly two millennia, Jews have suffered persecution and insult at the hands of people calling themselves Christians. Its not surprising that Jews are wary of Christians bearing the gospel.
A Christian neighbor once said to me: "Its terribly unfair to blame todays Christians for past horrors."
"Youre right!" I snapped. "About as unfair as the Christian kids who kept telling me that I killed Christ!"
I can pinpoint the moment when my distrust began to fall away. It was when I heard a committed Christian gush joyfully about Christianitys roots in Judaism.
"Did you know," he said, "that the Jewish founders of Christianity didnt start out to create a different religion? Or that Jerusalem in the first century was chock full of Jewish Christians who prayed in the Holy Temple? Or that the Romans considered Christianity to be a sect of Judaism? Or that you can find the fundamental prayer of Judaism in the New Testament?"
"Whoa! What fundamental prayer?"
"Check out Mark 12:29," he said. "Jesus explained that the most important commandment is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."
"Im amazed!"
"Dont be," added my friend. "As Paul wrote in Romans 1:16: the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (NIV)."
The more I thought about it, the more I appreciated that Paul was right.
I was a closet Christian long before I went public. After allwhat would my family and my Jewish friends think? How could I explain going over to the other side?
And so, I was sappily secretive about my journey.
I bought my first New Testament in a used bookstore 50 miles away from home (no way would I go to a Christian bookstore, and I worried that I might meet a friend in our local Barnes & Noble). I even reset the dial after I listened to a Christian radio station.
One well-meaning friend shared Jesus words in Mark 10:29-31: no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age ... and in the age to come, eternal life (NIV).
It was the last thing I needed to hear. I didnt want to leave my family.
And I winced when I recalled the horror stories Id heard about Jewish family members who "mourned" the loss of a convert to Christianity and pretended that he or she had died.
Happily, my fears proved to be an imaginary hurdle: my family and friends supported my decision. I was blessed, but many other Jewish converts experience painful breaches when they put Jesus first.
My advice: Be supportive if your Jewish friend experiences the heartache of family alienation.
My journey from Judaism to Christianity lasted almost three yearsmostly because I insisted on traveling solo in the beginning. I didnt let my Christian friends know what I was thinkingor doing until I felt moved to finally join a church.
When I look back, I see that my leisurely pace had one enormous benefit. It helped me to figure out for myself what I now consider the strongest attraction to Christianity for a Jewish person: I didnt fall away from Judaism when I became a ChristianI moved ahead to an even richer understanding of God through my newfound relationship with Christ.
Ron Benrey is a writer and author living in Columbia, Maryland.