Remember in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones comes face to face with a sword wielding villain in an Egyptian market place? The script called for the hero, Indie and his trademark whip, to take on the swordsman in an elaborate show-down. However, Harrison Ford was suffering from dysentery during the shoot and didn’t have the energy to complete the scene as written. In a moment of exhaustion and, as it turns out, improvisational genius he takes out his gun and shoots the attacker just to get it over with. The end result was a legendary movie moment.
Lisa Cole Smith
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Some of the most memorable moments in film are improvised. The authenticity of the conversation or action is so touching or funny because, it is “real” in a way that is hard to do with a script.
Sometimes I wish I had those skills, especially in conversations with non-Christians about Jesus. It’s easy to share about my faith—how I see God at work in the world, how Jesus transforms my life. But it has always been difficult to have “the evangelism talk” with people. Many of the ways I have learned feel prepackaged and using them makes me uncomfortable because they don’t reflect my genuine experience of Jesus.
I have never not known Jesus. I did make a profession of faith when I was in elementary school, but Jesus has always been a part of my life. Baptism for me was not a decision to let Christ into my heart as much as it was an acknowledgement that he was already there. So putting myself in the shoes of someone who hasn’t had the Christian background I do, I have to face difficult questions about things I personally don’t question.
I’m in awe of those for whom evangelism is as natural as breathing and it occurred to me that part of the reason it seems so effective for those people is exactly because it is so natural. I, too, see the Spirit at work in my conversations with people and know God has called me to share about Christ, but it’s the words and delivery I’m stumbling over. I’ve been praying about these things for a while and am finding some helpful instruction in a beginner’s improv class.
I would imagine for most people getting up in front of a crowd and performing without a script is on the top 10 list of things that terrify them. Even as an actor, improvisation is intimidating to me, but I’m learning that those spontaneous moments between people on stage depend on a simple, shared set of rules. I’ve only been in class two weeks, but so far I’ve been introduced to some tools I think might help me in personal conversations as well.
First, be completely present with other people, really listening to what they say with and without words. Make it about them, not you.
Second, instead of preparing what to say next, let responses and next “lines” come as genuine response to whatever you’ve just heard.
Third, support your partner by saying “Yes, and.” This means accepting what they say and not immediately judging it. Instead of thinking of all the reasons why it won’t work or launching into correcting them or offering a better solution, affirm what they give and add something to mix. “Yes, I would love to fly to the moon with you! And, I will bring my purple banana!”
Fourth, justify as you go. Basically, this leaves room for honest and spontaneous encounter. We can freely share whatever comes to mind knowing that we will work together as a team to make sense of it all in due time.
Perhaps I will stop viewing evangelism as a failure or success kind of encounter and instead take my improv lessons to heart. I can be fully present and focused on my conversation partners’ questions and concerns. I can reflect back their needs and longings for a God they don’t yet know is Christ without rushing to make them respond. I can listen without timeline or agenda knowing people can tell when something is scripted or expecting a scripted response. I can say “Yes, and” by affirming what God is already doing in their life and their desire to explore faith, knowing that affirming someone makes them excited to hear what I have to say next while being rejected, especially for little things, makes them want to run away as fast as they can.
I can trust God to give me the right questions to ask to help them make discovery after discovery until they too have named the God in their life as Christ. I can trust God in these spontaneous encounters knowing that he will make sense of it all in due time.
Lisa Cole Smith ([email protected]) is pastor of Convergence: a Creative Community of Faith, a Baptist congregation in Alexandria, Va.