more on comparisons

I've never been very into formulas. I see big pictures, not details. I prefer to do things "off the cuff" and just see what happens. However, I work very well with guidelines and strategies. So I've drawn some more comparisons between working for Ann Taylor and witnessing.

In a recent store meeting, we were given some guidelines on how to work with clients:

-Get to know the client. Be familiar with her lifestyle, know where she's coming from, her background, etc. Befriend her, let her get to know you. Create an emotional connection with her. In doing this, you'll know what to offer her, what will appeal to her, what will work for her, and most of all, make you care about what you bring her. If you don't know or like your client, you won't be motivated to help them.

-Be knowledgeable about the product. Know what you're talking about. Be excited about it. A mirror can convince a client to buy a product, but a stylist can convince her to try it on with how good she makes it sound. Make the client trust you--f she doesn't think you know about the product, she won't. Also, care about the product. If the client doesn't think you love it, she'll second guess it.

-Have style credibility. Wear your words. Follow your own advice. A client will be much more inclined to buy something if a stylist is wearing it, and wearing it well. This is another huge factor in establishing trust with your client. Look stylish, and [at least act like you] know it. She's the client, you're the stylist. If you look sloppy, and you're trying to sell her a chic dress, she won't do it.

Any of this sound familiar? Of course, talking about clothes is a huge leap away from talking about Christ, but apply these same principles in a different context, and what do we get?

-Get to know the unbeliever. Learn their story, their background, their lifestyle. Care about them. We are called to love the lost. So love them. Let them know you love them and want to help them. The unbeliever will be much more inclined to listen to you if they feel like you care about them.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3: "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy going or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing."

-Be equipped with the Sword of the Spirit. Know what you're saying, and know why you believe it. It's not enough to say, "Christ died for your sins. Believe in Him, repent of your sins and you can be with Him." Why? How? Where is that found? If the unbeliever doesn't feel like you know what you're talking about, they won't take you seriously. Give examples, give reasoning, always take it back to Scripture. The unbeliever will see evidence that not only do you know what you're saying, but that you truly care about it. Evangelism is about showing God's love to the people you love.

2 Timothy 4:2: "Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."

-Be credible. Be in the world, not of the world. The unbeliever won't listen to you if you act like "everyone else" while preaching something different. I'm not talking about modesty (although standards of modesty are, of course, important). I'm talking about your attitude. How you live your life. Do you demonstrate God's love and grace in everything you do, or only when you're trying to win people to Christ? The unbeliever will observe you in everything, and if you talk about love, mercy, graciousness, repentance, freedom in Christ, etc. but don't carry it out, what kind of credibility have you established? Live out your faith.

Matthew 28:19-20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

If you read my blog, I pray that you find this helpful. Like I said--I don't like formulas, but I like strategies. I'll end today with another verse from Paul's second letter to Timothy:

"As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 2 Timothy 4:4

Love,

Shelley