Coffee's for Converters!

There’s a movie called “Glengarry Glen Ross”, and while the language in it is strong, offensive and even horrific, it’s a powerful movie.  And there’s not a salesman in America - worth his salt - who hasn’t seen it.

In the pivotal scene by Alec Baldwin - and you may find the cleaned up version on my timeline on facebook - he chews out a group of salesmen who have been falling short in their goals.  One of them tries to get a cup of coffee and he says, “Put that coffee down!”  The guy looks surprised at the anger and hostility, but Alec isn’t backing off.  He lets the old salesmen know that coffee’s for closers, and the guy is no longer a closer.  

All of them seem surprised at the anger - but why not anger?  Why shouldn’t Alec be angry? They’ve a job to do, and they’ve been failing!  And whether they don’t know how or don’t care to learn, the bottom line is that real estate isn’t being sold!

His speech then is an impassioned one in which he is basically letting them know that excuses do not matter.  How nice they are doesn’t matter.  How much they are “triers” doesn’t matter.  All that matters is to get the customer to sign on the line that is dotted - as he puts it!

I thus say to all of you, coffee - or any other pleasing thing - is for converters!  And while I’m not angry like he was in the movie, might Jesus who overturned tables ever be angry at us when he sees some of the missionary moments we are missing?  Might he at least be sad, as he was in the garden when his disciples kept falling asleep?

That gets forgot, doesn’t it?  Yeah, see, Judgment Day is real, and one day we’ll all be up there to see if our name is in the Book of Life.  Perhaps all of our names will be in there - yay! But here’s the thing - what if we must stand by and watch while all those whose names are not in the Book get cast out?

Who will we see?  One of our neighbor’s who we never invited to church?  One of our former co-workers who never knew we were Seventh-day Adventists?  One of our relatives who since we know how he gets, we never really made any effort to share our faith with?  

Will we have to look at each of those who we failed to minister to, and while maybe they are cast out for ignoring others who ministered to them, we must then wonder if we might have succeeded where others failed?

Or even worse - from a personal perspective - will we be judged unworthy for our failures to follow the command to “Go ye into all the world and preach my gospel to every creature”?

Points to ponder.  And why we need to treat spreading the word at least as seriously as some treat selling real estate!

Truth is, just as the Holy Spirit can heal, but we still need doctors, likewise, the Holy Spirit will convert, but ultimately we still need good hearted people out there "selling" it, even if it is free!

All "selling" in this sense means is a person's willingness to speak glowingly, persuasively and consistently - even persistently - about a given subject (in this case Salvation) so that the listener then responds in a positive way!

Will salesmanship alone win baptisms? Of course not! They won't at all. But will the Holy Spirit, without your aid, win baptisms? Of course not! Not at all. Or at least very rarely.  Like Saul of Tarsus rarely!

The two must be joined. You need the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit needs you to be trying. The heck with trying, the Holy Spirit needs you to be DOING! You thus need to learn all you can about presenting the Salvation of Christ to others with the same enthusiasm that that guy who sold you that lemon had!

And guess what? Since you aren't selling lemons, since you are instead presenting a priceless gift at zero cost, this shouldn't be that tough a sell.

ABC - Always Be Converting! Charitable work? Who are you speaking to about the Bible while doing lawn work with them? Who are you sharing your testimony with while painting their house? Whose questions are you answering while helping them move?

You at Church? ABC! Who's sitting in back alone? Who's sitting alone in general? Who were you not introduced to? Who's loitering in the lobby while the service is going on? Who's dressed a bit less appropriately? Who is no one talking to? Who's eyes are cast down? Do you even know to look for these things? START!

A guy wanders onto a car lot you think he’s trying to get out of the rain?  He wants to buy a car!  Will you sell it to him?  Are you salesman enough to sell it to him?

A guy wanders into church, you think he’s trying to get out of the rain?  He wants salvation!  Will you help lead him to it?  Are you Christian enough to lead him to it?

Always Be Converting! The guy pumping gas next to you, the cashier you pay, the woman in front of you at the grocery store, waiting in line with you! Does your postman have a clue you're a Seventh-day Adventist? Do you have a clue that you've a postman?

Okay, so your heart is in the right place, you’re now up for following Christ’s command, you’re ready to gather in the lost sheep - great!

But do you know how?

Well, if you don’t, I’m here to tell you!

First, quantity has a quality all of it’s own!  Vladimir Lenin said that, but it’s true anyway!  By that phrase I mean you should be sharing your faith all the time, with so many people that it won’t matter if you do it “wrong”, as some percent will respond anyway!  And it’s actually pretty hard to sincerely share your faith “wrong” a sincere share will always be appropriate, even without any “salesmanship”.

Look, if you are sharing info about a great real estate deal, then even if you are the lousiest salesman on Earth, it’s a given that some out of a hundred or a thousand will finally see past your clumsy presentation to the value of what you are trying to explain!  And again, do not underestimate the value of sincerity.

First and foremost, and some will forget I said this, if you’re sharing sincerely, you will never go wrong even if you sleep through everything else I say!

Second, it can’t hurt to learn some things, just to have a better chance, just to increase the odds, just so that you can present what you need to better!  Tossing in a little quality with the quantity, as it were.  You know to speak to everyone - at least I hope you do - but now you can try and learn what needs to be said.

Little needs to be said but that Christ died for your sins and getting to know Him and what He wants of us is the most important thing there is!  AND how that impacted your life.  You have to share that part - that’s the part you personally know!

However, some won’t want to hear it.  Most, in fact, will not care to.

So third, learn to deal with shut downs.  What’s a shut down?  That’s where you ask them if they’ll come to church or Bible Study and they say something besides “yes”.  Like, “I already have a church” or “Not interested” or “I’m more spiritual than religious” or “I’m pretty jammed up scheduling wise”.

What do you say to each of those things?  Well, that’s where you APT.  A, P, T.  Acknowledge.  Pause.  Transition.  

Acknowledge what they just said, so they know you are not being dismissive of them.  Pause so it doesn’t looked rehearsed and rushed.  Then transition back to what you want of them - which is their salvation, but specifically that they come to church!  And by “transition”, that must be in the form of a question - yes, like Jeopardy!

A statement you make can be ignored - but few are so rude as to not answer a question, they feel uncomfortable not answering.

So when you hear those shut downs, you APT with a question.  Those questions will tend to overcome those shut downs, and mean that the conversation is continuing.

“(Acknowledge) Oh, I’m glad you go to church (Pause)  (Transition) Does your church worship on the Sabbath?” or “You’re not interested in eternal life?  How come?”  or “I’m glad you’re spiritual, but is there no benefit to learning insights collected over the centuries, or even just communing with fellow believers?”  or “Yes, schedules can be hectic in these modern times, but did you know that it was God’s plan that we’d always have at least one day to rest and relax from the cares of this world?”

Does this make a difference?  It makes an eternity of difference.

“Would you like to come to church with me this Sabbath?”

“I already have a church”

“Oh, okay.”

Result?  He’s not going to our church and probably not to his.

Instead, try this:

“Would you like to come to church with me this Sabbath?”

“I already have a church”

“That’s cool, it’s good to hear of people going to church in general.  But would you do me a favor and try mine this Sabbath?  It would mean a lot to me.”

See, he’s probably not actually going to church at all, and while that’s fine, now you’ve tossed in that it would mean a lot to you.  He knows you care now.  He also knows it would be rude to decline when he actually has no other commitment.

In short, unless he is a literal stalwart member of another church, who was actually going to attend, he is now at least inclined to go with you.  He may still not, but he’ll have a harder time refusing.

Fourth, to an extent, you need not accept a “no”.  Persistence pays and all that.  Will you annoy some who will still not go?  Probably.  But there’s only two outcomes here - or should be only two outcomes.  Either they’re coming to church, and they’ll be glad you persisted, or they won’t, in which case why do you care if a non-member isn’t thinking you’re all great and nice?

You’re warning people in fast cars about the bridge out around the bend - you going to just whisper “stop”?  Or maybe be a bit more forceful?

Fifth, do a post game analysis after each failure.  You know how after you get shut down, you’ll think of what you could have said later?  Yeah, don’t wait for that “ah ha” moment, but actively try to ponder what you could have said differently, where it went wrong, what if anything could have been done.

Maybe nothing - some just won’t go to church no matter what - but usually if it goes wrong, I like to find a mistake I made, and what I could do better.  Because if it’s on them, I can do nothing about that, but if it’s on me - as I hope - then I can grow and improve and win next time!  So don’t be afraid to find your mistake - you WANT to find your own mistake, it’s the only hope of improving!

Sixth, do you have answers for the type of questions you may get?  There are two kinds, you should be able to handle both.

Do you know all the answers to questions some may have of Christianity in general and our faith in particular?  Coming to Sabbath School and Services each week, and Bible Study each week, will aid in you having those answers.  Who is Ellen White?  Why do we worship on Saturday?  Why can’t Sunday be okay?

Know these.  Or at least have the phrase handy, “I think I’d like to learn more of that myself, can you come with me to Bible Study this week, I know a guy there who’s sure to know!”  That turns a failing into a success pretty handily, huh?

Then there’s the other type of questions, the “stumpers” that some atheists, agnostics and smart alecs in general will try to put you off with.  Where did Cain get his wife?  What about dinosaur bones?  What about how evolution is a “fact”?  

Can you answer these?  It’s handy if you can.

If you can’t, then know this, and repeat this:  “I can’t claim to be any kind of great theologian.  I just know what a difference the sacrifice of Christ, and my acceptance of it, has made in my life.  I’d not be where I am today without it.  I’d like you to have the joy I have.  Could you at least come with me this Sabbath and see if you in any way feel that spirit?”

Remember - sincerity works.  If you can’t answer some stumper, just fall back on that bedrock of honest faith and sincerity.  You’ll never go wrong.

Seventh, WIIFMs.  What’s in it for me?  No, not for you personally, this is where you have to convey to the person you’re attempting to persuade why they should be persuaded.  In other words, what’s in it for them?

If they’ve a family, then focus on how we’re a family friendly church!  If he’s looking for truth, focus on how we follow ALL the commandments!  If she’s looking to get involved in the community, focus on our charitable missions and local aid programs!

And focus most of all, no matter who it is, on the greatest benefit of all - salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!  And the eternity of happiness that we get because of that!

I used to persuade people to pay off their repossessed car - that I specifically told them they would NOT get back after they were done paying for it!  If I can persuade someone to pay a huge price for a gift which they will never receive, surely anyone can persuade another to accept a huge gift for a price that’s already been paid!  

That gift is salvation and eternal life!  It’s been paid for by Christ!  Will you persuade them to accept that gift?  Are you Christian enough to get them to accept that free gift?  I don’t expect you to be able to go out and sell ice to Eskimos - but surely you’re up for giving away free ice water to those dying of thirst in the desert?

Because honestly?  That’s all that’s being asked of you here, and all that Christ commanded.  And if you aren’t up for that, wow, must be a heckuva reason why, eh?

Eighth, never be embarrassed.  That being the number one reason “why” for those who do not wish to give out free water to those dying of thirst, or share free salvation with those in need of it!

Stand with Christ and He will stand with you.  This is where most will fail, and this is why you won’t “close” or “convert”.  And why you get no coffee!  You will not want to look like “that guy”.  You know, “the Fundy”.  The “kook”.  The cult member, the kool aid drinker!  You won’t want those looks at work.  Or to jeopardize that promotion.  Or to annoy the neighbors.  Or to have anyone any place any time give you those looks.

When you fail to spread His word, due to not wanting to look silly or strenuous or simply too “into it”, you are at that moment NOT standing by Christ.

Nice person?  No doubt.  Good church goer?  Sure.  Tithe payer?  Maybe.  

But you aren’t standing by Him when you meet a lost sheep and keep your mouth shut and fail to give that lost sheep directions to safety.