Tactics
APOLOGETICS RECAP
In this group, we have discussed a wide range of topics in apologetics. First, we talked through the role of apologetics. Some say, “You can’t argue someone into the faith,” or “you can’t reason your way to God.” In some sense, they are right. But no method of evangelism is adequate for conversion. You can’t love someone into the faith. You can’t model Christ’s image well enough to saving faith. No, you can’t preach the simple gospel clearly enough to save someone either. Unless God’s Spirit is at work, none of these modes of outreach will work. Jesus saves people; our job is to be faithful in our call to preach the gospel. Loving people and modeling Christ’s image is one part of the gospel. Outlining what the gospel entails is obviously another vital part. Demonstrating that the gospel is true is also one part. Apologetics defends the truthfulness of the gospel.
Next, we talked about arguments for God’s existence. We looked at the Cosmological and Moral arguments. From the cosmological argument, we get a being that is spaceless, timeless, immaterial, powerful, intelligent, and personal. From the Moral argument, we get a being that grounds what “goodness” is, appealing to our basic intuition that there is an objective “right” and “wrong.”
We also talked through the reasons to believe that the New Testament of the Bible is reliable. We examined how historians judge the reliability of any ancient book; the New Testament passes with flying colors:
1. Authors claim to be eyewitnesses
2. Accurate information they report
3. They were willing to die for it
4. Many early manuscripts
5. Archaeology supports it
Lastly, we talked about the most important event in human history: The Resurrection of Jesus. We looked at the 4 indisputable facts of history, and then considered possible explanations for these facts. We found that the only reasonable explanation for the evidence is that Jesus really died and came back to life, validating the extraordinary claims He made to divinity and exclusivity.
WHAT NOW?
This is all good information to know and understand, but what do we do with it? Learning how to talk to people about our convictions is crucial to being an effective ambassador for the Kingdom. This will be a lifelong pursuit as we become more like Christ. But here are some of the things that might be helpful when considering how to engage people in spiritual conversations. (The rest of this article is based on Greg Koukl’s book Tactics. Get this book!!)
Every ambassador for Christ needs to have 3 essential skills.
Knowledge
We need to know about the things we are talking about. This goes without saying.Wisdom
The means of communicating the knowledge we have in an effective way.Character
If someone knows what they are talking about, and knows how to communicate it effectively, but is a jerk, not many will listen. Not only that, but if someone knows a lot, communicates well, but doesn’t live a life that corresponds with that knowledge, then that won’t be convincing either.
We are going to focus mainly on the second element, wisdom, the tactical skill of engaging people in conversation.
Christianity is the best explanation for the way things are. Tactics are about how we take the resources that we have and put them in play to maneuver in conversations. But these tactics are very powerful. It is possible to use these tactics in an illicit way, to make people look stupid or foolish. This cannot be our goal. Tactics are not tricks or clever ploys to humiliate and belittle people. These tactics will help manage the conversation, not manipulate people. We don’t want to force our views; we want to offer arguments to persuade people. The point is to keep us in the driver seat of the conversation
A MODEST GOAL
Before a harvest, there is a season of gardening. There are sowers, and there are reapers. But there is one team. A lot of us want to have that one conversation with our friends to bring them to Christ. Some of us have had experiences where we had a life-changing conversation — that “come to Jesus moment.” But of course, in order for that beautiful conversation to have taken place, a myriad of things needed to happen first.
What if the goal in every conversation wasn’t hitting that “home run?” Sometimes there are all sorts of things that need to be dealt with before someone will take the gospel seriously. So, what is the goal? What if our modest goal was just to put a stone in their shoe? This might sound random. Let me explain: When you’re walking and something gets in your shoe, it is annoying. You can keep walking and ignore the irritating sensation, hoping it will just fall out or go away. Or you can stop walking, take your shoe off, and actually find what’s bothering you.
In a similar way, what if our goal in conversation was to annoy the person with ideas, but in a good way? They walk away from the conversation bothered by something we said or bothered by something they couldn’t answer. The goal is to show the person that Christianity is worth thinking about. Now, of course the gospel needs to be preached. Of course, it needs to be modeled. One conversation might not consist of all the details of the gospel or a systematic theology. But this is why we need to understand that the church is a team. This one conversation that gets the person thinking will work in conjunction with another person who is getting them thinking about something else. They might listen to a sermon where the gospel is presented, but not be convinced the first time. This will work in unity with a person who presents the gospel to them a second or third or fourth time until they finally get it. There is a plethora of possibilities in the realm of how God brings someone to saving faith in Jesus. The key here is to grasp the notion that we are participating together in this process. God ultimately saves, but we actively participate in the gardening.
Game Plan: Colombo Tactic
Colossians 4:5-6 “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Put simply, Paul is saying to be smart, be nice, be tactical.
So, we want to put a stone in their shoe. We don’t necessarily have to get people to sign on the dotted line for Christianity immediately. We prayerfully take opportunities as they come to preach the gospel and give thoughtful reasons for our worldview. A great way to engage people in conversation is called the Colombo Tactic.
The Key to the Colombo Tactic: The Christian goes on the offensive in an inoffensive way with carefully selected questions to advance the conversation. There are three steps to this tactic.
In this step, we gather information about the person’s worldview. This is important because we don’t want to make too many assumptions about their claims. We ask clarifying questions in order to correctly understand their views so that we don’t misinterpret or misrepresent them. Asking, a question like this “forces the other person to think more carefully about precisely what he does mean when he tosses out a challenge. Instead of settling for statements that are ambiguous or vague, we ask him to spell out his objection clearly” (Koukl).
• Immediately engages the non-believer
Shows genuine interest
Forces the person to think more carefully
Free education
No pressure, you’re in the driver’s seat
This step reverses the burden of proof back onto the person who makes a claim. The first question helps us understand what a person thinks, while this second question helps us understand why the person thinks it. Most of the time, we just settle for the claims people make. Don’t settle. Ask the person why they think this claim is true. Everyone who makes a claim has the responsibility to explain himself. This is what an argument is. An argument can be thought of like a simple house, a roof supported by walls. The roof is the conclusion and the walls are the supporting ideas. By testing the walls, we can see if they are strong enough to hold the roof up. A conclusion with no supporting ideas is no more an argument than a roof lying on the ground with no walls is a house. Our job in this step is to recognize when the roof is lying flat on the ground, and then point it out. Questions like “How did you come to that conclusion?,” “What are your reasons for holding that view?,” “What makes you think that’s the right way to see it?” are great variations of this step.
When the person actually gives you their reasoning, pay close attention. The person may give a hypothetical explanation for his view, but there are three questions you need to ask yourself when analyzing the reasons.
Is it possible?
Is this explanation a coherent one?
Is it plausible?
Is this explanation reasonable, given the evidence? Does it fit the facts? Many things are possible, but less things are plausible, given certain details and circumstances.
• Is it probable?
Is this the best explanation, considering other competing explanations? The person needs to demonstrate that his explanation is more likely than others.
Even if the person you are talking to is very knowledgeable and you feel overmatched, take yourself out of the “hot seat” by using these first two steps. Ask for clarification on what they mean, and what reasons they have for their views. If you don’t have a response, or don’t have answers to their questions, there is no shame in saying, “Those are interesting ideas. Let me think about it, and maybe we can talk more later.” Do some further research and study on the topic, and continue the conversation at a later date after you’ve had some time to think through your response.
The first two steps consist of gathering information about what the person believes and why they believe it. This third step uses more questions to take the person in the direction we want them to go. There will be times when we want to point out a flawed point of view or bad argument. The questions we ask will be geared towards this purpose. Other times, we want to use questions to prove our own ideas. We might also want to set up the rest of the conversation with questions establishing fundamental ideas that you will need later. “Every time you ask a question and get a favorable response, the person is telling you he understands the point you’re making and agrees with it, at least provisionally” (Koukl). Essentially, we want to win the person over to our point of view, but we can’t just force our views. We need to persuade them by asking questions to establish the pieces that will eventually lead to our conclusions. If we can strategically ask questions that moves the conversation in the direction we want, we can actually prove our points with their help. The reason why this is so powerful is because the other person will be able to see the route very clearly because he is the one giving the answers, and these answers will eventually lead to our view.
This particular step is by far the most difficult to use. It is more difficult because this use of Colombo requires knowledge about the topic at hand. This is why learning what we believe, and why we believe it is crucial! We need to understand the reasons why Christianity is true. This skill will also take some time to develop. Learning how to ask the right questions to get the other person to see your point of view can be hard at first. But the more you do it, the more you will train your mind to think this way.
SUMMARY
Often times, the idea of sharing our faith with people is daunting. It can feel like we are just preaching at deaf ears. The pressure of getting people to accept the gospel is heavy. So, consider adopting a modest goal. Put a stone in their shoe. Annoy them in a good way. Get them thinking more deeply about the important questions in life. Do this by asking simple questions. Ask them often. Letting people explain what they think and why they think it is an educational, respectful, and tactical approach to evangelism. Once we understand the person’s views better, we can communicate our views, and start setting the stage for harvest. Plant seeds with questions and ideas, and take the opportunity for harvest if and when it comes. But do this prayerfully! Ask God to give you wisdom as you engage in conversation. Ask Him for compassion and urgency for the people you minster to.
The more we learn about God in knowledge (scripture, theology, apologetics, etc.) and experience (prayer, reflection, community, etc.) the more we will see Christianity as good news. The more we see Christianity as good news, the more excited we will be to share it with people in a loving, winsome, and tactical way.
Videos
• Tactics Video Study, Session 1: The Columbo Tactic, by Gregory Koukl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csrSA3nPP7I
Reading
Christian Fermin - Youth Worship Director
