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SKETCHES
T
of Leadership o o o o >
hr @
esholds of Conversion
John 4:7-30, 39-40
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, `Give me a drink'.
8(His
disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)
9The Samaritan woman said to him, `How is
it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?' (Jews do not share things in
common with Samaritans.)
10Jesus answered her, `If you knew the gift of God, and who
it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink", you would have asked him, and he would
have given you living water.'
11The woman said to him, `Sir, you have no bucket, and the
well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
12Are you greater than our ancestor
Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his fl ocks drank from it?'
13Jesus said
@
to her, `Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
14but those who drink of
What do you notice about how Jesus leads
the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become
this woman? What do you notice about her
in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.'
15The woman said to him, `Sir, give
responsiveness?
me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.'
16 Jesus said to her, `Go, call your husband, and come back.'
17The woman answered
him, `I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, `You are right in saying, "I have no husband";
18for you have had fi ve husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What
you have said is true!'
19The woman said to him, `Sir, I see that you are a prophet.
20Our
ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must
worship is in Jerusalem.'
21Jesus said to her, `Woman, believe me, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22You
worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the
Jews.
23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship
the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
24God is
spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'
25The woman said
to him, `I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). `When he comes, he will
proclaim all things to us.'
26Jesus said to her, `I am he, the one who is speaking to you.'
27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a
woman, but no one said, `What do you want?' or, `Why are you speaking with her?'
28Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,
29`Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the
Messiah, can he?'
30They left the city and were on their way to him....
39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony,
`He told me everything I have ever done.'
40So when the Samaritans came to him, they
asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days.
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #52
SKETCHES
F
of Leadership o o o o >
iv @
e Thresholds of Postmodern Conversion
Adapted from Doug Schaupp, IV Staff
1 From distrust to trust. Non-believers often have valid personal reasons not to trust Christians, but they also might have preconceptions or
prejudice against Christians from how they are portrayed in media or history.
· Does your friend trust Christians?
· Does he or she trust your motives in your efforts to become friends?
· What invitation could you make to your friend to build trust?
2 From complacent to curious. Sometimes our friends are quite willing to talk, and to answer questions we might have for them, even
on spiritual topics, but show no interest in reciprocating by asking questions, or listening to what we might think.
· Is your friend at all curious about Jesus? Or "spirituality"? Or your values?
· What can you do to elicit curiosity, to help your friend emerge from complacency?
· What invitation could you make to your friend to build curiosity?
3 From being in their life, to being open to change in their life. Interestingly this always seems to be the hard-
est threshold to cross. It is, of course, possible to be curious and to love asking questions about and talking about deep and spiritual things,
but have no intention to change what seems like a pretty good, satisfying life.
· Is your friend aware of a need in his or her life that would require change to address?
· Have you seen your friend make other changes in his or her life?
· What could you do to help your friend to grow in openness to change?
4 From to seeking. Even when our friends become curious about Jesus and even open to change in their life, it didn't neces-
sarily follow that they began actively, purposefully seeking God. It is more natural for them to meander. They come to church or say yes to our
invitations they way someone might go to the movies--"I'm free this week"--rather than "I'll commit to purposeful inquiry by coming regularly."
· Has your friend been willing to say yes to an invitation from you, then to follow through on that "yes"?
· Does your friend view himself or herself in a process of seeking?
· What invitation could you make to your friend to increase a desire purposefully to seek God?
5 From darkness to the kingdom of light. Finally, each of our friends has one more threshold to cross. They need to cross
the threshold of the kingdom itself. They needed to repent and believe and give their lives to Jesus. Many people who journey well along the
path to faith, learning to trust a Christian, becoming curious about Jesus, becoming open to personal change, even seeking after answers... never
become Christians.
· Have you a sense that your friend might be ready to be invited to become a Christian? What are clues that might indicate readiness?
· Would you be ready to invite your friends to become Christians? How would you put that invitation? What do they need to understand about
the faith before they embrace it?
Breaking
Trust
Building
Trust
1. Defend yourself
1. Pray for them
What can you do to build
2. Bruise them with strong words
2. Learn from them
trust with your friends in a way
3. Avoid them in fear
3. Bond with them in love
to help them cross the next
4. Judge for their behavior
4. Affi rm them for their value
threshold of conversion?
5. Argue to prove you are right
5. Welcome them into a deeper experience
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #52
©2007 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 6400 Schroeder Road, P.O. Box 7895 Madison, WI 53707-7895
tel 608.274.9001
email info@intervarsity.org
web www.intervarsity.org
SKETCHES
T
of Leadership o o o o >
hr @
esholds of Conversion
John 4:7-30, 39-40
1. Distrust to trust (v9)
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, `Give me a drink'.
8(His
disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)
9The Samaritan woman said to him, `How is
it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?' (Jews do not share things in
common with Samaritans.)
10Jesus answered her, `If you knew the gift of God, and who
it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink", you would have asked him, and he would
have given you living water.'
11The woman said to him, `Sir, you have no bucket, and the 2. Complacent to
curious (v11)
well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
12Are you greater than our ancestor
Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his fl ocks drank from it?'
13Jesus said
to her, `Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
14but those who drink of
the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in
them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.'
15The woman said to him, `Sir, give me 3. Open to change in her life (v15)
this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.'
16 Jesus said to her, `Go, call your husband, and come back.'
17The woman answered
him, `I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, `You are right in saying, "I have no husband";
18for you have had fi ve husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What
4. From meandering to seeking (vv16-26)
you have said is true!'
19The woman said to him, `Sir, I see that you are a prophet.
20Our
ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must
@
worship is in Jerusalem.'
21Jesus said to her, `Woman, believe me, the hour is coming
What do you notice about how Jesus leads
when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22You
this woman? What do you notice about her
worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
responsiveness?
23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the
Jesus makes provocative choices (to ask
Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
24God is spirit,
her for a drink, to tell her to go get her
and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'
25The woman said to him, `I
husband) to draw her in further to conver-
sation and to point to deeper realities. He
know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). `When he comes, he will proclaim all
uses familiar images (living water, worship
things to us.'
26Jesus said to her, `I am he, the one who is speaking to you.'
that depends on no particular mountain)
but he is willing to make his identity an
27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman,
issue. She is intrigued, and her understand-
but no one said, `What do you want?' or, `Why are you speaking with her?'
28Then the
ing/curiosity about his identity grows:
"you, a Jew" > "greater than our ances-
woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,
29`Come and
tor Jacob" > "I see you are a prophet" >
see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?'
reminds me of the Messaiah > "He cannot
be the Messiah, can he?"
30They left the city and were on their way to him....
39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony,
`He told me everything I have ever done.'
40So when the Samaritans came to him, they 5. From darkness to the
asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days.
Kingdom of Light (vv29-40)
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #52
SKETCHES
F
of Leadership o o o o >
iv @
e Thresholds of Postmodern Conversion
Adapted from Doug Schaupp, IV Staff
1 From distrust to trust.
distrust
Non-believers often have valid personal reasons not to trust Christians, but they also might have preconceptions or
prejudice against Christians from how they are portrayed in media or history.
· Does your friend trust Christians?
· Does he or she trust your motives in your efforts to become friends?
· What invitation could you make to your friend to build trust?
2 From complacent to curious.
curious.
Sometimes our friends are quite willing to talk, and to answer questions we might have for them, even
on spiritual topics, but show no interest in reciprocating by asking questions, or listening to what we might think.
· Is your friend at all curious about Jesus? Or "spirituality"? Or your values?
· What can you do to elicit curiosity, to help your friend emerge from complacency?
· What invitation could you make to your friend to build curiosity?
3 From being in their life, to being open to change in their life.
closed to change
Interestingly this always seems to be the hard-
est threshold to cross. It is, of course, possible to be curious and to love asking questions about and talking about deep and spiritual things,
but have no intention to change what seems like a pretty good, satisfying life.
· Is your friend aware of a need in his or her life that would require change to address?
· Have you seen your friend make other changes in his or her life?
· What could you do to help your friend to grow in openness to change?
4 From to seeking.
meandering
Even when our friends become curious about Jesus and even open to change in their life, it didn't neces-
sarily follow that they began actively, purposefully seeking God. It is more natural for them to meander. They come to church or say yes to our
invitations they way someone might go to the movies--"I'm free this week"--rather than "I'll commit to purposeful inquiry by coming regularly."
· Has your friend been willing to say yes to an invitation from you, then to follow through on that "yes"?
· Does your friend view himself or herself in a process of seeking?
· What invitation could you make to your friend to increase a desire purposefully to seek God?
5 From darkness to the kingdom of light. Finally
kingdom of light.
, each of our friends has one more threshold to cross. They need to cross
the threshold of the kingdom itself. They needed to repent and believe and give their lives to Jesus. Many people who journey well along the
path to faith, learning to trust a Christian, becoming curious about Jesus, becoming open to personal change, even seeking after answers... never
become Christians.
· Have you a sense that your friend might be ready to be invited to become a Christian? What are clues that might indicate readiness?
· Would you be ready to invite your friends to become Christians? How would you put that invitation? What do they need to understand about
the faith before they embrace it?
Breaking
Trust
Building
Trust
1. Defend yourself
1. Pray for them
What can you do to build
trust with your friends in a way
2. Bruise them with strong words
2. Learn from them
to help them cross the next
3. Avoid them in fear
3. Bond with them in love
threshold of conversion?
4. Judge for their behavior
4. Affi rm them for their value
5. Argue to prove you are right
5. Welcome them into a deeper experience
INTERVARSITY ®
Sketches of Leadership #52
©2007 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship 6400 Schroeder Road, P.O. Box 7895 Madison, WI 53707-7895
tel 608.274.9001
email info@intervarsity.org
web www.intervarsity.org
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