Biographical Blessings: Brown’s Conversion
Two weeks ago you heard about the seeds of faith sown by Archibald G Brown’s family but it wasn’t his mother or grandfather who ultimately led him to the Lord…
So maybe you’re wondering, “how did Archibald Brown become a Christian, if it wasn’t through his family?”
Speaking to People Directly
Brown was a rebellious teenager who took an interest in a young lady, Ann Bigg, his Sunday School teacher! He tried to start a conversation with her and she immediately asked him, ‘Are you a Christian?’ He hated her for asking it but he was impressed by her moral courage to be so direct. (Note: The Lord works in mysterious ways because Brown eventually married Bigg).
Ann invited him to go to hear the preaching of a zealous lay preacher whose life had been transformed by Christ. Following the sermon the preacher came straight up to Brown, and laying his hands on his shoulders asked him, “Young man, you are a stranger here. Are you a Christian?” When Brown admitted he was not, “How sad!” was the preacher’s response. But the question, both from Ann Bigg and this preacher, hooked itself into Brown’s heart, and the Lord used them to draw Brown to himself.
These examples of speaking to people directly, especially about the state of their souls, was undoubtedly an influence on Brown and his ministry. One humorous example, which reveals the zeal of this young convert, was when he asked a friend on the way to the cricket ground, ‘Do you know where you are going?’ Brushing off the response about cricket, he told him, ‘You’re going to hell.’
While of course that might have been a little too direct, I think we can learn a lesson that it is important for us to be courageous in our pursuit of the lost, and one way we can be so is to speak directly to them.
Pray for wisdom to be gently direct with your non-Christian friends and visitors in our church.
Let me encourage you to consider asking questions like:
“What’s your religious background?”
“Have you attended a church before?”
“What did you think of our service?”
“What stuck out to you from the sermon?”
“How did it compare to your previous experiences of church?”
“Would you call yourself a Christian?”
“How are you doing with the Lord right now?”
Grace and peace,
Mark Donald
