Have you held back from sharing your faith because you didn’t want to offend? Have you ever thought it’s wrong to “push” your religion on someone? If so, you’re not alone. Many Christians are wrestling with these things right now. Today’s guest challenges you to think critically about these issues and what it means to have a faith worth sharing. Is it possible that you could tell someone about Jesus without being offensive? Listen and find out. This episode will both challenge and inspire you.
Have you held back from sharing your faith because you didn’t want to offend? Have you ever thought it’s wrong to “push” your religion on someone? If so, you’re not alone. Many Christians are wrestling with these things right now. Today’s guest challenges you to think critically about these issues and what it means to have a faith worth sharing. Is it possible that you could tell someone about Jesus without being offensive? Listen and find out. This episode will both challenge and inspire you.
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Karen Bejjani
Have you ever held back from sharing your faith, especially with people of other faiths and cultures? Welcome to the iHOPE Empowers Podcast. This episode is from iHOPE Ministries, Blue Cord Series for women. I'm your host Karen Bejjani. And here's a fresh dose of inspiration to embolden you, to share Jesus with women of other faiths and cultures.
Karen Bradford
I think the biggest thing that I want them to know is that truth matters. It's very important that we share truth. And for them to have a questioning position, don't be so comfortable being tolerant that you don't think through things critically. And that's the one thing that I really have always done with my kids in school. I've told them education is not about facts and figures and numbers. It's about me teaching you how to think critically. If I can teach you how to think then I've done my job
Welcome back Blue Cord friend. Have you found yourself questioning the things that you see going on around you? Have you had a real hunger for truth lately? Today’s guest is sharing such an important message. Truth matters! We find ourselves living in a time where cancel has become a culture. To cancel simply means to stop doing. In a time where right is wrong and wrong is right, truth has become relative. Well this is not a new thing. In the Bible we read about a time when the Israelites struggled with this too. God reveals in the Old Testament in Numbers 15 that after another round of not doing what the Lord told them to do, He gave His chosen people, a reminder, a tassel with a cord of blue on the hem of their garments, rich with meaning and purpose. The blue cord is a symbol that we serve a holy living God who left us instructions for how to remember Him and follow Him in truth. Inspired by this biblical blue cord, I pray this Blue Cord episode will light the flame in your heart to hunger after His truth.
Karen Bejjani:
All right. So let's get started. My Blue Cord friend. Today I've invited my friend, Karen, she's going to share her experiences with you today and how she learned to know God and make Him known across cultures here. So Karen, let's start by thinking about Jesus's words in Matthew 28:19, where He told us to go make disciples of all nations. That's known as the Great Commission. So I'm just so curious. What are your earliest thoughts about what that meant?
Karen Bradford:
My earliest thoughts about that were I don't think I really totally understood it. I accepted Christ when I was 12 and I understood being saved, but I really didn't understand that commission. I think it really came to clarity for me when I moved to Texas in 1984 and I started really studying the Bible and that was one of the scriptures that the pastor that I was under was always quoting. And it was like, go and as you are going, what it means to make disciples. And so he had this real thing about us going out on every second and fourth Saturday to knock on doors and share our faith and so that's when it really started to kind of click that this is something that I should be doing I should really be sharing my faith.
Karen Bejjani:
As your thinking was shifted, would you say it was like sudden, or was it more gradual?
Karen Bradford:
It was much more gradual, but I got a real jolt when I was on an assignment. I had a long-term assignment in Jakarta Indonesia. And as some of you may know, Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. As I was on assignment there to train the audit staff there. And I was there for about four months and my heart was just knit to the people. And so I started thinking more, there was only one Christian on the staff, I guess we have about 20 people there and it was one Christian and he was very quiet and reserved. And the thing that started coming to mind as I was really falling in love with these people. My driver was wonderful he had a servant's heart. He couldn't serve me enough. My secretary was a sweetie. She was always buying these little cute gifts for me. And it was like the Lord brought to my mind, but they don't know Jesus. And I was like, oh Lord, they don't know you. And so that's when I started to see eternity in their eyes and I started to be concerned about their souls. And that's when Matthew 28:19 and 20 really hit me. The Lord had taken me to one of the largest Muslim nations deposited me there to build relationships with Muslims as I was training them to be auditors. And the relationships were out of this world. And as it worked out, God blessed me to be able to lead my secretary to Christ.
Karen Bejjani:
Tell me a little bit about that
Karen Bradford:
Cisco was so sweet and she noticed me reading my Bible. I would get to work early because we had a driver and my driver would get me there early. And I would be reading my Bible just before we got started. And so she would say, Ms. Karen, what are you reading? And I would share with her and she would sit down and read with me and understand. And finally one day out of the blue, she says, I want to accept Jesus. I said you do? Like a surprise to me. And I shouldn't have been surprised because God's word does draw. But I really was surprised. I mean, if I'm honest about it, I was really surprised. And I said, okay, well, do you believe? I said, do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you? Yes. You believe that I'm believing that saves you from your sins. And we just kind of walked through the plan of salvation. And she said, yes, Ms. Karen, I understand. I want to accept Christ and she did. And I mean, even to this day, we're still in touch. Okay. And that was 1991.
Karen Bejjani:
Wow. As you were sharing, you brought up a really important moment. This moment when it was like the scales fell from your eyes and you are awakened to the nations are all around you and the Lord broke your heart for those people who did not know Him. And it just made me think of the first time that happened for me too. It was over a decade ago. My husband had taken me on a mosque tour. And I remember observing all of the men and women in that mosque, just going through the whole prayer routine. And I realized in that moment, the Lord broke my heart to realize they are working so hard, praying to a God that is not the living God. And from that moment forward, it just wrecked me. So when you think about most times when we think about sharing our faith, we often think about sharing our faith with people who look just like us, family members, maybe a coworker who used to be a Christian but has walked away. But very rarely do we think about crossing cultures and faiths to share our faith right here in North America. Tell me about that. So when you were in Indonesia, the Lord broke your heart for people of other faiths and cultures that come with you back here to the Heartland of America.
Karen Bradford:
Yes, it really did. It came back because the staff there, they were so good to me. They took me to the airport the last day the staff came. It was such a family thing that when I got back home when I started to notice the Muslims that were walking around, especially the ladies with their hijabs and everything right here in my town, it was like, my heart went right to them immediately. The thing that really stands out the most to me is that I felt like I could really relate to them. And I wanted to know more about how to reach them. It was a discomfort. Everything is okay, but it's not okay. It was that kind of just ease. Like, no, you've got to learn more. You got to do more. You've got to reach out. And well, that's one of the ways that I found iHOPE was looking for that. And just prior to iHOPE it was Perspectives. I took the Perspectives class and that really wrecked me. So then I just started to see everybody as needing Christ and me needing to share at every opportunity I was that person that you would get on the plane with, sit down next to you and you were a captive audience. I saw you as a captive audience and let's talk, let's just talk. So it was like the Lord He lit a fire in me. He really did. And my parents have always said that I would start a conversation with a tree anyway, cause I tend to be a friendly person, but now it was like a friendly person with a purpose that would speak across all lines because I really came to the realization, honestly, in Indonesia, the scales fell off and I came to the realization there we're all the same. We're all the same. And we all need Jesus
Karen Bejjani:
Yes, we do. We should have had a mascara alert, Karen, you're making me cry too. You know, it's so true. You know, once the Lord begins to break our hearts for the nations that live here, the next step is, well, how do I do it? It seems like rocket science. And so it's not something that we're actively talking about in most churches. Most everyday Christians are not talking about this topic either. So how do you go about it? Well, the first thing we do is we google search, right? We Google search. How do I do this? And trust me, if you try to do that Google search right now, you might come up with about a gazillion different gospel methods for sharing your faith and not necessarily across cultures. And so what you came to realize it is not rocket science. You don't need to go learn Urdu or a new language, or you don't need to become incredibly skilled and apologetics or go to seminary to learn how to do this. So what were your big kind of a-ha or takeaways in that process?
Karen Bradford:
I think my biggest takeaway was to show people that you care, you know, I know it sounds cliche-ish, but it is really true. People don't care how much, you know until they know how much you care. And as a high school teacher that had Muslim students and six students in my class that fell in love with me and I fell in love with them. I had the opportunity to pray with those students because I sat and listened to some of the things that were going on in their minds. Teenagers are teenagers across the world, and they're all concerned about the same thing. The growing up pains and all those kinds of things, the insecurities, the separation anxiety of leaving school, because I had seniors. I mean, they're all concerned about the same thing. And when you sit and listen to them and you show them that you care, I always had the opportunity well Ms. Bradford you're so strong, why are you so strong? I said baby because of Jesus. Because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, I don't have to fear anything because He loves me, takes care of me and He wants to love and take care of you too. He will. And I mean, just being able to pray with them and talk to them that way. And a lot of my babies like that, I am still in touch with they call and we spend time. They text. It is more about relationships and just taking the time to listen to people, kids spell love. T I M E and L I S T E N.
Karen Bejjani:
And those are ways to show love is through your time in three, as you listen and you ask those questions
Karen Bradford:
And then honestly answer, I mean, all I've ever done is honestly answered what my source is it's really, it's simple. You really just kind of slide into it.
Karen Bejjani:
And I'm so glad you said that because often when we think about sharing our faith across cultures, it seems like there must be some kind of magic formula or perfect words that we need to share and what I hear you saying is it comes right down to you being rooted in your relationship with the Lord and then sharing that love with others through your time and through listening.
Karen Bradford:
And we have so many opportunities, Karen, because I mean, going into the grocery store or going into restaurants, you can see people sometimes you can see that they're visibly shaking, they're visibly distressed, and to walk over to them and say, I'm sorry, how are you? Sometimes they'll break down and start crying and they'll tell you, and that's an opportunity to share. Our world is hurting. And we're the answer. We are the answer.
Karen Bejjani:
Yes, we are. Now sometimes I know that I'll run across people who think I'm going to love, love, love them into the kingdom, but often, you know what? God loved us and not everybody accepted His love. So I know that you love and you pray with them in Jesus's name. What else?
Karen Bradford:
And you share. You share information with them. I carry a purse full of tracts, simple tracts so that I can leave something to think about and to read. I think that's the biggest thing. And just being intentional to pray. Oh, I don't know if I said this or not, but prayer. Prayer is so important. Starting out with a prayerful attitude each day. My prayer is Lord bless me with an opportunity to share my faith. I'm looking for those divine appointments. You know, when I'll walk up on somebody or I see somebody or even get a phone call or whatever, it's like, okay, Lord, where are you in this and how am I supposed to share?
Karen Bejjani:
I'm hearing that you orient your life around Him and that you are thinking about sharing your faith with intention, right from the get-go and asking the Lord about that as you start your day.
Karen Bradford:
Yes. That's it. Because every morning that I wake up and I still have breath, I'm still on assignment. And the assignment is to know Him and make Him known. And I am grateful. I am so grateful that the Lord has brought me to that point to see that and to really see it and understand it. And it's just my heart's desire to share it with everybody. Because the peace that passes all understanding comes from having a relationship with Him. And we are in chaos right now.
Karen Bejjani:
And Karen, I know that you have a heart to mentor, especially mentoring the next generation. And so right now there's new research that's come out from Barna earlier this year that said that almost half of practicing Christian millennials think it's wrong to share their faith across cultures. So this is a really important time for us within the body of believers. And so when you consider speaking to that next generation, what are some things that you want them to know about sharing their faith across cultures?
Karen Bradford:
I think the biggest thing that I want them to know is that truth matters. It's very important that we hear the truth. And for them to have a questioning position, don't be so comfortable being tolerant that you don't think through things critically. And that's the one thing that I really have always done with my kids in school. I've told them education is not about facts and figures and numbers. It's about me teaching you how to think critically. If I can teach you how to think then I've done my job. So now you are a Christian or you come from a Christian home. What does that mean? What are the ramifications of not having a relationship with Christ? You don't want to push your religion on anybody, but what are the ramifications of that? Is it not worth sharing? And really putting it on them to think about it critically, our kids are bright. Millennials they are bright. Trust me. They just have not been challenged to think. To think through the process. What is the outcome? I used to tell my kids all the time. I said my biggest fear and the biggest thing that I suffer in teaching is cause and effect. Because by the time my babies understand the cost it's already affected them. They haven't thought about what does this cost me? What does it cost me not to share your faith? You don't want to offend really think about that baby. Really? It is. It's a very weighty moment. It's a very weighty moment. And I've had that conversation, a few millennials there, there are a lot of millennials in my life and they start to come around, but like I've told them we're not responsible for the response. We are just responsible for being obedient. You tell it and see that's the other end too, with millennials and with people in general, A. Nobody likes rejection. And B. If I tell you something, I need to know that you're going to accept it. We're not responsible for the response. I'm just responsible for being obedient. Only the Holy Spirit draws people to Him.
Karen Bejjani:
Amen so tell us a story about a time when you were engaging with someone and you, you really were obedient and sharing and what happened as a result. It doesn't have to be that person, you know, accepted Christ and moved on. Just tell me a recent story.
Karen Bradford:
Well, I had a teacher that I worked with. She was a Sikh and we spent a lot of time together. And her concern was why I had such a positive attitude in such a messed up world. And we would eat lunch together, we would talk, go walk around. I mean, she always sought me out. And when I finally told her that it was the Lord, she was like, I just don't know that I can believe that. And I said well, it is. So let's pray through that. Will you pray with me? And we would meet for prayer periodically. I don't even know what really happened with her or where she ended up, but she's one of those that sticks out in my mind that I continue to pray for now. She's that one that kind of story.
Karen Bejjani:
There's something different when you pray with someone from another faith or culture. Oftentimes we pray for people about what Karen, what I hear you saying is pray with them.
Karen Bradford:
So pray with them, right. I and I pray for them away from them, but I really like to pray with people if they'll allow me and I have yet to have anybody just say, no, I don't want prayer. Everybody wants prayer because everybody is really concerned. Everybody is really concerned. And especially now with all the, all the chaos and fear and that kind of thing,
Karen Bejjani:
Karen, anything else on your heart and in your mind that you'd love to share today?
Karen Bradford
I think mostly the biggest thing that I like to share is the importance of being intentional. We've got to be intentional. It has to be in the front of our mind, 24/7 that we have the answer to a hurting world that answers Jesus in all people are really, that's what we're really looking for. That's what everybody is looking for. And we can share that. We honestly can share that we live in share that. And that's what the Lord has called us to do. So more than anything, is that intentionality being intentional because the world, the world can distract us with good things. Don't get me wrong. You know, when you're a wife, a mother and, and working and employee the whole bit, there's lots of things that you need to get done in your day, but learning how to be intentional, you know, starting that day with the Lord and being intentional and ask Him to order those steps in order your thoughts and looking for those divine appointments, especially as a parent with your kids' friends and their families, because you go to school and your children are going to school with the nations now and being intentional. Having them over
Karen Bejjani
Karen. As I hear you talking about being intentional, spending time in the word in the morning, praying that the Lord would send you divine appointments and keeping your eyes open and looking for opportunities throughout the day. Sometimes that's difficult to do when you are the only one in your friend group is doing these kinds of things. So what kind of advice might you share with our listener about building community toward these things?
Karen Bradford
Well, first of all, like you said, pray in Jesus' name and asked the Lord to direct you to like-minded people, to raise up those kinds of friends in your life. To look for organizations like iHOPE. iHOPE has made such a difference in my life. And say, I'm their friend. I'm going to go find another friend to bring with me. Never go anywhere by yourself. Never go anywhere by yourself. Bring another friend with you because you don't know what the Lord is going to be doing in their life. It's just so important that Jesus is the center. It's important that He stays the center in your life and He's faithful. Karen. He is faithful. He will not let you get comfortable in distractions. He really wont. If it's your heart's desire to make Him first, he's going to help you to do it.
Karen Bejjani
You have shared so many sage wise hashtag things, you know, it's like, oh, I love that. Truth matters. That's the one that I wrote down and underlined hard. Love, listen, time, some big themes coming out of our time together today and just such sage advice. So good. Thanks for joining us. Next week will be our last poscast episode of the season and I would love to know your feedback about this season. In your show notes you will see a link where you can take a quick survey and share with me, what worked for you, what didnt and what would you like to see differently next time. Thanks so much bye bye