Jesus was a master conversationalist. Whether you were rich or poor, male or female, a Roman Centurion or a Jewish Pharisee, Jesus talked with you. Insiders follow the way of Jesus, becoming masters at starting faith conversations.

Conversations are one of the great pleasures of life. The dictionary defines conversation as “good talk practiced as an art.” There’s an artful way of asking questions, listening intently, and affirming another. Jesus creatively engaged people through talking, fostering dialogues rather than only monologues. Good conversations are life-giving and life-enriching.

What made Jesus a good conversationalist? He asked a lot of questions. There are 307 questions recorded in the Gospels. In the original Latin, Jesus was the great interrogator, literally the One who asks questions. Our Lord didn’t ask questions to gain information, after all, He was omniscient (John 2:24-25). Jesus asked questions to build relationships, challenge assumptions, and encourage action from faith.

Not only did He ask questions, but Jesus was an interesting person. He understood the politics of Roman rule (Matthew 22:15-22), He could debate the great religious minds of his day (Matthew 19:3-9), and He was aware of current events (Luke 13:1-5). Jesus was not a hermit shut off from the world. People enjoyed being with Him because He told good stories (Luke 15:11-32), puzzled listeners with riddles (Matthew 9:15-17), and stretched His friends’ imagination through word-pictures (Matthew 13:31-32). Who wouldn’t want to hang out with someone like Jesus!

In a recent survey, non-Christians assessed Christians as “more boring, more isolated, more unfashionable, having fewer interests, less involved in the real world and less happy.” Theologian Derek Kinder writes, “For his neighbors’ sake if for no other reason, the Christian should beware of becoming a person of so few earthly interests that he cannot sustain a conversation, let alone a friendship with anybody outside his religious circle.” Interesting people are catalysts for faith conversations, discussions that create ever-explaining circles of influence to advance the gospel.

Now, I don’t think that a non-Christian’s view of us is totally accurate. However, sometimes perception can be reality. We face the conundrum of what it means to be “in the world” but not “of the world” (John 17:15, 18). What we talk about is one of the challenges of being in the world. Jesus left us a model; how can we apply it?

I’m always on the look-out for conversation bridges; “interest” bridges that build relationships and that hold the weight of gospel conversations. 

A conversation about hobbies, interests, or current event builds bridges between myself and someone else. These interest bridges provide a potential and natural path for gospel conversations to travel. It also torpedoes the image many unchurched people have of us as ill-informed or out-of-touch.

When we build these bridges, we enter the worlds of our unchurched friends. We begin to discover their interests, loves, hurts, and values. Opportunities to ask questions, share stories, and express empathy open up. We can identify with Jesus by sharing a biblical perspective, a personal faith story, or expressing how we can pray for a friend. All of these little steps take place as we build conversational bridges of shared interests.

Here are some bridge building ideas. You probably have others you could add.

• Cultivate a hobby that engages you with others and allows you to exchange tools, ideas, or observations.
• Stay current with community events — this could be car shows, festivals, sporting events, school levies, new business development, etc.
• Stay minimally informed of major sporting events (know the new starting quarterback of Ohio State!), teams, and personalities.
• Pursue your children’s interests becoming knowledgeable or skilled in what they’re doing and talk about this with the parents you meet at common activities.
• Practice the “second question.” After asking one question, listen carefully and with curiosity, ask a second question to clarify, understand, or explain.
• With discretion, be aware and knowledgeable of the current music, television shows, or movies that others are watching. Remember: we’re to be insulated from the world not isolated.

We follow Jesus into the lives of people when we build bridges for conversations; bridges of interest that create opportunities for faith conversations. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you sensitively, but boldly, transition from discussions on the weather to one’s personal life and then to the faith. This may be a new thought but being Christlike is being a good conversationalist. 

Insiders build interest bridges by asking questions, listening, and being informed. Good conversations build bridges for gospel conversations.