Humility : What separates the newer breed of Kingdom people on the campus from the old is humility.( I need to be careful, here. I am more interested in categorizing an approach to being Kingdom people than I am categorizing people. We all have elements of the old and the new within us.) Rather than the triumphalism which comes from the stance that we are right and others are wrong, we are grateful and amazed that God would seek us out and reveal Himself to us. We recognize that it is not according to our merit and we hold truth with an open hand rather than with a clenched fist.
Service: In speaking about Himself and the nature of His ministry on earth, Jesus declared: The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. How about that for a ministry manifesto. We are weary of all of the military posturing that Christians have done when they have sought to advance the Kingdom. When students, faculty and administration begin to clue in that we are genuinely out to serve the U, and not simply use it as a means of fulfilling our agenda, hearts soften and doors open. Not every time, but enough times that it underscores the biblical principle.
Curiosity is an antidote to another of the old paradigm attitudes. The old paradigm simply wanted to know what people believed so that they could be proven wrong. In fact, it really didn’t matter what they believed or why they believed it. They were rarely asked. Christians were often given a package to deliver and were not taught to listen. I remember as a zealous new Christian being gently chastised by an unbelieving dorm mate whom I tried to bury under my ‘brilliant’ rhetoric. He said to me “ Robb, maybe this is the Holy Spirit’s way of telling you that you need to listen."
Try the Socratic method. Learn to ask questions of the people you meet. Lots of questions. Actually, Jesus did it best.. usually answering a question with a question. Ask because you care. I cannot number the times now that I have talked with someone who was contentious only to find out that they had gone through a real disappointment that they had projected onto God. What was presenting itself as a head issue was in fact an issue of the heart. It was as much a pastoral thing as it was evangelistic.
Rather than arrogance, triumphalism and truth downloading - what Christians are often criticized for... try the biblical alternative.
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