Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
In the Jehovah’s Witness story, Dan didn’t “persuade” but assured her “God will show her,” over years of Monday nights and “many cups of tea”; what does this approach assume about God’s role in conversion, and how does it challenge evangelical instincts about urgency, control, and needing to “close the deal”?
Another way to ask: If Dan didn’t push hard to persuade her but trusted that “God will show her” over years, what does that say about God’s part in someone’s conversion? How does that challenge our desire to be urgent, stay in control, and “close the deal”?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Dan’s approach assumes God is the one who ultimately reveals truth and brings conversion, while Christians provide patient friendship, space for questions, and steady encouragement. It challenges the instinct to force a quick decision or “win” an argument, replacing control with trust in God’s timing.
- The woman asked repeatedly: “My church says they are right… you are saying you are right… How can I know who is right? I want what’s right,” “with tears streaming down her face.”
- Dan says, “How could we persuade her…? We couldn’t, but we just assured her that God will show her.”
- The process was long: “for several years… every Monday evening.”
- He highlights a key turning point: she “finally did accept a Bible that was not a Jehovah’s Witness Bible,” and reading it “started to open her eyes.”
- Dan concludes with patience and friendship: “it took years… you can’t force it… be a friend and give a listening ear and many cups of tea.”