Alrighty everyone...i'm in need of some solid ministry advice! First, the situation:
There are a few guys I work with during the day for 7 hours a day have both admitted to being atheists. From their use of foul language of nouns, verbs, adjectives and basically any part of a sentence you can think of as well as their choice of conversation topics...it was pretty evident from the start they didn't know Christ.
I never really thought it would be that bad until...things got worse. I wont say what, exactly, but their topic of conversation shifted in a direction that I find horrifying. The one guy sees foul language as just another set of words to use whenever...he sees swear words (all of them) as part of the English language and therefore perfectly ok to use in conversations with Christians, his boss, friends, family, etc. Apparently, they are just words with no meaning attached to them and therefore, cannot be offensive. The other individual swears almost as much but at least knows when to keep his mouth shut.
Both atheists, both guys who swear, both individuals with a lifestyle that makes me shiver. Everyone has continued to tell me they will keep this situation in their prayers. Members of SWAMP church have prayed over it as well and prayed for wisdom on my part. Others tell me my actions speak louder than words and that I must continue to show them love, respect, and hold to the beliefs I have so that maybe, just maybe, they can see that not all Christians are hypocrites.
Yet, I wish there was more I could do. And this is where all of you who are reading this can jump in...you are the advice I need! Maybe some of you have been in a similar situation and can give me some pointers on what worked and what didn't work. Maybe there are some verses you found useful to have memorized to use during conversations or just verses you found encouraging along the tough journey of ministering to someone who doesn't acknowledge Christ. Or maybe something else, some other pieces of advice, anything.
And for those of you who may say "I don't have much advice to offer other than what has already been offered" I ask that you pray (even those that do have advice to give!). Pray that God can continue to work in me and through me to minister to those in the workplace; that I can listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit, have the wisdom to discern what He is say to do, and the courage to do it. Pray that God can speak into their lives and that their hearts can be opened to what He is doing around them. The summer most likely will not end with them confessing belief in Christ (but GOSH! that would be a miracle!!), but if we can get them to begin to question and looking for answers, God can take that small seed planted in their hearts and make it grow.
