"Regular Everyday Conversation".

Last night I watched the movie "New In Town" with Renee Zelwegger. It's a cute movie about Lucy, a Miami business woman, who has to move to New Ulm, Minnesota to oversee a factory there.

At first, Lucy is appalled by the idea of having to move to a podunk town in the middle of a vast frozen wilderness, but once she arrives she meets some of the friendliest small-town people anyone could ever hope to know.

By far, the friendliest of all the friendly inhabitants of New Ulm is Lucy's new secretary, Blanche. Towards the end of the movie, poor Blanche finds out that Lucy has been lying to her. She's hurt when she realizes that Lucy cares far more about advancing her own career than she does about the people of New Ulm. She confronts Lucy, acknowledging that Minnesotans aren't "cool" like everybody else: "We talk funny, we ice fish, we scrapbook and we drag Jesus into regular everyday conversation."

"We drag Jesus into regular everyday conversation." It hit me. Buried in that silly romantic comedy about Minnesota was a line so convicting that I've been thinking about it ever since.

"We drag Jesus into regular everyday conversation." The people of New Ulm do. But I don't. Bringing up Jesus in "regular everyday conversation"...especially conversation with non-believers can be really awkward so I usually shy away from doing it. I'm pitiful. I allow uncomfortable circumstances to keep me quiet about the most awesome thing I've ever known. The God of the universe loves me. My Jesus died for me. I should be shouting his name from the rooftops rather than keeping him confined to conversations with my Bible study group or an occasional mention of him to a friend from church.

We are called to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28:19. The Great Commission. I've always associated it with missionaries who pack up their belongings to preach the Good News to the unreached and unengaged peoples of the world, but Jesus calls us to so much more than that. I'll start right here, making disciples in this nation. I'll share the gospel any chance that I get, and I'll make a conscious effort to "drag Jesus into regular everyday conversation".