{"id":302493,"date":"2012-04-03T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-03T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/sharing-your-faith-with-your-family\/"},"modified":"2012-04-03T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-03T15:00:00","slug":"sharing-your-faith-with-your-family","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/sharing-your-faith-with-your-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharing Your Faith With Your Family"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sharing your faith with family members isn&#8217;t a quick process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-04-03.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"21.04M","filesize_raw":"22067204","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2821],"tags":[4133,4679,2639],"podcast_series":[7868],"cwp_profile":[8950],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302493","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reaching-out","tag-coming-to-christ","tag-salvation","tag-sharing-your-faith","podcast_series-bringing-the-gospel-home","cwp_profile-randy-newman","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302493\/sharing-your-faith-with-your-family","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302493\/sharing-your-faith-with-your-family","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"qiKQ1IBEf2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/sharing-your-faith-with-your-family\/\">Sharing Your Faith With Your Family<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/sharing-your-faith-with-your-family\/embed\/#?secret=qiKQ1IBEf2\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Sharing Your Faith With Your Family&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"qiKQ1IBEf2\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Sharing your faith with family members isn't a quick process.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-04-03.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Randy Newman grew up in a traditional Jewish household, going through the spiritual motions, as it were; but he said it was empty\u2014it was hollow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think so many of those traditions, unfortunately, are just kind of formalities that you go through; but when you come to know the Messiah, they take on so much of a rich flavor.\u00a0 When I first learned about the Messiah in the Passover, I choked back tears\u2014to see that all of these foods that you eat and rituals you go through culminate in the person of Yeshua, Jesus.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Tuesday, April 3<sup>rd<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife\u00ae, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 What happens in a family when a Jewish boy grows up to become a follower of Yeshua?\u00a0 We\u2019ll hear about that from Randy Newman today.\u00a0\u00a0 Stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\u00a0\u00a0 You know, I\u2019ve talked to a lot of people who have had the experience of coming to faith in Christ and trying to explain to their family what\u2019s just happened.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf they come from a family where the other family members aren\u2019t Christians and you come home and say, \u201cWell, I\u2019ve had a profound change\u2014I\u2019ve had an experience,\u201d it\u2019s almost like your family members feel offended as if, \u201cThe way we brought you up, or the family that you\u2019ve been a part of wasn\u2019t good enough for you, and you\u2019re rejecting our family heritage.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 No doubt.\u00a0 You used the word \u201cexplain\u201d how we\u2019ve come to faith in Christ.\u00a0 Most of us, when we go back home\u2014and if we did come to faith in Christ later on--we don\u2019t explain.\u00a0 We\u2019re just zealots\u2014going back, preaching.\u00a0 If truth be known, probably pointing our bony fingers at our family members, implying, if not saying, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me about this?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t the church where we went and spent so many hours instruct me in how to come to faith in Jesus Christ?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWell, we have the author of a great book, <em>Bringing the Gospel Home.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>If our listeners are looking for a great resource that will help them take their faith home to a family member, maybe your parents, a brother or a sister, extended family\u2014maybe you\u2019re getting ready to go back home for a celebration of some kind or a holiday\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 There are great, practical ideas in this book about how to have the conversations in a way that is not offens\u2014well, I was going to say \u201cnot offensive\u201d; but at some level, the conversation is going to be offensive.\u00a0 At least it\u2019s gentle\u2014that\u2019s what I think Randy coaches us in.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Randy Newman joins us on <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\u00a0 You did a great job on this, Randy, really kind of putting your arms around folks.\u00a0 It sounded like maybe you made a few mistakes of your own here because you share them in the book, just in terms of how to meet family members and share our faith with them.\u00a0 Welcome back to the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thanks; great to be with you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Randy is a fellow staff member of Cru\u00ae; that\u2019s the former Campus Crusade for Christ.\u00a0 He has served since 1980 in the campus ministry, working with students, faculty and staff members; and has written a couple of books\u2014<em>Questioning Evangelism<\/em>\u2014and I really like that book because it\u2019s all about using questions instead of making \u201cyou statements.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s asking people thoughtful questions that kind of dislodge where they are in their faith and their journey.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd then this book, <em>Bringing the Gospel Home.<\/em>\u00a0 Earlier, Randy, you shared how you grew up in a Jewish family and how you began to pursue God as a boy, a teenager, and then a young man in college.\u00a0 You came to faith in Christ, wrote your parents a letter.\u00a0 They called you.\u00a0 Then, you said in your book that, what followed was your parents began to stonewall you.\u00a0 How did that work its way out\u2014their resistance to your new-found faith?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I wasn\u2019t the least bit surprised that they told me not to tell Grandma and Grandpa, to stay away from my younger brother.\u00a0\u00a0 That was no surprise.\u00a0 I think I was just relieved that I had finally told them.\u00a0 I think I had probably already been a believer for several months, and it was just weighing on me.\u00a0 I think I had the conversation in telling them\u2014I think that was just a great relief; but at first, I don\u2019t think I was all that burdened to tell them as much as I just wanted to get grounded and learn, \u201cWhat was this all about?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So you weren\u2019t trying to convert them right from the start?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 No, not right away; but you were right that I made plenty of mistakes.\u00a0 When I finally did get around to talking about it, it was in a pretty self-righteous, condemning way.\u00a0 It was very much like you said, \u201cWell, why didn\u2019t I know this before?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t you tell me this before?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t you see that Judaism and Christianity fit together?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t we read both parts of the Bible?\u201d\u00a0 There was plenty of self-righteous condemnation. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019d rather talk about something else.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 Do you have another topic you want to bring up, please?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 When they asked you not to tell Grandma and Grandpa what had happened to you, and not to try to convert your brothers, did you honor those requests?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, at first I did; but you know what\u2019s interesting is\u2014they said, \u201cDon\u2019t tell Grandma and Grandpa;\u201d but then I think they told my grandparents.\u00a0 So everybody knew pretty early on.\u00a0 I did go and tell my brothers\u2014so I didn\u2019t really honor it as thoroughly as they would have wanted me to.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And what was the perception\u2014for Randy now to say, \u201cI\u2019m a Christian,\u201d is the idea that, \u201cI\u2019m no longer Jewish now.\u00a0 I\u2019m a Christian.\u00a0 So I\u2019m now kind of a step away from being a member of the family.\u00a0 I\u2019ve stepped away from who we are\u201d?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think probably for most relatives it was confusion.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 He believes what?\u00a0 Why would he believe such a thing?\u201d\u00a0 So I don\u2019t think they went quite so far as to say, \u201cHe\u2019s not part of our family anymore.\u201d\u00a0 I do think quite a few of them thought that I\u2019m not Jewish anymore.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 At Hanukkah\u2014what did you do at Hanukkah, when you went home and everybody celebrated Hanukkah?\u00a0 Did you eat the Passover Seder with the family at Passover?\u00a0 How did you handle all of that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Sure.\u00a0 I did celebrate those holidays; but you have to remember, by then, I had gone away to college.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t back there in my parents\u2019 home all that much.\u00a0 By the very next summer, I had moved away to stay away during summers.\u00a0 So I really was kind of gone geographically.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tProbably my family thought, \u201cRandy\u2019s not Jewish anymore.\u201d\u00a0 I think that\u2019s probably what my parents thought, that\u2019s probably what both my brothers thought, until\u2014it\u2019s very interesting.\u00a0 I think--many years later, I got married.\u00a0 I married a Gentile woman, who is a Christian.\u00a0 We got married in a church.\u00a0 Then, we had sons.\u00a0 We started raising our sons to know about their Jewishness.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen family came to visit, on Friday night, we said the traditional blessings over the challah and the grape juice, and the welcoming in the Shabbat.\u00a0 When our boys reached age 13, they had Messianic bar mitzvahs.\u00a0 That, I think, started my family to say, \u201cWait a minute.\u00a0 He still thinks he\u2019s Jewish.\u201d\u00a0 I think it created a lot of confusion for them.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019m sure several of them still are confused.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Your ongoing practice of these Jewish customs in your home\u2014tell us about the decision to do that\u2014to have the grape juice on Friday night, to welcome in the Shabbat.\u00a0 That had been a part of the rhythm of life growing up\u2014your Gentile wife\u2014it hadn\u2019t been a part of her life.\u00a0 What made you decide to make that a part of your family structure?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think so many of those traditions, unfortunately, are just kind of formalities that you go through; but when you come to know the Messiah, they take on so much of a rich flavor.\u00a0 So the Shabbat, a rest\u2014well, why wouldn\u2019t you delight, and rest, and rejoice in not just the rest on Friday night and Saturday, or the weekend, or a day to worship\u2014but the <em>ultimate<\/em> rest that we have in Messiah?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tPassover\u2014when I first learned about the Messiah in the Passover, I choked back tears\u2014to see that all of these foods that you eat and rituals you go through culminate in the person of Yeshua, Jesus.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t just now living out some rituals.\u00a0 They were really meaningful for us.\u00a0 They were joys.\u00a0 They were great experiences.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, all the time your mom and dad are watching this occur in your family, you ultimately experience some circumstances.\u00a0 Maybe better said, your mom experienced some circumstances that led to a spiritual breakthrough in her life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I tried witnessing to my parents with the frontal assault, the preaching of sermons, the sending of books, the giving of\u2014I mean, I dumped everything I could on them.\u00a0 I sent them a copy of the <em>Jesus <\/em>film in both English and Hebrew.\u00a0 My parents don\u2019t speak a word of Hebrew.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 I just thought it would be impressive to them that Jesus spoke Hebrew.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t work.\u00a0 Nothing worked.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Did they ever express condemnation out of all that, like you were offending them, or say to you, \u201cHey, back off?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, a little bit.\u00a0 You know, I took them once to a Friday night service of a Messianic Jewish congregation.\u00a0 They walked out; and they said to me afterwards, \u201cListen, maybe you like that.\u00a0 If that works for you that is great, but we don\u2019t like that.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And the fact that you were on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, raising support to be on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ\u2014that had to be kind of a complete disconnect to them; wasn\u2019t it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \u201cComplete disconnect\u201d is a good way to put it.\u00a0\u00a0 I just think it was puzzling and confusing.\u00a0 When I sent my parents books and videotapes they were polite, but I don\u2019t think they looked at them.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t open them up.\u00a0 To be honest, and I hate to say this, but I think I kind of gave up hope.\u00a0 I think I gave up making attempts and then gave up praying.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI had tried all sorts of statements that didn\u2019t work, and I had been experimenting in my own ministry about asking questions.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe questions are a better way to draw people out and make them think.\u201d\u00a0 One time my mother was talking to me on the telephone and telling me that she had been to a funeral.\u00a0 It was a funeral of a teacher in the high school where I went.\u00a0 I knew him.\u00a0 He was a skeptic and an atheist.\u00a0 He was very sarcastic.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want anything to do with any religion.\u00a0 He was pretty mean-spirited, too, and kind of an angry, bitter man.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe died after a tragic illness.\u00a0 It was a very, very sad story; and he died and never turned around.\u00a0 My mother told me that the man had finally died, and she went to his funeral.\u00a0 She was trying to cheer up his adult children, who were grieving the loss of their father.\u00a0 They also were atheists and skeptics.\u00a0 My mother said to them\u2014she\u2019s telling me this on the telephone\u2014she said to them, \u201cAt least now your father is in a better place.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI thought as she told me that, \u201cOh, ho, I\u2019m not so sure!\u201d\u00a0 All sorts of Bible verses started racking up in my mind of the sermon I was going to preach about, \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a better place.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m thrilled that God didn\u2019t allow me to preach that sermon.\u00a0 Instead, I just asked one question.\u00a0 I said, \u201cMom, how do you know that?\u201d\u00a0 Long pause.\u00a0 She said, \u201cHow do I know what?\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cHow do you know he\u2019s in a better place?\u201d\u00a0 Very uncomfortable, by the way\u2014I don\u2019t find that witnessing to family is ever all that comfortable.\u00a0 Comfort is not what we should be looking for as the ultimate goal.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tEventually, after this long pause, my mother finally said, \u201cWell, I guess I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I guess I don\u2019t know that.\u201d\u00a0 That was a major, major breakthrough.\u00a0 I wanted to jump up and sing the <em>Hallelujah <\/em>chorus because nothing I had ever said had made any kind of difference, or seemingly so.\u00a0 I think this did.\u00a0 I think she finally realized that her whole philosophy of religion may not really fit together.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tShe started wrestling and started reading some things.\u00a0 She started reading a book that I had sent her, probably ten years before.\u00a0 She read it before, ten years ago.\u00a0 It made no difference whatsoever, and she gave it away.\u00a0 She gave it to somebody else.\u00a0 I was so angry.\u00a0 Then, somebody else gave her the exact same book, ten years later.\u00a0 She read that copy.\u00a0 She told me she was so thankful that her friend, Mary, had given her this book\u2014a book by Stan Telchin, a Jewish man who wrote this book called <em>Betrayed<\/em>.\u00a0 It was about his story of becoming a believer in Jesus.\u00a0 My mother started reading this.\u00a0 She sent me an email one day and said she was going to start reading the New Testament.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow is right!\u00a0 Jewish mothers don\u2019t read New Testaments.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how many of the listeners know that, but a little cultural sensitivity\u2014Jewish mothers and New Testament don\u2019t often go together.\u00a0 She started sending me all these emails about questions she had about Jesus.\u00a0 \u201cWhat did Jesus mean when He said this?\u00a0 Why did He say this?\u00a0 Why did people hate Him so much?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 You had\u2014your jaw had to drop to the floor; huh?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, email is a wonderful thing because you can scream without the other person hearing you.\u00a0 You know, \u201cYES!\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So when was the day when your mother finally said, \u201cYou know, maybe you\u2019ve been right\u201d?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh no, she\u2019d never\u2014she still hasn\u2019t said that.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe you\u2019ve been right.\u201d\u00a0 Wow\u2014that\u2014I wonder if she\u2019s listening to this.\u00a0 Okay, so\u2014(Laughter)\u00a0 This was a long process\u2014I don\u2019t know\u2014six months, or a year, or more from when she started reading the New Testament<em>,<\/em> and started reading Stan Telchin\u2019s book, and wrestling with all this and asking these questions.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen, one day on the telephone, she said to me, \u201cYou know, I think I\u2019m going to have the same problem that Stan Telchin had\u2014that he talked about in his book.\u00a0 I think this all makes sense to me.\u00a0 I think I believe exactly what he believes; but I think when I tell my Jewish friends and relatives, I think they\u2019re going to reject me the way they rejected him.\u201d\u00a0 I wanted to clarify, \u201cWhen you tell them what?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWell, when I tell them that I\u2019m a believer.\u201d\u00a0 I almost dropped the phone.\u00a0 I think I did fall to my knees after we got off the phone.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I bet you did.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 So yes, my mom was 75 years old then.\u00a0 It all came together.\u00a0 Now she tells her friends and her Jewish relatives\u2014actually, you know, what\u2019s interesting is\u2014they haven\u2019t really rejected her.\u00a0 I mean, they think that she\u2019s probably a little confused.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 A little <em>verclempt<\/em>?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 <em>Meshuganah<\/em>; a little <em>meshuganah.<\/em>\u00a0 But no, she shares quite freely now about her beliefs in Jesus as the Messiah.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And was ultimately baptized in a church?\u00a0 Is that right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, baptized by my brother, by the way.\u00a0 That\u2019s another story.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Here\u2019s where Gentiles who get baptized miss the significance of the public declaration that your mother was making to her friends and the Jewish community of, \u201cI\u2019m not rejecting my Judaism.\u00a0 I\u2019m becoming a completed Messianic Jew.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s was a big deal for her.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, it\u2019s a huge deal.\u00a0 Even though that\u2019s what we Jewish believers are saying when we do that, that\u2019s not how Jewish people look at it.\u00a0 They look at baptism and say, \u201cThat\u2019s the ultimate Gentile experience.\u00a0 That\u2019s the ultimate Christian; i.e., not Jewish\u201d\u2014even though the <em>Mekvah<\/em> bath in the Old Testament and temple times was the forerunner of what baptism is all about.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very Jewish thing, but it\u2019s not Jewish in modern America and in the modern mindset.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen a Jewish person becomes baptized, in most Jewish people\u2019s minds, that\u2019s the ultimate statement of, \u201cI\u2019ve left Judaism, and I\u2019ve embraced another faith,\u201d which is tragic because, again, from our perspective, it\u2019s, \u201cI\u2019m embracing Judaism in all of its fullness\u2014in its culmination and its fulfillment in the person of Jesus as the Messiah.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You said something about your mom\u2019s journey, and it\u2019s a part of what you say in the book <em>Bringing the Gospel Home.<\/em>\u00a0 You said it took a long time.\u00a0 You have said in here that when we are sharing our faith with family members, we should expect that it\u2019s not going to be a quick kind of a process.\u00a0 We should expect it may take years or decades for the message to get through.\u00a0 In fact, I sometimes think hearing it from a family member is harder and less easy for someone to embrace than it is coming from a stranger.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 I have a whole chapter on time because it\u2019s not to say that God can\u2019t work quickly; but so very often, with family, He does not.\u00a0 It takes time.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the paradox or the irony that\u2019s difficult\u2014with family, we\u2019re the least patient.\u00a0 We want them to get it right away.\u00a0 It\u2019s so urgent, in our minds.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe care about them so much that we push it.\u00a0 We want to accelerate the process, when in fact, it may be more effective to slow the process down\u2014the very opposite of what we want to do.\u00a0 The stories that I heard, in talking to people that saw loved ones come to faith\u2014that was the recurring theme, \u201cIt took a while,\u201d \u201cIt took a while,\u201d \u201cIt took decades.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And it took some humility.\u00a0 I was talking with a woman, not long after Thanksgiving.\u00a0 She was sharing with me how she had just gone back to her extended family for Thanksgiving.\u00a0 She found herself not feeling free to talk about her faith with her extended family because, when she started out, she was a little overzealous.\u00a0 She was a little preachy and just coming down a little hard on her mom and dad and her brothers and sisters.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tShe said, \u201cIt\u2019s interesting now, going back into that family 30 years later, and realizing that I\u2019ve probably over-reacted too far because I offended them over here.\u00a0 Therefore, I kind of pulled way back.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019m not feeling comfortable having conversations with other members of the family who have come to faith in Christ; and they\u2019re talking freely around the dinner table or in conversations out on the porch.\u201d\u00a0 She said, \u201cI think when I go back home the next time, I\u2019m going to be not zealous again, and certainly not preachy; but I\u2019m going to engage in the conversations.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think it is back to your point.\u00a0 It does take time.\u00a0 It takes perseverance, and it also takes living the life in front of them in an authentic way.\u00a0 I think probably in those stories, in your book that you talk about, that\u2019s what preached the loudest to those family members\u2014when they saw the changes that Jesus Christ made in a person\u2019s life.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen, they began to wonder, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 This is not a flash-in-the-pan; this is not just some kind of instant change.\u00a0 There really has been a purposeful change in this person\u2019s life.\u00a0 Maybe I am interested in who Jesus Christ is.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI know we must be talking to listeners who have a passion and a burden for a family member, and maybe you\u2019re like my friend.\u00a0 You\u2019ve made all kind of mistakes, and you\u2019re in need of some fresh hope.\u00a0 Well, I think Randy does a great job in his book, <em>Bringing the Gospel Home<\/em>, of kind of putting his arm around you and just giving you some coaching, some principles, and some great stories of how others have done it.\u00a0 It is not that it\u2019s a formula\u2014because it\u2019s not.\u00a0 Families are family, but I do think we were meant to take Christ to our family members, the ones we love the most.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And there\u2019s a lot of encouragement; and, I think, a lot of hope in this book.\u00a0 Again, it\u2019s called <em>Bringing the Gospel Home.<\/em>\u00a0 Of course, we\u2019ve got it in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center.\u00a0 If you\u2019re interested in a copy, go online at FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 Again, the website is FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 Ask about a copy of Randy Newman\u2019s book, <em>Bringing the Gospel <\/em>Home, or call us toll-free at 1-800-FL-TODAY.\u00a0 We can have a copy of Randy\u2019s book sent to you.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI just want to mention one of the tools that a lot of families have used to share the Gospel effectively, not just with children, but I\u2019ve heard of people doing this with adults\u2014is our Resurrection Eggs\u00ae.\u00a0 You can use those\u2014put a different egg at everybody\u2019s plate for Easter dinner.\u00a0 Tell the Easter story, using the Resurrection Eggs, as they open the eggs and find a different symbol representing an aspect of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you don\u2019t have a set of Resurrection Eggs, probably the best thing to do, at this point, is to go to your local Christian bookstore where you can pick one up.\u00a0 I guess we could do rush shipment to get one to somebody, but the best thing is probably to go to your local Christian bookstore and ask about Resurrection Eggs.\u00a0 Then put them to use this weekend, either with kids, or with the whole family as you gather together for Easter.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI also want to take a minute today just to say, \u201cThanks,\u201d to those of you who help support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>You make what we do here every day possible.\u00a0 You help us cover the cost of producing and syndicating this daily radio program.\u00a0 There are a lot of expenses involved with that syndication\u2014we appreciate those of you who pitch in to help make that possible with a donation from time to time.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis week, if you can help us with a donation, we\u2019d love to send you a thank-you gift.\u00a0 It is Barbara Rainey\u2019s brand-new devotional book for families called <em>Growing Together in Forgiveness<\/em>, seven stories designed to be read aloud to the whole family, to help cultivate a culture of forgiveness in your home.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAsk for a copy of the book, <em>Growing Together in Forgiveness, <\/em>when you make a donation this week.\u00a0 If you\u2019re donating online, just click the button that says, \u201cI Care\u201d, on our website, FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 Again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 Click the button that says, \u201cI Care\u201d.\u00a0 When you make your online donation, we\u2019ll send you a copy of Barbara\u2019s book; or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY.\u00a0 Make a donation over the phone, and just ask for a copy of Barbara\u2019s new devotional book about forgiveness.\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019re happy to send it out to you, and we appreciate your partnership with us here on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we want to encourage you to be back with us again tomorrow.\u00a0 Randy Newman is going to be here again.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to talk about some of the best practices when it comes to sharing the Gospel with friends and family members.\u00a0 I hope you can be here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 2012 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/302493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302493"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=302493"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=302493"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=302493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}