Jesus Christ is Our Point of Contact

We've all experienced it. We find ourselves in conversations with other Christians. They begin talking about their church. Their focus is the pastor, the programs, the building, etc. This happens to me much more often than I would like. When this occurs, I often don't know what to say. I find myself disagreeing with many of their basic assumptions. When it comes to church life, I often have no point of contact with other believers regarding church issues.

I was thinking about this a few days ago when something fairly obvious hit me like a ton of bricks. I do have a point of contact with all other Christians: Jesus Christ. He is our reason for existence. He is the giver of salvation. He is Lord of the universe. He is truly the one thing all believers have in common.

Now when I get in conversations with other believers I'm going to focus on Christ much more than on the church. This seems appropriate for two reasons. First, since Jesus is our Lord and life, it only makes sense that we would want to talk about Him first and foremost. Second, Jesus is our point of contact. In Him we are united. Instead of bickering over secondary church issues, we can rejoice in the unity we have as brothers and sisters in Christ.

This does not mean that we should avoid all church discussions. There may be appropriate times for that. However, let's make Jesus our starting point is these conversations. I'm no longer dreading talking with other Christians. If they, for example, invite me to their church, I'm going to steer the conversation toward the Lord of their church. This is not manipulative. Rather, it is seeking unity in the One who is our reason for unity.

What do you think? How do you handle these sorts of situations?