The Christian Salesman

Guest blogger is Jody Hoover. Jody is a good friend, an amazing husband and father and a gifted leader. You can find him on Facebook HERE.

Chad is one of my closest friends and when I saw him at church I told him he needed a break and he should let people do some guest blogs for him.  I figured he would be asking people like Scott Williams or Carlos Whittaker, but instead he asked me to write one.  Guess I walked right into that one.

Be careful how you live; you will be the only Bible some people ever
read.
” ~William J Toms

I ran across this quote on twitter the other day, yes Twitter, Facebook, and Google reader all deliver me more valuable news than most other things these days.  This is the best summery of principals
that my male influences in my life have said in different ways.  This one just really sums it up the best.

We are all salesmen
Our product: God, Jesus, and eternal salvation.  But we are not like corporate salesmen that make appointments, schedule demos and try to close the deal to get that commission.  No, we are selling our faith
all the time through ALL our interactions with others.  Re-read that, we are ALWAYS selling our faith when we interact with people by our words and actions!

Our interactions with others speak volumes
Just to set some framework: I’m not perfect and neither are you, but we can all strive to do better.  How do you treat people that are serving you?  Waitresses, hair stylus, fast food clerks, DMV employees, or any other person that you are likely to have contact with but not actually know that person that is helping you.

I have been striving to spark a conversation with each of these people and ask how they are doing at the bare minimum.  (Chad is the master at this.  Last time we had lunch our waitress set down with us to
discuss some of her dreams in life.)  Usually I get a look back like “seriously, don’t have time for this”.  But sometimes, I get the look of “wow, I’m so glad you asked and care more than just what you need
me to do for you”.

I am a salesman in my career, but I am always on the look out for that prospect to sale my faith to as well. Usually this is inviting someone to come to “weird church that definitely isn’t what you would
think”.  That is how I found my way to a relationship with Christ about 5 years ago.

We can all image the opposite is true as well. Every time you have road rage, get upset with a cashier, demand to speak to a manager and so on; you are missing an opportunity to show yourself as Christ like
and most likely make an impact on the person.

Go into the world
Go out there, show people that you are changed from your relationship with Christ.  And when they want to know what’s different with you, tell them, invite them to church.

If you are a Christian, do you always view yourself as a “rep” for Jesus?  Why or why not? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!