In a somewhat brief but inviting book authors Don Everts and Doug Schaupp describe what they say they learned from years of experience and reflection about how friends had made their journeys to faith. While you’re invited to read the book yourself, I would like to summarize what I think are important insights they discovered.
With the caveat that they describe what they learned from noticing certain common experiences of their friends who were for the most part characterized as post-moderns--and not all who inhabit the halls of academe self-describe themselves in these terms--we begin. The authors name and discuss five thresholds in the journey to faith and I’ll list them below:
- 1) From distrust to trust (learning to trust a Christian).
- 2) From complacent to curious. (curious about their friend’s faith).
- 3) From being closed to change to being open to change in their life. (they considered this the hardest barrier)
- 4) From meandering to seeking (where they proactively and purposively seek God)
- 5) The Kingdom itself. (where they trust Christ for salvation and confess Him as Lord)