wfn.org | To share faith, you must have faith, youth are told

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 8, 2001 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-71BP{343}

NOTE:  The following may be used as a sidebar to UMNS story # 342.  A photo
is available.

INDIANOLA, Iowa (UMNS) --  Sharing faith is an opportunity for individuals
to testify to the generosity and graciousness of God.

That was the message from the Rev. Stephen Handy as he led a workshop at
Convo '01, the biennial convocation and legislative meeting of the United
Methodist Youth Organization.  

Handy, a staff member of the United Methodist Publishing House and assistant
pastor at Gordon United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., said faith
sharing is a spiritual covenant model where a safe environment is formed for
sharing and affirming one's relationship to God and one another. 

 In an interview with United Methodist News Service during the Aug. 1-5
event, Handy said faith sharing is grounded in biblical passages which call
for both faith formation and action. 
All Christians are called to witness to the love of Jesus, Handy said.  

In the midst of "doing religious activity," there is a tendency to forget
about "being in a right relationship with God" and sharing that with others,
he said.

During the Aug. 4 workshop, Handy said faith sharing is as simple as
conversation but added that such conversation is short-lived unless there is
a set of beliefs guiding the faith and witness. 

Some individuals find it difficult to share their faith because of "a shaken
faith foundation" or "a hand-me-down faith," he noted.   While faith of most
people is formed largely by the influence of parents, grandparents, church
and community, Handy warned his workshop participants not to forfeit their
right to formulate and shape their own faith. "When we are operating from a
borrowed faith  it is extremely awkward to witness."

Teaching and equipping the next generation to defend the faith is one of the
church's greatest theological and practical challenges, Handy said.  While
faith is a result or reflection of our personal environment, the key for the
next generation is that individuals develop their own theology.

To develop a theology, one must become like a small child and ask why, Handy
said.  "Asking why actually helps us to develop, defend and deepen our faith
foundation."

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United Methodist News Service
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