On Sept. 3, 1975, I met a coed who sparked my interest. It took me a month and a half to work up the courage to ask her out, but finally I called her on the phone.
Her response to my invitation? She said, “I’ve already seen that movie, why don’t you take my roommate?” Disappointed, I took Barbara instead of Paula to the movie. Paula still held my interest, but I did not want to date two roommates at the same time, so I kept dating Barbara.
While I was dating Barbara, Paula and I got to know each other socially and she suggested to me that she needed a running partner, so I accepted her invitation to jog with her on a regular basis. While Barbara was a good friend, the spark was not there for us, so I broke off the dating relationship after a few months.
Subsequently, on one cold winter evening, Paula and I were walking to an indoor track together to go jogging and she said to me, “My hand is cold.” I took her hand in mine, and I have not let it go for 51 years. Paula knew how to practice the art of woo.
Bono is known as the lead singer for the band U2, but he is also a social activist. In 2000, he went to lobby Sen. Jesse Helms for debt relief for poverty-stricken African nations. He armed himself with lots of facts and figures, ready to put pressure on Sen. Helms.
At the last minute, however, he changed his strategy and talked to the senator about Jesus’ concern for the poor. The conversation produced $435 million for debt relief. Bono practiced the art of woo.
Nelson Mandela used woo to lead a peaceful revolution in South Africa. Charles Lindbergh needed woo to attract backers for his trans-Atlantic flight. Business leaders practice woo every day as they seek customers and business partners.
Woo is the art of building relationships. It is the ability to win people over without coercion, using emotionally intelligent persuasion.
Jesus Christ calls us to practice the art of woo in bringing other people to faith in Him as the Savior. He said, “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Sharing with others about what Jesus means to us is not an effort to coerce people to our point of view, it is enticing them to find their own faith without pressure from us. It takes time, energy, and interest in others, but it is not manipulative. It takes practice and diligence, but it is also the natural result of our love of others and our passion for Jesus.
Why should we woo others to faith in Jesus? Because He first wooed us (John 3:16 and 1 John 4:19). Jesus wooed twelve disciples and many others to follow Him and discover faith. Now that he has ascended into heaven, it is our job to practice the art of woo in the name of Jesus as we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Who should we woo, or we might say “Woo who”? Jesus said we should woo those in Jerusalem, then those in Judea and Samaria, and then those in the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8).
In other words, we should share our faith with those closest to us, like our family. We should also befriend neighbors and share our faith as we see opportunities. Finally, we should look for opportunities to share the love of Jesus with those who may be remote from us.
I will have the happy opportunity in July to go with Kairos prison ministry to share the love and forgiveness of Jesus with those incarcerated on death row at the Polunsky unit outside Livingston. Going to the ends of the earth for you may be wooing children or (shudder, shudder) teenagers.
When we practice friendship evangelism (the art of woo), there will be a great “woohoo.” Some will respond to the inner witness of the Holy Spirit and discover for themselves the love of God and they will respond with faith.
They will find new power for living and overcome their darkness. The light of Christ will come upon their lives, and we will have the opportunity to celebrate with them as the angels in heaven rejoice that the lost have been found.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
