How confrontational should we be when witnessing to lost family members?

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The following is an edited transcript of the audio.

How confrontational should we be when witnessing to lost family members?

That will depend on the circumstance.

Are you watching the ball game on Super Bowl Sunday, and some lewd advertisement comes on. Is that the situation? There's ten people in the room, and everybody is yukking it up. Is that the best time?

Or is it later that night, when Uncle Joe isn't making his stupid cracks anymore? He's sitting quietly out in the living room while everybody else is eating chips and dip in the kitchen. But there's Uncle Joe, seeming kind of moody because the holiday wasn't what he hoped for.

There's the point when you get in his face and say, "Uncle Joe, can I ask you a question? You don't have to go there with me, but I want to talk about something serious. We've been yukking it up all day, and you look like you might be ready for something serious. Can I ask you a serious question?" And you go after him.

The answer hangs on the situation.

Pray in family settings for certain situations. Usually the reason it is hard to witness to family members is because there are always so many of them around. And the situation never looks appropriate because you're eating dinner, watching TV, or playing a game. And you think, "Where can I get serious with these people?"

So you might ask God, "Lord, create with somebody this holiday a moment when they look a little bit pensive. They've just heard of some calamity on the radio or some story at work about somebody whose going through something, and they're not yukking it up but are serious for a minute."

That's when the golden moment can arrive for injecting your most serious statement—which is the most joyful—that Jesus Christ came into the world to forgive this person's sins and to save them. Then try to go for a spiritual conversation.

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