As I approached the lady on the porch, she began to wave me off and tell me she wasn’t interested. Ever gotten that when you were out making visits door-to-door?
I greeted her kindly and told her who I was, and offered her a tract which she promptly declined and told me she attends St. Anne’s Catholic Church.
That is when I did it…I broke the Zombie Stare.
You have seen it, but may not have recognized it. You go to someone’s door and they seem to already know they do not want to talk with you.
The fact is they are not rejecting you or the gospel, they just don’t want to be disturbed and prefer to stay in the rut of the familiar. You are a threat, no matter who you are or what you want with them. So they send you away.
Breaking that stare and getting them to wake up is extremely difficult.
I told you of the use of Scripture Diagram Graphics earlier this week and how they can be used to break this stare.
Here is another way to break that stare…for several years I would tell the person I was glad to hear they went to church, and then proceed to tell them the message of the Bible is what is most important. If you have used that approach you know your ability to get the person into a real conversation was severely limited. So for years I searched for a better approach. Here is what I uncovered…
I told this lady that she must be quite happy with her church. She of course agreed with me.
I then asked her what 2 or 3 things she like the most about her church.
Honestly, I am interested in what a person has to say on this issue. It tells me if they understand the gospel, or in the cases where they do not; it tells me what motivates them to go to church.
When I asked this question, I saw her demeanor immediately changed. It was as if she was thinking, ‘he wants to know about MY church!’ She was happy to talk with me.
After listening and asking a couple genuine questions I then was able to turn the conversation to the gospel. She was willing to speak with me and listen to what I had to say about Christ.
As I prepared to leave, I offered her the tract again and this time she gladly received it.
I have found this method of breaking the zombie stare to work very effectively with many people I meet. Give it a try.
