The First Conversations
Rev. Dr. Jotham Johann Jhang

Several months ago, my family adopted a puppy and named her Clara. In preparing for the adoption, we struggled with thinking about all of the added responsibilities in caring for a dog. Little did we know that Christ had Clara in mind, all 7 pounds of her, for assisting in the sharing of the Gospel.

After Clara had gotten her shots and was deemed strong enough to start walking outside, I put a leash on her and took her outside. Clara is of the shih-tzu breed, known for being extremely friendly to human beings and strangers. She literally engaged everyone walking outside in the neighborhood!

Although I am a fairly outgoing personality, there are many moments when I’m not sure how to start up a conversation with a complete stranger. However, Clara is a totally “different kind of animal”. To her, there isn’t a person that cannot be engaged. There isn’t a stranger that cannot be befriended. So the typical stranger and I are almost “forced” into a conversation, as Clara stands on her tip-toes and lightly scratches at the stranger’s knees playfully.

Three years of living in this neighborhood had yielded me a handful of acquaintances and several people I greeted on a first-name basis, before God sent Clara to me. However, three long walks with Clara over three days produced 70 new contacts and introductions. Now when I drive out of the neighborhood to go to the office in the morning, I am greeted by dozens of people, many of whom do not yet have a relationship with Christ.

We often hear that it’s not who you meet, but how you meet them. With Clara, meeting new people is almost always a joyful one. The stranger ends up greeting me with a giggling, friendly handshake. A positive introduction follows on the heels of sharing about how cute Clara is, what kind of breed she is, how old she is, etc.

So the stage is set for a meaningful first conversation. I’ve got a stranger in front of me who adores my pet, praises me for having such a cute pet, and asks me who I am and where I live in the neighborhood. This stranger has met me in a non-threatening situation. He says that he has a dog too, and that I should come over to his place some time! I believe I am at the plate with the bases loaded!

At this point, I can ask my version of Philip’s conversation starter in Acts 8:30, where the apostle asks the Ethiopian official,…”Do you understand what you are reading?”… You can imagine the good conversation which ensues. But it doesn’t end there, since we both live in the neighborhood. I will walk Clara again and I will meet this new acquaintance in a few days for a follow-up conversation.

Although Clara is always a good resource for me in the neighborhood, I can walk around on the streets without her and plenty of conversations are beckoning. The scores of people whom God has allowed me to meet has yielded in many second, third, and fourth conversations. Some of those conversations have included discussions about faith, God and Christ.

Clara is not only effective in the neighborhood, but at church as well. One Sunday morning, Clara was whining excessively as I was heading out the door to go to church. So I decided to spoil her for once and took her there, with the intention of leaving her in the car during worship service. However, in the parking lot, she received all kinds of attention from the kids. Before I knew it, Clara was standing with the welcoming committee at the front doors of the church, greeting everyone.

Finding friendly, committed, and outgoing people for greeting newcomers is always a challenge. But for Clara, greeting newcomers is what she does. During that morning, she taught me and the human greeters, what welcoming and hospitality means. I made sure that Clara lavished the newcomers with attention. The usual awkward moments among newcomers and greeters turned into giggling, happy introductions and first conversations, just like in my neighborhood. That morning, I heard many conversation starters, a la Philip & the Ethiopian, being used as visitors, some of whom were not yet baptized, were being engaged in first conversations.

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