Neal Pollard
Last week, I was in the bank making a deposit when the young woman who waited on me asked, “What’s that about?” Her eyes were about my chest level, but I was caught off guard. I said, “What?” She said, “Think Souls!” I could not believe that she asked that. I was unprepared and could only stammer, “Um, it’s something we’re doing at my church. We’re trying to reach into our community.” With that said, I could say no more. The moment died. I was left with embarrassment and regret. I pray each day for opportunities to share the good news and have found that little button as a great “conversation starter.” At least, it is…theoretically.
That failure on my part got me to thinking. Do you struggle with what to say, too? What is a good response to one’s inquiry about the “Think Souls!” button? Obviously, I’m no expert, but here are some responses I have come up with since that heat of the moment meltdown at the bank.
10) “It reminds me that everyone has a soul, including you and me.”
9) “Did you know that there’s a part of us that will never die? It’s the soul.”
8) “It reminds me that there are many lost souls in Denver and motivates me to do
something about that.”
7) “It’s so easy to get caught up in this world and forget the spiritual. This button in my
reminder.”
6) “Would you like to attend a church service with me and learn more about it?”
5) “Jesus came to this earth and died for souls like yours and mine.”
4) “God has taught us in the Bible to care about people’s souls. I care about yours.”
3) “There’s a part of us made in God’s image, and it’s the soul. I care about your soul.”
2) “Thank you for asking. It makes it easier for me to invite you to come with me to
church.”
1) “I’d like to study the Bible with you and explain what it means. Would you be willing
to do that?”
You may have a more clever or smooth response than any of these. If so, I would love to get your feedback. These buttons are not intended to be a gimmick or trick. They are designed to open up doors of opportunity. The important thing is to wake up every day and go through each day thinking about souls and trying to reach them. You don’t have to wear a button to do that, but if you do be prepared for people to ask about them. Give some thought to what you will say!
The Preacher Pollard Blog 
Mr. Neal,
Thank you so much for writing this! Things like this happen to me more often than I would like to admit and I hate myself for letting the opportunity pass! It is nice to know that it happens to seasoned preachers too! The thing that you did, that I don’t do, is write out what my response should have been so that if the opportunity passes before me again I would be more prepared. I appreciate your humility in sharing this with me and so many. Your list of responses is very good and very helpful to the horribly timid and tongue-tied like me!
One response may be, “How often do you think about your soul? Are you sure you know your eternal destination?”
Those opportunities do present themselves very often, and it would be very helpful to be mentally prepared ahead of time as to what to respond. It would be helpful to ask unintimidating questions to find out what the person is looking for and take it from there. God’s providence will bring us to those souls. 🙂
Our theme for our gospel meeting this year is “Where will you spend forever?” Your button idea is great, thanks! A button that just says “Forever?” would be a great idea for members to wear leading up to the meeting.