Just Walk Across the Room

Sharing your faith may be as simple as just walking across the room . . .

As the title suggests, Bill Hybels—lead pastor at Willow Creek—each step we take and each conversation we hold can have eternal importance. Challenging the readers to live in “3D”: Develop Friendship, Discover Stories, and Discern the Next Step, Hybels shows that this way of life is the most exciting and rewarding.
“What if ten steps . . . could actually impact eternity?” (page 19) Hybels shares a touching experience of meeting an ex-Muslim and hearing his story of someone noticing him—a lonely man at a busy location—pulling away from his “conversational clique,” walking across the room and introducing himself. The concept sounds simple enough, then Hybels adds the punch, “People were Jesus’ One Thing” (page 24) and if they were so special to Jesus, then as a Christian, shouldn’t they be special to me? Your relationships are vital to the kingdom of God and “the single greatest gift you can give someone is an introduction to the God who asked his Son to go the unthinkable distance to redeem them” (page 29). Your steps shorten the distance between the lost around you and redeeming grace.
The picture isn’t all rosy, however, “Sometimes there will be a wide-open door, and sometimes there won’t” (page 40) but it is being aware of when the Spirit says “walk” and “stop” that is important. Hybels reminds us that Jesus was more than someone who just liked people, He loved them, particularly those with “broken souls and hopeless futures and hell-bound eternities” (page 74). He loved each and every one and urges us to do the same.
Stories are the key to connecting with those around us. Hybels shares, “The greatest storyteller ever to walk the planet, Jesus spun sagas about everything from great banquets to mustard seeds, and from trees that bore fruit to missing sheep and lost coins” (page 115). The little, daily details do make a difference—not just telling your story, but listening to the stories of those around you. Just Walk Across the Room will thrill you and thrill you with the desire to hear the stories around you.
But you may just need to walk across the room to hear them.

Just Walk Across the Room
Bill Hybels
Zondervan, Grand Rapids
219 pages