Before I begin the review, I'm going to preface this by saying I'm quite the nerd. If I want to find out about something, I read about it. I google it. I can often spend countless hours learning about something completely irrelevant to my life just for the sake of learning it. And when something has practical application, I'm all the more hungry to learn about it. So when I learned that there are such a thing as 'missionary books' (which isn't a huge surprise, but a happy one), I was immediately excited to learn and read about becoming a missionary.
One of the first that I have read is called
Becoming a Bold Missionary. This Naturally, I'm pretty timid and quiet. So I thought that any advice about becoming a bold missionary would be welcome.
He uses an analogy that complexly describes me, completely timid and afraid of offence:
"Once on a kind of self-dare, I asked the girl of my dreams to go to the movie with me. I was shocked when she accepted. I walked fearfully to her house and the two of us walked silently to the theater. As we entered I stopped and bought a bag of popcorn. As we watched the movie, I began to eat the popcorn. I knew that I should offer her some, but I was fearful to do so. What would I do if she told me no? I could not stand such rejection. So, out of fear, I ate the whole bag myself."
At first when I finished the story I thought, what a weird analogy. Why didn't he just give her the popcorn? What is really the worst thing that could happen? She could turn it down and you could feel justified in eating the whole thing. But then I realized, this is exactly what we do when we aren't being bold missionaries. We have the gospel, which is the popcorn, and we have the opportunity to share this far more precious and vital message with others. Why would we not share it with everyone? I have been called to serve in Chicago to share the gospel, I should be sharing it at every opportunity. That is an amazing lesson I've learned from
Becoming a Bold Missionary.
I highly recommend Becoming a Bold Missionary, especially for those of us who are more timid and nervous about sharing the gospel with strangers. It is a short and quick read, completely worth your time!
