I have no idea when my “conversion” took place. Like most of us who are lifelong Episcopalians, I was baptized as an infant and have more or less gone to church my entire life – sometimes regularly for years and sometimes not at all.  From what I can tell, that part of my story is not unique.

Another part of my story is not unique. My “faith” has grown over time as friends have given themselves generously to disciple me in the ways of Christ and to help me recognize those special moments when God’s life-giving power breaks into the present time. Through my friends’ careful planting, watering, pruning, fertilizing, and nurturing, my once ever-so-tiny mustard seed of “faith” has grown into a more mature tree that signifies the present state of my life in Christ.

How does growth in “faith” take place?

“Faith” is never static. It ebbs and flows with the tides of life. In the New Testament, the English noun “faith” and the English verb “to believe” are both rooted in the important family of Greek words that begin with pist-. In the first-century world of the New Testament, this Greek word-group was closely linked with the art of rhetoric, or public persuasion. The rhetorical goal of a public speaker was to persuade people of something. The one who is persuaded by ever-mounting evidence of various types develops confidence in what the speaker is advocating. This confidence that comes through a process of persuasion is the Greek word “pistis,” usually translated as faith, trust, or belief.

When we become confident that something is true, we necessarily act upon that confidence. To have Christian “faith” is to be persuaded – to become confident over time – that living Christ’s pattern of self-giving love for others in daily life leads to many experiences of that abundant life promised by God.

How does this process of persuasion that leads to confidence or “faith” unfold?

One’s “faith” or confidence builds over time as we learn to recognize “God moments” – those particular experiences when the life-giving power of God changes our life and the lives of those around us. Let me give you an example.

Sherry was deeply concerned about whether she was going to have to dismiss a longtime employee whose quality of work had grown more and more unacceptable. She also wanted to be a faithful follower of Jesus in the way she approached the employee. So, she imagined how Jesus might start the conversation. Instead of initially confronting him with his poor performance, she asked him “Is there something happening in your life I should know about?” The employee broke down and wept, spending the next hour telling Sherry that a very challenging health situation in his immediate family meant he was only getting three hours of sleep each night. Sherry worked out a plan with the employee for him to take time off to find a long-term solution to the situation. He returned a few weeks later, and his work product improved dramatically.

To have “faith” is to have eyes to see the many ways that God changes our lives and our relationships through the ongoing ministry of Christ. These “God moments” provide persuasive evidence that there is a living God who continues to pour out on us that same life-giving power that raised Jesus from the dead. Over time, seeing these “God moments” gives us more and more confidence that walking in the footsteps of Christ leads us into abundant life.

In my life and in the lives of many of my friends, “conversion” has not been a once-for-all-time event. It has been a lifelong process of seeing the many “God moments” that build our confidence – our “faith” – in the power of God that continues to bring new life to the world through the ministry of Christ. 

by the Rev. Dr. John G. Lewis, Co-Director of The Work+Shop and an assisting priest at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, San Antonio. 

From Reflections magazine, Spring/Summer 2010. Produced by The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. All rights reserved.

Read the entire spring/summer issue at http://www.dwtx.org/index.php/prayer/Reflections_Online