Is it ok to speak with this person?

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dje101

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'ello all!

How ya doing? Hope your doing good. Need a bit of help.

So here’s the dealy-o; a couple nights ago I was playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox Live (XBL) and I got into a little discussion with another player. During the game he walked into my line of fire and got killed, took his revenge by killing me. I got frustrated, told him that he shouldn’t do that and that it was his fault, the proceeded to…even the score, just once more. We sent messages back and forth a couple of times saying who was in the right and wrong, then he sent one back saying “I don’t know who the f*** you are, leave me alone” I said “whoa, no need for cussing there. I never said you knew me. Anyways, good luck in the game and God bless”. He sent me back a message saying “oh your a Christian aren’t you. Sorry for the cussing”. (I thought that was rather a stand up act, you don’t hear “sorry” that often on XBL.) I responded with “YUP! and proud of it too! U?” He said “no, but I’m going to once I understand.”

I saw this as a moment that might have been brought around by God. I messaged him, asking him to be my “friend” (kinda like facebook) that way I help answer any of his questions to get him started on the right path and maybe play some Call of Duty games. I gave him my email address because it takes WAY too long to text things on XBL that are just conversational, never mind theological or religious. Well, earlier tonight, I was playing again and he invited me to a private chat while playing online. I noticed that he had a very young sounding voice. We chatted for about 15 minutes. He said that he just started going to church around 2 months ago and no one in his family is religious. We talked about the different denominations because he didn’t know what they were. Got around to finding out that he is in 6th grade and he is 12 years old. I am 21 and in college.

My question is: Is it appropriate for me as a 21 year old to be speaking with a 12 year stranger about religion? Or, just simply, is it appropriate for a 21 year old to be speaking with a 12 year old at all, no matter the topic of discussion?

I need some guidance cause I LOVE talking about Jesus and really want to help this kid get on the right path since his family doesn’t follow Jesus. I have a heartfelt desire to help guide this kid towards a greater knowledge of Christ, but I’m afraid that in that desire to help him, I might overlook the fact that it is inappropriate or someone might take it the wrong way. HELP PLEASE!!!
 
I have had many instances of that happening to me. Just be friendly!

Bump.

I want to see what other people think! 😉
 
I don’t think there is anything wrong with you talking to him about religion! It is great that you are helping out a random person!!

The only thing he needs to work on is to stop cussing. A 12 year old just saying stuff like isn’t good!
 
I think you are right to be a little wary. Just make sure you always remember you are an adult speaking with a child and reflect this in what you say and how you say it,. enouraging the child to converse with parents/teacher etc if they can. Just remember that you have to consider both your own safety and that of the child in this day and age. may be imagin the parent is look over your shoulder as you write.
 
waterbrook said:
I think you are right to be a little wary. Just make sure you always remember you are an adult speaking with a child and reflect this in what you say and how you say it,. enouraging the child to converse with parents/teacher etc if they can. Just remember that you have to consider both your own safety and that of the child in this day and age. may be imagin the parent is look over your shoulder as you write.
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Thanks for your guidance. You are write that I am a little wary. I don’t know if this makes a difference in your opinion or guidance, but I think that he wishes to use the voice chat feature of XBL. The voice chat is run both through my headset and the speakers on my tv, so people near me can hear my conversations on it.
 
I want to say thank you to everyone else who has responded as well. I’m glad to see that maybe most people don’t think it will be a problem as long as I remain mature and remember the age group I’m speaking with.
 
I have another question that I hope you pleasant people will be able to help me with in this situation.

Given the kid’s age, the fact that he was not raised in a religious household, the fact that he’s only been going to church a couple of months, and that he is going to a protestant church, as well as all the knowledge that I’ve gotten from this wonderful site that I’m REALLY excited to pass on to someone, how do you think I should approach the situation?

Let him ask the questions? Explain the basics of Christianity (not necessarily Christianity as in Protestantism, just Christian principles that Catholics and Protestants alike accept)?

I talk a lot with my younger brother who is 18 and very smart and pretty familiar with the Bible, so I’m definitely going to have to change the way I have discussions. I just feel that this was not a mere accident on XBL; I honestly think that God wants me to speak with this kid, so you can imagine that I don’t want to screw anything up if this is an assignment from God. I don’t do much evangelizing, and I have even less interaction with people that are under the age of 18.
 
I would start by letting him ask the questions, then you can get an idea of where he is coming from. After you explain or discuss a topic, just ask him what he thinks about it or if he really understands what you said, (remember he’s 12!) Too much information at this point may be overwhelming and you don’t want to discourge him. Having your brother with you is a good idea, if he doesn’t understand you, you can have your brother give it try. Good Luck!
 
Catholic1954 said:
I would start by letting him ask the questions, then you can get an idea of where he is coming from. After you explain or discuss a topic, just ask him what he thinks about it or if he really understands what you said, (remember he’s 12!) Too much information at this point may be overwhelming and you don’t want to discourge him.
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I was thinking the same thing, and its nice to see that you are thinking along the same lines.
Having your brother with you is a good idea, if he doesn’t understand you, you can have your brother give it try. Good Luck!
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That is a REALLY good idea! I hadn’t even thought of that! Thanks
 
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