Ever wonder how to start a conversation about God with someone who, you know, doesn't believe? It used to be known as "witnessing" or "sharing your faith." These activities seem so 20th century, so Campus Crusade-ish. Nowadays most Christians prefer to talk about God in a way that is more about water cool conversation than door-to-door proselytizing.

We're fine with that. In fact, we think it's a much better way to go. Sure worked for Jesus. When people like Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and the rich young ruler asked him questions, Jesus didn't twist any arms. He conversed, asked questions, left them wanting more.

The thing with this preferred method is to find those cultural touch points that most people can identify with or at least know about, and then develop the art of asking really good questions with the intention of engaging in conversations about the bigger spiritual issues at stake.

For example, when the Haiti earthquake struck, it didn't take long for one of the biggest spiritual questions of all to surface: How could a loving God allow such a horrible tragedy? To be sure, it's a tough question with no easy answer, but it is a terrific way to start a conversation about God.

On a much different scale, but strangely enough with almost as much media attention, we now have another cultural touch point that presents a wonderful oppportunity to talk about some pretty important spiritual issues. Of course, we're talking about the Tiger Woods mea culpa.

Whether the 13-minute statement was contrived or genuine really doesn't matter. Tiger's confession, no matter who wrote it, contained three of the grandest themes in all of Christendom: repentance, forgiveness, and redemption. How these themes play out on a human level in Tiger's life is probably none of our business. But on the grander cosmic stage, these theological concepts--and make no mistake, that's what they are--have  enormous significance for all people, no matter who they are or where they are in life.

Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult and perhaps even awkward to bring them up in a casual conversation:

So, Joe, have you ever thought about what it means to repent of your sins and ask forgiveness so you can be redeemed?

That just doesn't fly with Joe, not unless you're a street preacher, and then you'd just be confirming in Joe's mind that Christians are nut jobs. No, it's much easier to start a conversation in the context of a familiar cultural event such as the one now before us:

So, Joe, what did you think of Tiger's confession? Do you think he deserves forgiveness? What are his chances to get back in the good graces of the public and, more importantly, his wife and kids?

If Joe is a thoughtful person, he will gladly give you a response. in fact, it's likely Joe has already been thinking about what it all means.

Even as we pray for Tiger (something we should be doing), we need to thank him for this opportunity to openly and rather effortlessly talk about some things that really matter to God.