Barry Meguiar: Key to Sharing Faith is to ‘Be Real and Love on People’
By Alex Murashko
To chat with Barry Meguiar, one would never suspect that the highly successful car products executive and former TV show host of Discovery’s Car Crazy, who used his business as his pulpit for more than 50 years, was at one time an introvert – unless he told you so.
“I was an introvert. I was terribly introverted when I started,” Meguiar told Think Eternity during an interview at the annual NRB conference for Christian media held earlier this year. “I hid behind Karen (his wife). I came out of my shell because of sharing my faith, because I knew that's what I was supposed to do, and I better do it.”
Although he had been leading an evangelism ministry for many years, his attempts at introducing Jesus to people felt awkward at times, he said. He and his wife began to attend and listen to evangelism training programs but still struggled.
Barry Meguiar
“I'm a salesman, I tend to follow the ‘script’ a little too tightly [and the attempts to share the gospel] became a sales pitch rather than me leading people to the Lord,” Meguiar said. “It hit me one day as I'm reading the Bible that Jesus said they'll know ‘you’re my disciples, by your love [for each other].’ So, I decided to throw away any ‘instructions’ and be real and love on people.”
Meguiar, who is the author of Ignite Your Life and the soon-to-be released devotional Live Ignited: Your Daily “Nudge” to Share Your Faith, said that as a result of “just starting to love on people” it immediately opened up all kinds of conversations.
“I stopped offending people,” he said. “When you begin to love on people it’s the Holy Spirit speaking through you. It’s a spiritual experience. People will almost always open up when you know your love is real. They will tell you their deepest needs and their deepest hurt.”
Meguiar shared that in Luke 12:12 it is written that the Holy Spirit will “give you the words when you need them.” He said he began “testing” that portion of scripture. He would pray and confess to the Lord that he did not know what to say but that he had to trust Him. “He always came through. I realized that this [act of faith] took the fear out of sharing my faith.”
“I started doing more and more sharing, as did Karen, and we’re getting so much joy and so much satisfaction for it that it was like the most rewarding thing in our lives.”
When asked about why he wrote his devotional Live Ignited, Meguiar said, “We all need to be sharing our faith and only 1% of us are sharing our faith. It's not an option; it's the Great Commission.”
Sharing a faith in Jesus isn’t about God commissioning those “who are talented or can quote scripture” best, Meguiar said. “God simply said, ‘Go.’”
“The most ferocious faith-sharing people are new Christians. They don't [necessarily] know scripture. They're just in love with God.”
Often, those who have been Christians for a longer time than others become complacent and forget their first love is God, not other things, Meguiar said.
“We say, move everybody every day closer to Jesus,” he said. “You'd be shocked how many people right beside you, when you love on them, within moments they're telling you their needs and you're interfacing with them and praying for them.”
Meguiar believes that there are plenty of opportunities to share Jesus’ love to others.
“If it doesn't happen during the day, it's because of us. We're just closing our eyes to it,” he said. ”I think the opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy. They just don't care. [Their sentiment might be]: ‘They're all going to hell. But I don't care. I just keep right on. I don't have any responsibility.’ Yeah, you do. You have the opportunity to talk to them, and if nothing else, move them closer to God.”
About Ignite America
Move Everyone, Every Day, Closer to Jesus
For decades, we’ve taught, preached and believed that sharing our faith is an option and we’re suffering the consequences.
With less than 20% of our population still going to Church regularly, Satan has filled the void of our Godless Society with unprecedented dis-function, anger and obscenity.
As it was with Children of Israel in the Old Testament, our hearts have turned to false idols and turned cold toward God.
We’ve turned our lights off and left the world in darkness. How are they going to know unless someone tells them . . . unless you tell them?
READ MORE at IgniteAmerica.com
Alex Murashko is a Christ follower, husband, journalist and writing team leader for Think Eternity, a site for powerful faith content to help you live the fulfilled life in Jesus. Murashko is also founder of Media on Mission.
Connect on X: @AlexMurashko.