come to Jesus

1. adjective Literally, of the choice to accept Jesus Christ as one's savior. An inspirational homily sparked my come to Jesus moment, and I've been a Christian ever since. I've told her that I am an avid atheist, but she still insists on me attending one of her come-to-Jesus meetings. I had something of a come-to-Jesus moment after my car crash last month.

2. A phrase used to describe a persuasive conversation aimed at getting the listener to change (and, often, to stop doing something negative or self-destructive). When my parents found out that Jack was doing drugs, they sat him down for a come to Jesus talk, in the hopes that they could get him to agree to rehab. After months of poor performance, the boss is calling Janet in for a come to Jesus meeting. A: "He seems to be focusing more on his studies these days." B: "Yes, well, we had come-to-Jesus talk last semester and told him we were going to stop paying his tuition unless he started applying himself."