She's a mystery, isn't she? Still going after all this time. After the Crusades and the Inquisition and Christian cable television. Still going. And there continue to be people like me who believe she is one of the best ideas ever. In spite of all the ways she has veered off track. In spite of all the people who have actually turned away from God because of what they experienced in church. I am starting to realize why: The church is like a double-edged sword. When it's good, when it's on, when it's right, it's like nothing on earth. A group of people committed to selflessly serving and loving the world around them? Great. But when it's bad, all that potential gets turned the other way. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Sometimes in the same week. Sometimes in the same day.
But she will live on. She's indestructible. When she dies in one part of the world, she explodes in another. She's global. She's universal. She's everywhere. And while she's fragile, she's going to endure. In every generation there will be those who see her beauty and give their lives to see her shine. Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against her. That's strong language. And it's true. She will continue to roll across the ages, serving and giving and connecting people with God and each other. And people will abuse her and manipulate her and try to control her, but they'll pass on. And she will keep going. (Rob Bell, 'Velvet Elvis')
So here I am, still trying to believe in her after all of this.
Sunday 21 February 2010
Wednesday 17 February 2010
We should all read Acts more!
Wow. I just spent some time reading Acts 1-13 - so challenging and inspiring. So many things to think about - here are some ramblings and reflections (apologies for the inevitable length of this post)...
Acts is an unfolding of the apostles trying to carry out the Great Commission that Jesus commanded them, to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that he has commanded (Mt 28:18); the apostles hold on to this command, as when Peter says to the Gentiles that "he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42). Reading Acts, I find myself thinking: proclaiming the gospel is a command of Christ - it is not an option, not something that is subordinate to good works and service, that we don't really have to do or can choose to shy away from. It is a positive command, an imperative. Jesus has commanded us to make disciples and teach people the gospel way of living.
This emphasis is shown throughout Acts and the movements of the apostles. Wherever they go, they actively and boldly (amazingly boldly!) proclaim the word of God, the gospel message, and what God has done for his people. I was really struck by the power of the gospel they proclaim (crowds instantly believe and are transformed, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, healing and signs and miracles), and how the apostles never shirked from opposition or persecution, or minced their words, even when the ways in which they preached the gospel were often quite harsh and would be deemed totally un-PC today. So Peter, speaking with such courage and conviction to the Jewish authorities, explaining the means by which a lame man was healed, basically tells them that it was accomplished through the power of Jesus who they crucified, and "there is salvation in no one else." (Acts 4.12) And when Peter is speaking to Simon, a recent convert and ex magician, after he wrongly wants to buy with money the ability to give people the Holy Spirit, he doesn't hold back in condemning Simon's behaviour - "Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." And Simon responds with repentance!(Acts 8:20-24)
The apostles were not scared when they proclaimed the gospel. They were not worried that what they were saying would not be inclusive or PC enough. They were aware of the truth, power, and scandalous offensiveness of the gospel, they had such faith in the gospel and what God wanted them to do, and wanted to share this earth-shattering message of hope and salvation with everyone. And they proclaimed the gospel out of their love for God and to share the love of God, not for self-centred reasons or out of a desire to exclude. And they accomplished great things with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I feel so challenged by this. I know that I and many people find it hard to share faith and preach the gospel because of fear, fear of other people's opinions or feelings, of being rejected or appearing to reject others. It is a valid worry in a world where the Christian message has been distorted and expressed to people in harmful ways that have nothing to do with the gospel and the love that Jesus wanted us to show towards others. I know that many Christians and communities consequently find themselves in a place where they avoid preaching the gospel, focusing their energies on other things and inadvertently or deliberately downplaying the necessity of evangelism and teaching.
There is nothing wrong with these other things in themselves - service, striving for social justice, good works... These are good things commanded and encouraged by God. The life of the Acts community engaged in these things too, selling their possessions and distributing financial aid to widows and people in need, providing relief to those who needed it. But these things were never done in isolation from sharing the gospel with those who had not heard it or did not believe it. Sharing the gospel was always an emphasis, and the life of the community was always a continuation and expression of the faith that they had, transforming their lifestyles and making them servants of the gospel in all areas of their life.
Have a look at Acts 6. Here a situation arises where some widows in need are being neglected and not receiving enough aid in the daily distributions. The apostles respond to this by picking seven strong and faithful disciples to serve in this way, while continuing to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word, saying that "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables." (Acts 6:1-7)
What does this mean for us? The apostles tell the Christian community that "it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables". Preaching the gospel is something that cannot be dispensed with or given up and replaced with something else. At the same time the apostles delegate the duty of service to certain chosen disciples, affirming its vital importance and the different gifts and callings that different followers had.
I note all these things because for a while I have believed, in reaction to many frustrations I have had with some hardline conservative evangelical approaches to the gospel that have one-sidedly stressed evangelism and the Bible over against all other vital aspects of Christian life and mission, that preaching the gospel overtly was somehow something that wasn't all that important in community and church. In being swept away with the negativity of past experiences in other Christian communities, I have become reactionary in my view of evangelism, failing to come to terms with the reality of the Acts community and way that the church of the apostles operated.
I believe that we need to find a way to preach the gospel that is powerful and accessible and makes sense to the people we live with today. When the apostles shared the gospel message with fellow Jews, they explained how Jesus fit into God's salvation history and was the fulfilment of Old Testament hopes and expectations as expressed in scripture. Stephen's speech in Acts 7, his defence of himself and the gospel, is amazingly powerful, and must have been even more so for the Jews who heard it. The apostles explained the gospel in ways that made sense to the people who were listening to them. I believe that we need to learn how to do this; we need to know and understand what people's hopes, dreams, fears, and expectations are in the 21st century context in which we live, and figure out how to live and speak out the truth of the gospel message in ways that will make sense to our contemporaries.
I also believe that maybe in our culture we have lost the sense of the power of the gospel. The apostles and Acts community saw and were channels of real gospel transformation around them because they really, truly knew and had faith in the power of the gospel themselves. Stephen was stoned praying to God for his executioners to be forgiven. Reading Acts, I found myself constantly doing double takes and asking, Do I believe the gospel this much? Do I have that kind of faith and intimacy with the Holy Spirit? Because I think that if I genuinely believed the gospel in the way the apostles did, out of such a deep, deep place in me, I would talk about it and proclaim it a lot more than I do. So this is a challenge to ourselves and our faith just as much as it is an ecclesiastical / missiological challenge.
I think we are comfortable, too. Not just in terms of socio economics, but also in terms of our culture and the way we relate to one another. What I mean is that for the average Christian in the privileged/developed world, to follow the Jesus way isn't really a path of suffering and persecution. In our interactions we are afraid and worried even of saying things that might not please the other person, so explaining the gospel to a non Christian is so difficult. So in our culture we feel the need to scale down the scandal of the gospel, the inherent offensiveness and discomfort of it to those who don't believe. Maybe we sacrifice the scandal of the gospel for comfortable inclusiveness, because we fear upsetting people, and we fear that we will lose the popularity and social gain that we so desperately desire for ourselves.
In many ways it is easier to be nice and servant-spirited to non Christians than to actively explain to them in truth and love why we believe the gospel and why we think Jesus wants them to love him too. The two things aren't mutually exclusive, but I think that maybe some people justify the (inadvertent or deliberate) separation of preaching the gospel and living the gospel on grounds that they think are theological and moral but are really more down to our human fears and insecurities and shortcomings.
I am not just affirming one side of the dilemma, saying that we should preach the gospel and everything else is secondary or dispensable. I think that they cannot be separated - to live the gospel is to preach it in word and deed. And as the apostles rightly acknowledged, different people will have different gifts that they can use to serve God and people - as it says in Corinthians, some people will be preachers, others will be pastors, teachers, prophets, etc... But the point is that as a church we are one body that is seeking to represent Jesus and his message to the world, and all of us are required to encourage the sharing and spreading of the gospel in any way possible. In relationships on the day to day level this will involve serving with acts of love and explaining the hope that we have.
All things that we all need to reflect on.
Acts is an unfolding of the apostles trying to carry out the Great Commission that Jesus commanded them, to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that he has commanded (Mt 28:18); the apostles hold on to this command, as when Peter says to the Gentiles that "he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42). Reading Acts, I find myself thinking: proclaiming the gospel is a command of Christ - it is not an option, not something that is subordinate to good works and service, that we don't really have to do or can choose to shy away from. It is a positive command, an imperative. Jesus has commanded us to make disciples and teach people the gospel way of living.
This emphasis is shown throughout Acts and the movements of the apostles. Wherever they go, they actively and boldly (amazingly boldly!) proclaim the word of God, the gospel message, and what God has done for his people. I was really struck by the power of the gospel they proclaim (crowds instantly believe and are transformed, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, healing and signs and miracles), and how the apostles never shirked from opposition or persecution, or minced their words, even when the ways in which they preached the gospel were often quite harsh and would be deemed totally un-PC today. So Peter, speaking with such courage and conviction to the Jewish authorities, explaining the means by which a lame man was healed, basically tells them that it was accomplished through the power of Jesus who they crucified, and "there is salvation in no one else." (Acts 4.12) And when Peter is speaking to Simon, a recent convert and ex magician, after he wrongly wants to buy with money the ability to give people the Holy Spirit, he doesn't hold back in condemning Simon's behaviour - "Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." And Simon responds with repentance!(Acts 8:20-24)
The apostles were not scared when they proclaimed the gospel. They were not worried that what they were saying would not be inclusive or PC enough. They were aware of the truth, power, and scandalous offensiveness of the gospel, they had such faith in the gospel and what God wanted them to do, and wanted to share this earth-shattering message of hope and salvation with everyone. And they proclaimed the gospel out of their love for God and to share the love of God, not for self-centred reasons or out of a desire to exclude. And they accomplished great things with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I feel so challenged by this. I know that I and many people find it hard to share faith and preach the gospel because of fear, fear of other people's opinions or feelings, of being rejected or appearing to reject others. It is a valid worry in a world where the Christian message has been distorted and expressed to people in harmful ways that have nothing to do with the gospel and the love that Jesus wanted us to show towards others. I know that many Christians and communities consequently find themselves in a place where they avoid preaching the gospel, focusing their energies on other things and inadvertently or deliberately downplaying the necessity of evangelism and teaching.
There is nothing wrong with these other things in themselves - service, striving for social justice, good works... These are good things commanded and encouraged by God. The life of the Acts community engaged in these things too, selling their possessions and distributing financial aid to widows and people in need, providing relief to those who needed it. But these things were never done in isolation from sharing the gospel with those who had not heard it or did not believe it. Sharing the gospel was always an emphasis, and the life of the community was always a continuation and expression of the faith that they had, transforming their lifestyles and making them servants of the gospel in all areas of their life.
Have a look at Acts 6. Here a situation arises where some widows in need are being neglected and not receiving enough aid in the daily distributions. The apostles respond to this by picking seven strong and faithful disciples to serve in this way, while continuing to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word, saying that "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables." (Acts 6:1-7)
What does this mean for us? The apostles tell the Christian community that "it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables". Preaching the gospel is something that cannot be dispensed with or given up and replaced with something else. At the same time the apostles delegate the duty of service to certain chosen disciples, affirming its vital importance and the different gifts and callings that different followers had.
I note all these things because for a while I have believed, in reaction to many frustrations I have had with some hardline conservative evangelical approaches to the gospel that have one-sidedly stressed evangelism and the Bible over against all other vital aspects of Christian life and mission, that preaching the gospel overtly was somehow something that wasn't all that important in community and church. In being swept away with the negativity of past experiences in other Christian communities, I have become reactionary in my view of evangelism, failing to come to terms with the reality of the Acts community and way that the church of the apostles operated.
I believe that we need to find a way to preach the gospel that is powerful and accessible and makes sense to the people we live with today. When the apostles shared the gospel message with fellow Jews, they explained how Jesus fit into God's salvation history and was the fulfilment of Old Testament hopes and expectations as expressed in scripture. Stephen's speech in Acts 7, his defence of himself and the gospel, is amazingly powerful, and must have been even more so for the Jews who heard it. The apostles explained the gospel in ways that made sense to the people who were listening to them. I believe that we need to learn how to do this; we need to know and understand what people's hopes, dreams, fears, and expectations are in the 21st century context in which we live, and figure out how to live and speak out the truth of the gospel message in ways that will make sense to our contemporaries.
I also believe that maybe in our culture we have lost the sense of the power of the gospel. The apostles and Acts community saw and were channels of real gospel transformation around them because they really, truly knew and had faith in the power of the gospel themselves. Stephen was stoned praying to God for his executioners to be forgiven. Reading Acts, I found myself constantly doing double takes and asking, Do I believe the gospel this much? Do I have that kind of faith and intimacy with the Holy Spirit? Because I think that if I genuinely believed the gospel in the way the apostles did, out of such a deep, deep place in me, I would talk about it and proclaim it a lot more than I do. So this is a challenge to ourselves and our faith just as much as it is an ecclesiastical / missiological challenge.
I think we are comfortable, too. Not just in terms of socio economics, but also in terms of our culture and the way we relate to one another. What I mean is that for the average Christian in the privileged/developed world, to follow the Jesus way isn't really a path of suffering and persecution. In our interactions we are afraid and worried even of saying things that might not please the other person, so explaining the gospel to a non Christian is so difficult. So in our culture we feel the need to scale down the scandal of the gospel, the inherent offensiveness and discomfort of it to those who don't believe. Maybe we sacrifice the scandal of the gospel for comfortable inclusiveness, because we fear upsetting people, and we fear that we will lose the popularity and social gain that we so desperately desire for ourselves.
In many ways it is easier to be nice and servant-spirited to non Christians than to actively explain to them in truth and love why we believe the gospel and why we think Jesus wants them to love him too. The two things aren't mutually exclusive, but I think that maybe some people justify the (inadvertent or deliberate) separation of preaching the gospel and living the gospel on grounds that they think are theological and moral but are really more down to our human fears and insecurities and shortcomings.
I am not just affirming one side of the dilemma, saying that we should preach the gospel and everything else is secondary or dispensable. I think that they cannot be separated - to live the gospel is to preach it in word and deed. And as the apostles rightly acknowledged, different people will have different gifts that they can use to serve God and people - as it says in Corinthians, some people will be preachers, others will be pastors, teachers, prophets, etc... But the point is that as a church we are one body that is seeking to represent Jesus and his message to the world, and all of us are required to encourage the sharing and spreading of the gospel in any way possible. In relationships on the day to day level this will involve serving with acts of love and explaining the hope that we have.
All things that we all need to reflect on.
Sunday 14 February 2010
Promises
Just got back to Bristol; it has been a difficult time for Dave and his family and I went down to be with him and them this weekend to try and offer any support I could. Dave's grandfather passed away yesterday night, and I am praying for an overriding sense of comfort and peace for them all.
In addition to everything else, being with Dave this weekend and being there for him got me thinking in a deeper way about our upcoming marriage, and the promises we will be making to each other.
To have and to hold
from this day forward,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
til death do us part
according to God's holy law
And it got me thinking: I really love him. I want to be there for him through it all. I really love him.
That's all I have to say, really.
In addition to everything else, being with Dave this weekend and being there for him got me thinking in a deeper way about our upcoming marriage, and the promises we will be making to each other.
To have and to hold
from this day forward,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
til death do us part
according to God's holy law
And it got me thinking: I really love him. I want to be there for him through it all. I really love him.
That's all I have to say, really.
Monday 8 February 2010
Some thoughts to get the ball rolling...
Back from my long weekend in Oxford, and getting back into the swing of Bristol. Being away gave me some time to think on and off about my big question, to talk to Dave and some people at Wycliffe about it, which was really helpful. Realizing that I am friends with lots of wise theologians! Conversations have been really productive and good for me. Even though I hated a lot of my three years studying Theology I am realizing now that I do miss having deeper conversations about issues (the ones that matter), wrestling with them, getting people's studied and thought through opinions on them. It has been good.
Ever since becoming a Christian when I was 16/17, I have struggled with the issue of how to share the gospel with others; my family are not Christian and my friends in high school were not Christian either, and I think it is fair to say that I have spent most of my life moving in non-Christian circles. I have never known how to share my faith in a way that wasn't awkward for me or them, or in a way that was instantly disregarded or just generally a little bit weak either in content or presentation. I often found myself pushed to shy away from the topic. When I went to university, in many ways I became reactionary against the often unhelpful approach of many hard line conservative evangelicals in my college and in the Oxford CUs, and picked up the mentality that evangelism is about lifestyle and not words, that it is about living out a distinct and different kind of life and character that people notice and are prompted to ask questions about because they want what you have (radical love, grace, compassion, joy, freedom). I inadvertently subscribed to the view that proactively preaching the gospel with words is unnecessary. People will ask questions in response to your behaviour (your good works, your faith that shines through), and then you will answer them, and that's evangelism.
I carried that into threesixty in September, with all my theological and personal baggage, and in the past few months I have really began to question and wonder about my assumptions. I always hope that we are embodying something of the gospel and Jesus' loving example with the kids and people that we work with everyday, that we are evangelizing with our lives and not just in an abstract way through empty words. And we are cautious about the issue of religion in the Academy and local community, thinking that we mustn't impose our values and lifeview on people, that we must be careful not to give people a preach. But I have wondered whether this approach is enough. I have wondered whether there is a very real gap, a lack, where preaching the gospel - with words - is necessary. Important. Vital.
What I mean is that as Christians we aren't perfect. We mess up just as much as anyone else, not just in the sense of the mistakes we make but also in the sense of the things that are off kilter within us. We are all imperfect, we are all sinners.
In an ideal world we would all be able to evangelize purely through lifestyle and wait for people to ask the questions, so that we don't cause discomfort or awkwardness or tread on sensitive ground by speaking uncomfortable gospel truths. We could all let our works shine out of our faith and people would know and believe in the gospel. But in reality cases of that are very rare. I can think of 3 people I have met in my entire life who have in some sense evangelized to me through their distinct character and lifestyle, provoking me to question them about how I can have what they have without actively initiating a conversation about the gospel themselves (incidentally, I met all these people after having become a Christian, and it was more about recognizing Jesus and the work of the gospel in them). But the more I think about it, the more I am realizing that this isn't the norm. I wish it was, and I wish all Christians could be that inspiring. But we grow and change and fail and try again, and the Christian life is a long and arduous growing journey. I am beginning to think about reasons why we need to preach the gospel and share our faith with words, why our good works and actions are not enough.
Firstly, like I said, we aren't always good! We mess up, and if we are waiting for people to notice something different and attractive and good about us and ask us questions so that we are tell them about why we are the way we are and do the things we do, then we might spend the rest of our lives waiting in futility. I am beginning to think that that is what is going to happen to me, because I don't think I will ever be that type of person who is almost saintly, inspiring, and radically free.
Secondly, people don't necessarily connect good works with religion. Some people don't feel the need to ask more questions about why a person is such an inspiring example, they don't think there is any deeper driving force. You don't have to be Christian or religious to be a social activist, to be a moral exemplar, to be extraordinarily happy person. People might not know to ask the question why, or might not know the gospel at all so might have no inkling of a need to make the connection.
I think the gospel is so much more than a reason for morality, it is more than an abstract belief system. It cuts deep into the core of the human condition and need, into the meaning of life and the universe. If we genuinely believe that Jesus and the gospel are central to people's salvation and well-being in the complete and holistic sense, then I believe that we need to share this with people in a way they will understand, so that they can have a chance to respond to it. And this must be with actions and words. One cannot be separated from the other. We must live the gospel and that includes speaking about it.
I find a helpful summary from Dave's friend and mentor at Wycliffe, "There is more to Christian ministry than just an articulation of the gospel, but I would affirm that it is not less than that."
Besides, we talk about things that we are passionate about and that mean something to us, that have been helpful to us. When we want another person to benefit from the good that we get from something, we talk to them about it.
The question is not then whether or not we should preach the gospel (with words), but how we should do it. We all know that there are unhelpful, harmful, unloving, empty and irrevelant ways to evangelize, but what does an effective, truthful, loving, contemporary and appropriate way to evangelize look like?
That's what I want to find out. I was reading a bit of 'Chasing the Dragon' today, and was so struck by Jackie Pullinger's retelling of the conversions she witnesses after her proclaiming of the gospel. I found myself thinking - What is missing? What is missing in the way I am sharing my faith? Do I believe that the gospel has that kind of power? Do I know and trust God and his message that much, to share the gospel in that way with that kind of power?
I feel similarly reading the book of Acts. I am just completely blown away. There was no sense of being hesitant to speak the truth of the gospel out, no fear of imposing a lifeview, such faith on the part of the apostles in the words and God they were proclaiming. I find myself thinking again - what is missing here?
So I'm thinking, in starting to grapple with this question, I am going to start with the book of Acts. I think we have so much to learn from the early Christian community, and a lot to think about in terms of what we can take from them into the time and place that we are now.
More thoughts forthcoming.
Ever since becoming a Christian when I was 16/17, I have struggled with the issue of how to share the gospel with others; my family are not Christian and my friends in high school were not Christian either, and I think it is fair to say that I have spent most of my life moving in non-Christian circles. I have never known how to share my faith in a way that wasn't awkward for me or them, or in a way that was instantly disregarded or just generally a little bit weak either in content or presentation. I often found myself pushed to shy away from the topic. When I went to university, in many ways I became reactionary against the often unhelpful approach of many hard line conservative evangelicals in my college and in the Oxford CUs, and picked up the mentality that evangelism is about lifestyle and not words, that it is about living out a distinct and different kind of life and character that people notice and are prompted to ask questions about because they want what you have (radical love, grace, compassion, joy, freedom). I inadvertently subscribed to the view that proactively preaching the gospel with words is unnecessary. People will ask questions in response to your behaviour (your good works, your faith that shines through), and then you will answer them, and that's evangelism.
I carried that into threesixty in September, with all my theological and personal baggage, and in the past few months I have really began to question and wonder about my assumptions. I always hope that we are embodying something of the gospel and Jesus' loving example with the kids and people that we work with everyday, that we are evangelizing with our lives and not just in an abstract way through empty words. And we are cautious about the issue of religion in the Academy and local community, thinking that we mustn't impose our values and lifeview on people, that we must be careful not to give people a preach. But I have wondered whether this approach is enough. I have wondered whether there is a very real gap, a lack, where preaching the gospel - with words - is necessary. Important. Vital.
What I mean is that as Christians we aren't perfect. We mess up just as much as anyone else, not just in the sense of the mistakes we make but also in the sense of the things that are off kilter within us. We are all imperfect, we are all sinners.
In an ideal world we would all be able to evangelize purely through lifestyle and wait for people to ask the questions, so that we don't cause discomfort or awkwardness or tread on sensitive ground by speaking uncomfortable gospel truths. We could all let our works shine out of our faith and people would know and believe in the gospel. But in reality cases of that are very rare. I can think of 3 people I have met in my entire life who have in some sense evangelized to me through their distinct character and lifestyle, provoking me to question them about how I can have what they have without actively initiating a conversation about the gospel themselves (incidentally, I met all these people after having become a Christian, and it was more about recognizing Jesus and the work of the gospel in them). But the more I think about it, the more I am realizing that this isn't the norm. I wish it was, and I wish all Christians could be that inspiring. But we grow and change and fail and try again, and the Christian life is a long and arduous growing journey. I am beginning to think about reasons why we need to preach the gospel and share our faith with words, why our good works and actions are not enough.
Firstly, like I said, we aren't always good! We mess up, and if we are waiting for people to notice something different and attractive and good about us and ask us questions so that we are tell them about why we are the way we are and do the things we do, then we might spend the rest of our lives waiting in futility. I am beginning to think that that is what is going to happen to me, because I don't think I will ever be that type of person who is almost saintly, inspiring, and radically free.
Secondly, people don't necessarily connect good works with religion. Some people don't feel the need to ask more questions about why a person is such an inspiring example, they don't think there is any deeper driving force. You don't have to be Christian or religious to be a social activist, to be a moral exemplar, to be extraordinarily happy person. People might not know to ask the question why, or might not know the gospel at all so might have no inkling of a need to make the connection.
I think the gospel is so much more than a reason for morality, it is more than an abstract belief system. It cuts deep into the core of the human condition and need, into the meaning of life and the universe. If we genuinely believe that Jesus and the gospel are central to people's salvation and well-being in the complete and holistic sense, then I believe that we need to share this with people in a way they will understand, so that they can have a chance to respond to it. And this must be with actions and words. One cannot be separated from the other. We must live the gospel and that includes speaking about it.
I find a helpful summary from Dave's friend and mentor at Wycliffe, "There is more to Christian ministry than just an articulation of the gospel, but I would affirm that it is not less than that."
Besides, we talk about things that we are passionate about and that mean something to us, that have been helpful to us. When we want another person to benefit from the good that we get from something, we talk to them about it.
The question is not then whether or not we should preach the gospel (with words), but how we should do it. We all know that there are unhelpful, harmful, unloving, empty and irrevelant ways to evangelize, but what does an effective, truthful, loving, contemporary and appropriate way to evangelize look like?
That's what I want to find out. I was reading a bit of 'Chasing the Dragon' today, and was so struck by Jackie Pullinger's retelling of the conversions she witnesses after her proclaiming of the gospel. I found myself thinking - What is missing? What is missing in the way I am sharing my faith? Do I believe that the gospel has that kind of power? Do I know and trust God and his message that much, to share the gospel in that way with that kind of power?
I feel similarly reading the book of Acts. I am just completely blown away. There was no sense of being hesitant to speak the truth of the gospel out, no fear of imposing a lifeview, such faith on the part of the apostles in the words and God they were proclaiming. I find myself thinking again - what is missing here?
So I'm thinking, in starting to grapple with this question, I am going to start with the book of Acts. I think we have so much to learn from the early Christian community, and a lot to think about in terms of what we can take from them into the time and place that we are now.
More thoughts forthcoming.
Monday 1 February 2010
Hi. Hello. Welcome.
So, welcome to my blog. Here you will read about all the weird and wonderful wanderings that go on in the crazy mind that is Mel. You will laugh, you will cry, you will walk away with your life transformed... Or something like that.
The big threesixty question I have picked to think about is one that I've wanted to consider in-depth for quite a while now but have never really gotten the chance to. I am asking: how should we share or preach the gospel? What does an authentic and effective way to share the gospel look like in our culture and in our lives today? How do we share our faith with non-Christians in a way that is true, sensitive, powerful, and relevant?
So, I guess, watch this space for more ground breaking and exciting developments to come.
The big threesixty question I have picked to think about is one that I've wanted to consider in-depth for quite a while now but have never really gotten the chance to. I am asking: how should we share or preach the gospel? What does an authentic and effective way to share the gospel look like in our culture and in our lives today? How do we share our faith with non-Christians in a way that is true, sensitive, powerful, and relevant?
So, I guess, watch this space for more ground breaking and exciting developments to come.
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