A missionary speaks out about evangelism methods
Grady (at “missional space“) has written a very good article called “Modern Evangelism is unfair to those who hear“. Grady is a missionary, so he’s not speaking from a theoretical perspective. He suggests that modern evangelism methods are “unfair” for several reasons:
- They don’t know us
- They feel like projects
- They feel like we’re only after the conversion
- They never get a chance to see what we profess
- We speak out of Christian context into Secular context
Grady explains each of these “reasons” in detail in his post. Here is his explanation for the second reason:
They feel like projects
When I first became a believer I attended a Sunday school class where the “cool†Godly guys had hit lists of the ten guys they each wanted to convert. Wow, how would you like to find out that you were on someone’s list….nothing more than a project…nothing more than a pipeline. We fail to see the reality that they are much more than a potential client that needs our service…that instead they are a person who needs a friend that can help them make sense of this life and live with them. We usually prefer the “project†mode because we share, run back to campus and either brag on their conversion or blame Satan for their hardened heart.
I see a common thread that runs through Grady’s reasons. Grady wants to see believers living and sharing the gospel as part of their everyday, ordinary lives, not as a separate sacred program. He wants to see believers befriending and caring for people. He wants to see believers demonstrating the gospel as much as they proclaim the gospel.
What do you think about Grady’s reasons for modern evangelism being unfair?
A great church checklist
Joe (JR) (from “More than Cake“) has given us a great church checklist in a post (humorously) titled “Top 10 Reasons My Church Sucks“. This is what Joe says about the phrase “My Church Sucks” (it’s not what you think):
Saying “My Church Sucks!†is a proclamation that we are a drawing power that sucks people into the life of Christ and the liberty of His Church.
Saying, “My Church Sucks†is both a profession of who we are, and a confession of hope for what we must become.
Saying, “My Church Sucks†is the best thing I can say about my church and it is the dream I have for every church!
So, what is Joe’s “Top 10 List”? Here it is:
10. We are faithful neighbors to those nearby (Proverbs 27:10).
9. We are friends of Jesus who share in the life-transforming knowledge of God (John 15:15).
8. We are a countercultural community that lives in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5).
7. We bring joy to one another and live in harmony (Philippians 2:2-4).
6. We don’t just talk about maturity, we model it (Philippians 3:16-17).
5. We give financially to those in need (Philippians 4:15-16)
4. We eat with sinners and welcome them into our family (Luke 15:1-2)
3. We do not judge those outside the church, we love them (Luke 7:36-50).
2. We reject the stumbling block of religion and embrace relationship with Jesus (Matthew 18:6-9).
1. We preach the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified–and the lost get sucked in! (Acts 2:41)
Like I said… a good checklist for any church. How do you and your church compare?
The who, what, and why
Joe (JR) (from “More than Cake“) and I have a lot in common. We’re both web developers. We’re both seminary students working on a doctorate. We’re both pastors/elders. We both care deeply about the church.
In his post, “A Positive Vision for Church,” Joe quotes Tim Chester, then makes the following statement himself:
The church must be flexible in how we participate in our communal worship, but where we must focus on our energy is on the mission of reaching the lost with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let each church follow its own collective conscience on “how“, “when“, and “where” to worship and instead spend more time encouraging our communities to live out the “who“, “what“, and “why” of the Gospel.
I’m in complete agreement with Joe on this! As I commented on Joe’s post, this is the reason that my dissertation top is the purpose of the church gathering instead of where the church should gather.
Like Joe (and Laura who also commented on Joe’s post), I’m also very interested identity – who we are in Christ as the church. In fact, I think the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of the church and the church gathering flow from the ‘who’. Similarly, if the ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘why’ are in place, then the ‘how’, ‘when’, and ‘where’ will be natural (or supernatural).
For example, the church that we meet with is currently looking for a new meeting place – a ‘where’. When the church met to talk about looking for a new space, we began by discussing ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘why’. From there, it was easy to set parameters for the ‘where’ – wherever that may be. We have decided against several wonderful looking locations because the place would contradict or hinder the ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘why’.
Do you think its important that the church understand the ‘who’, ‘what’, and ‘why’ of the church? Are these more important than ‘how’, ‘when’, and ‘where’?
Why are Christians generally inconsiderate of others?
David Nelson, Academic Dean of Southeastern Seminary, has written an important post called “Neighbor Love and the Considerate Traveler.” In this post, he exhorts Christians to exhibit love and consideration towards others while traveling with the following:
- Watch the volume of your voice.
- Be aware of the nature of your laughter.
- Beware of slamming hotel doors.
- Be careful about late night (and early morning) noise.
- Be charitable about your place in line.
- Don’t be obnoxious about seat backs on planes.
- Don’t be a jerk to airline or hotel employees (or anyone else).
These exhortations seem obvious. In fact, these are the elementary ways that a Christians is supposed to demonstrate love. He didn’t even mention opening your home to strangers (hospitality) or giving of your own resources to someone who is in need. But, it is also obvious that Americans (including Christian Americans) are known around the world for being obnoxious and inconsiderate – unloving.
Is this true? Are Christians generally inconsiderate of others? How is this possible if the primary characteristc of all Christians is supposed to be love? If we need to be exhorted to patient while standing in line, is there hope for Christians to truly show sacrificial love?
A biblical theology is a practical theology
There is a very interesting and very important discussion occurring in a couple of blogs. It was started by Jeff (at “The Practicing Church“) in his post called “Practicology.” After reviewing the many “-ologies” which various groups espouse or emphasize, Jeff makes the following statement:
Truth is, I’m not as impressed by how much someone knows about the Bible as I am whether someone is living out what they know.
Jeff concludes with this statement:
So if there’s an ‘-ology’ I’d coin to describe all this – I’d want it to be ‘practicology’ – the study of putting our faith into practice. A faith that works itself out in life.
Laura (at “Who in the World Are We?“) continues Jeff’s discussion in her own post called “Practicclesiology” which is focused primarily on a practical ecclesiology – a practical understanding of the church.
Laura describes the theory of ecclesiology like this:
The theory of ecclesiology consists of the rich, deep biblical truths, describing our safe identity and position in Christ as persons and community. Properly understood, these truths help us, persons and community, to live ordinary lives of risky creative participation in the world for the sake of Christ.
Next, she defines the practice of ecclesiology like this:
The practice of ecclesiology consists of the extensive and intensive influence of a church, grounded in proper understanding. A properly functioning church (persons and community) moves into the world in Christ and by the Spirit, applying a rich diversity of skills to live boldly in the world while pointing to Christ.
Finally, she combines the two into practicclesiology (a term she coined):
In sum, practicclesiology is a manner of life together that understands and lives out deep connection to Christ and one another in order to dream and risk the seemingly impossible.
In reality, it is impossible to have a biblical theology that is not practical. A biblical theology is a practical theology.
Now, I understand why Jeff and Laura are concerned about the distinction between theoretical theology and practical theology. Discussions about this distinction and arguments as to which is more important have been going on for centuries and longer.
However, when we study Scripture, we find that it is impossible to separate our thinking about God (theoretical theology) from our life (practical theology). In fact, according to Scripture, the way we live demonstrates what we actually think about God more than what we say.
In 1 John, the apostle makes the bold statement that someone who does not demonstrate love to another person does not love God, regardless of what that person may say (1 John 3:17; 4:20). James writes something similar about faith – faith that does not demonstrate itself in our lives is not faith at all (James 2:14-26). Paul follows his most theoretical argument (Romans 1-11), with an exhortation to live in accordance with this understanding (Romans 12-16). As followers of Jesus Christ, an understanding of God that does not demonstrate itself in the way we live is not a biblical theology.
How does this work with the church?
People discuss and argue about many aspects of ecclesiology. For example, many argue about whether the Lord’s Supper (Communion) should be for local church members only (closed communion) or for any believer (open communion). Someone once tried to convince me of closed communion by arguing that we should only share the fellowship of the cup and the bread with those we know. However, as I pointed out, he cannot know all the thousands of people that he meets with every Sunday. His theoretical argument for “closed communion” was nullified by his own practice.
There are positive implications of our practical theology, and practical ecclesiology in particular. For example, last Sunday we were talking about times in our lives when we grow indifferent to God. One brother said, “This is one of the reasons that I love this church, and one of the reasons that I hate this church. I know that when we meet together, someone is going to ask me about my life and my relationship with God. This is exactly what I need, but its not always what I want, especially when I’m feeling indifferent toward God.” He’s learned that our ecclesiology is not simply theoretical… we don’t just talk about fellowship and discipleship and the “one anothers”. Instead, we try to live these things. Our ecclesiology is very practical.
In fact, besides this blog (and times when I meet with people who contacted me because of this blog), I rarely talk about “ecclesiology.” It is more important to live our ecclesiology (or any theology) than to talk about our ecclesiology (or any theology).
Someone who does not offer grace and forgiveness to others does not understand the grace of God regardless of what they say or teach about God’s grace. A person who does not accept others as they are does not understand how God has accepted us in Christ, regardless of what they say about salvation by grace and not by works. Someone who does not share his or her life with other brothers and sisters in Christ in intimate fellowship and community does not understand discipleship, regardless of what they profess about the importance of the Great Commission. Our theology is demonstrated in the way we live our lives, not in what we say or write.
This distinction between theoretical theology and practical theology is a false distinction as far as Scripture is concerned. According to Scripture, it is impossible to know God (theology) without it affecting your life (practice). So, a biblical theology is a practical theology. A theoretical theology that does not affect a person’s life is not a biblical theology.
Church Glue
Recently at “ekklesia“, Wayne published this quote from Don Carson in a post called “What Holds the Church Together“:
A close-knit society with shared ideals and goals frequently finds it relatively easy to foster love, tolerance, and inner cohesion. Whether we think of the local rock-climbing club, the regional football team, or a socially cohesive local church, a certain amount of fraternal depth is common enough…. Some measure of transparent love is not all that unusual in such groups.
Ideally the church is different. It is made up of people who are as varied as can be: rich and poor, learned and unlearned, practical and impractical, sophisticated and unsophisticated, aristocratic and plebeian, disciplined and flighty, intense and carefree, extrovert and introvert – and everything in between. The only thing that holds such people together is their shared allegiance to Jesus Christ, their devotion to him, stemming from his indescribable love for them (A Call to Spiritual Reformation, p. 42).
Did you catch that? The only thing that holds the church together is Jesus Christ. If anything else is holding a group of people together, then they are not living in community in Christ. Instead, they are gathering around something else: shared ideals, shared leadership, shared doctrine, shared socio-economic factors, shared concerns, etc.
So… what’s holding you together with the church?
A huge problem with “house church”
First, if you haven’t read Guy’s post (from “The M Blog“) called “How house churches get started in Guayaquil“, then go read that post now. If you haven’t read Guy’s post, then this post will probably not make much sense.
Guy’s post reveals one reason that the house church “model” will have a difficult time in the United States (and probably in other “developed” nations with “developed” churches). Notice how Guy describes the start of a new house church:
Monica was hired to clean the house of a believer, Martha. Monica began to open up with Martha about the problems she was having at home with the man she was living with. Martha would cry and pray with Monica. She openly shared Christ telling her He could heal her life and home if she would just trust him. Monica thought it too good to be true what Martha shared.
One day Monica decided to invite Martha to come to her house to share the Gospel with her family. Martha took along Marlene, a gifted evangelist from the house church she attends. Marlene and Martha arrived at Monica’s and gathered the family together to dialogue about spiritual matters. Monica felt strongly that she should give her heart to Christ. She was certain that she would be the only one to do so. Much to her surprise, Medardo, her daughter Aneida, and her daughter’s live-in boyfriend, David, ALL gave their hearts to the Lord! From the very beginning, Medardo and David were changed dramatically by the power of Jesus working in their lives. Monica and Aneida were overcome with joy in the Lord.
Marlene, Martha and others began 45-minute weekly bus trips to disciple their new converts. Both couples decided early on that it would be best to get legally married. All four were baptized in a nearby river (see video here.)
The church that now meets in their home.
And, thus, we see the problem. You do see the problem, right?
I mean,churches in the United States would certainly be excited that one of their members (i.e. Martha) was interested in the salvation of her housekeeper (i.e. Monica). And, churches in the United States would certainly be excited about sending someone (i.e. Marlene) to share the gospel with Monica. And, churches in the United States would certainly celebrate with Monica, Martha, and Marlene when Monica accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior and commited her life to following Jesus.
But, then we run into the problem. You see, churches in the United States would not be excited about Monica and her family starting to meet with friends and family in their own home. No, instead, for the most part, churches in the United States would want Monica and her friends and family to make the 45 minute bus trip to meet with them.
This is the huge problem with “house church”. Actually, its a huge problem whether that new church meets in a house or not. So, perhaps the “problem” is not with the house, but with something else. What do you think?
Uncle Lionel and the church as family
Lionel at “The Gospel in 3-D” has written an excellent post called “The Church As Family: How Church Leadership is Affected By How You View The Church.” Lionel says that if we view the church as a family, it will affect how we treat one another, and it will affect how we view leadership among the church. He presents a wonderful illustration using his relationship with his nephew:
I remember my grandmother raising my nephew and I was like his big brother. We were both adopted and I was given the responsibility to helping with potty training, feeding him, carrying him, changing him, talking him for walks, playing with him in the park, and protecting him from harm, I was also given some delegated discipling power; however, the real discipline rested in the hands of the only authority in the house, my grandmother…
As I got older my nephew got older. I stopped taking him to the restroom because he could go by himself, I stopped reading to him because he had learned to read on his own, I stopped taking him to the park because he was big enough to ride his bike and protect himself, I stopped walking him to the school bus, I stopped picking out his clothes, I even became less involved in his decision making. Day by day, he matured and my role became less involved. Day by day, I saw him grow up into maturity and my influence became more of an example and less hands on…
I wonder if I were still putting diapers on my 19 year old nephew what people would think. I wonder if people saw me rocking him to sleep today, what they would think, I wonder if I brushed his teeth for him tonight what others would think?
I think this is exactly how more mature believers should help less mature believers walk with Christ. I’m guessing that while Lionel’s nephew was growing, there were times when Lionel allows his nephew to do some things by himself that Lionel could have done better. I’m assuming that there were times when Lionel’s nephew made mistakes that Lionel himself would not have made. But, this was all necessary for the nephew to grow and mature.
In the same way, mature believers need to allow less mature believers to do or say things that the more mature believers may have done or said better. Less mature believers need to be given room to make mistakes. This is the way growth happens. If this is not allowed, then those less mature believers will not mature.
Instead, leaders will always be brushing their teeth for them. But, unfortunately, I think this is what many within the church expect today.
Love one another
Three years ago, our family moved out of on-campus seminary housing and into a house. Around that same time, five families who were part of our church moved. Our church became very adept at packing and unpacking, loading and unloading. During one move a little later, we helped some of our friends move. When we finished, we noticed one of the neighbors was packing a moving truck. The husband and wife were trying to pack up by themselves. We all went over – more than twenty of us – and packed their moving truck for them.
Anyway, back to the story… as I said, we moved three years. The church helped us, and it was an incredible demonstration of love for our family. I wrote a quick blog post about it then called “Love one another“. Today, I am even more convinced that the love we are commanded to share with one another and with our neighbors is a real, demonstrable, working, sweating kind of love.
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There have been a couple of blog entries concerning the life of our church over the last week and love for another (for example, see Theron Stancil’s entry and Alice C.’s entry, and a related article by Isabel here). Last Saturday, we were the recipients of Christian love. We moved from seminary housing to a real house in a nearby city. Our brothers and sisters began arriving at our duplex by 9:00 a.m. to help us move. Many worked tirelessly moving boxes and furniture. Others provided meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) for our family and those helping (with enough leftovers to feed our family for a couple of days). Since we could only rent a small moving truck (apparently last weekend was the busiest moving weekend of the year), we had to make two trips. Our friends not only helped us load and unload the truck twice, but they also stayed to help us set up the new house. (Yes, we still have boxes to unpack, but we can live in the house as it is.) Some stayed until after 9:00 p.m. helping us. But that’s not all… we also had help cleaning our duplex on Monday!
So, why did I go into all of that? Well, let me start with a few passages of Scripture…
Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12, 17)
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13)
For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another… (1 John 3:11)
Sure… we’ve heard these commands to “love one another” since we were children. But how often have you (or I) been the recipients of true love… love that is patient, kind… love that demonstrates itself in unselfish ways… love that gives and gives and gives… love that lifts and carries and sweats and aches… love that sacrifices time and effort… Over the last few days, as I’ve contemplated this demonstration of love, several other Scripture passages have come to mind:
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18)
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:15-17)
Certainly, we were not naked nor destitute of daily food, but we were in real, physical need, and the love of Christ was demonstrated to us in real, physical ways. Isn’t it amazing that James uses this (a physical demonstration of love) as one of the visible manifestations of true faith? So, our family has been the recipients of real, biblical, Christ-honoring love.
So what? Do we thank God for His goodness and go on with our lives? Well, that brings me to the last passage of Scripture:
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
You see, as our church gathered on Saturday (yes, I did mean Saturday) in order to move us, we were encouraged (exhorted). We were stirred up and provoked to provide the same type of love to others. It is our prayer that God provides opportunities for us to love our neighbors in similar ways. Through our loving deeds and words (not just loving deeds and not just words!), perhaps some of them will come to recognize that it is not the Knox family alone that loves them, but it is God who loves them through us.
Sermon Central
Steve at “From the Pew” considers a very important topic in his post “The Sermon-Centered Life.” He wants to know why the sermon is considered central to many Christians traditions. For example, he says:
Preaching is scriptural. The sermon may have developed more as a tradition than not, but a tradition that isn’t forbidden is fine. I’m fine with sermons and preaching. But what I’m trying to get at is why it’s often so central, so much more important than all other things in the church, so often exclusionary of other things. Many times I have found myself thinking, “Gee, I’m a bit late to church for whatever reason, but at least I didn’t miss the sermon.” If the sermon goes late, sometimes other activities can be cut short for the sake of preaching. People don’t often ask how the praying or singing or offering went, they ask how the sermon went. We often make recordings of only the sermon. To many, the sermon is the most important thing in church, and even the thing around which all other Christian life is lived. It can solve our problems like nothing else. It can make or break the reputation of a pastor.
I think Steve may have inadvertantly touched on one reason that the sermon is central for many churches and many traditions: because the pastor is central. And what does a pastor do? Most would say that a pastor preaches. In fact, in many Southern Baptist churches, pastor and preacher are synonymous.
As Steve points out, you can find preaching – proclaiming the gospel to unbelievers – in Scripture. Of course, that’s not what we call “preaching” today, but it is what Scripture calls “preaching.”
So, we should ask ourselves why the sermon is central is so many churches today. We should also ask, if the sermon is not central is Scripture, then what has the sermon replaced… and why?