Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Epicenter 01.06.07
This coming weekend we will be covering Acts chapters 12 and 13.
This past weekend we took a look over our shoulder at our journey through Acts so far. We did this in light of our discussion on evangelism. At it's heart, I think we agree that evangelism is sharing the gospel. The issue then is our definition of 'gospel'. Is the gospel a pure, propositional truth that we need sell? Or, is the gospel an interactive, local, relational experience that we get to share? (Just the phrasing of my questions reveals my personal bias.)
Our survey of Acts demonstrates an intriguing concept. Perhaps this separation between the spoken propositional truth and the relational experience is a false dichotomy. We looked at several examples in Acts where both public proclamation and personal meeting of needs in a community either both functioned to expand God's kingdom or where the opportunity to meet another's needs led to the right time to explain a deep truth (e.g. Peter and John heal the lame man at the temple and then have an opportunity to tell a large group of people about Jesus and the healing and refreshing found in God's kingdom.) Therefore in Acts, the two views of the gospel merge into one cohesive local gospel which is both experienced and proclaimed as the opportunity arises.
This is different from every evangelistic series I have been a part. Unfortunately, the order has been reversed with the proclamation of timeless truth followed by a hope that somehow the newly converted will find their needs met in whatever community happens to be more or less available. In addition, there was no consideration given to the community or the local context and needs. Instead a universal presentation was made intended to convince all listeners of timeless, placeless truth.
Here is a link to Ryan Bell's blog Intersections where he highlights a video about an Adventist missional community in the Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie that has found a way to restore the order. They are attempting to meet the needs of the community which then led to a unique opportunity to speak before the city council. Here is a link to his post.
A Tangible Example of Missional Engagement
I find this story both inspiring and discouraging. It's inspiring because it offers a tangible glimpse into how evangelism can be an integral merging of the experience and proclamation of the good news that the Kingdom of God is here. And yet, it's discouraging because it reveals my own inadequate understanding and poor experience in how the Gospel could and should make an impact here in Birmingham.
Also, Carmen sent me a link to the first chapter of Reimagining Evangelism by Rick Richardson. His ideas have my own wheels turning. What is the goal with evangelism? Is it to save people or to share what we know of God's character and let them know why we are saved? The evangelism he imagines just might appeal to me. (It of course helps that he references one of my favorite movie series) How about you? Below is a link to his book.
Reimagining Evangelism
This past weekend we took a look over our shoulder at our journey through Acts so far. We did this in light of our discussion on evangelism. At it's heart, I think we agree that evangelism is sharing the gospel. The issue then is our definition of 'gospel'. Is the gospel a pure, propositional truth that we need sell? Or, is the gospel an interactive, local, relational experience that we get to share? (Just the phrasing of my questions reveals my personal bias.)
Our survey of Acts demonstrates an intriguing concept. Perhaps this separation between the spoken propositional truth and the relational experience is a false dichotomy. We looked at several examples in Acts where both public proclamation and personal meeting of needs in a community either both functioned to expand God's kingdom or where the opportunity to meet another's needs led to the right time to explain a deep truth (e.g. Peter and John heal the lame man at the temple and then have an opportunity to tell a large group of people about Jesus and the healing and refreshing found in God's kingdom.) Therefore in Acts, the two views of the gospel merge into one cohesive local gospel which is both experienced and proclaimed as the opportunity arises.
This is different from every evangelistic series I have been a part. Unfortunately, the order has been reversed with the proclamation of timeless truth followed by a hope that somehow the newly converted will find their needs met in whatever community happens to be more or less available. In addition, there was no consideration given to the community or the local context and needs. Instead a universal presentation was made intended to convince all listeners of timeless, placeless truth.
Here is a link to Ryan Bell's blog Intersections where he highlights a video about an Adventist missional community in the Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie that has found a way to restore the order. They are attempting to meet the needs of the community which then led to a unique opportunity to speak before the city council. Here is a link to his post.
I find this story both inspiring and discouraging. It's inspiring because it offers a tangible glimpse into how evangelism can be an integral merging of the experience and proclamation of the good news that the Kingdom of God is here. And yet, it's discouraging because it reveals my own inadequate understanding and poor experience in how the Gospel could and should make an impact here in Birmingham.
Also, Carmen sent me a link to the first chapter of Reimagining Evangelism by Rick Richardson. His ideas have my own wheels turning. What is the goal with evangelism? Is it to save people or to share what we know of God's character and let them know why we are saved? The evangelism he imagines just might appeal to me. (It of course helps that he references one of my favorite movie series) How about you? Below is a link to his book.
Labels: Acts, Epicenter, evangelism, religion
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Brenton,
Where you been hiding? :) Glad I found you. I've added you to the blogroll at Reinventing.
I hope we can also recontextualize evangelism so that it means both, but sequential - 1. Reveal God's character through re-connecting God's people to His story, and 2. Salvation as a natural process of #1. Holy Spirit infused evangelism, rather than staged packaging makes more sense to me.
Peace,
Marcel
Where you been hiding? :) Glad I found you. I've added you to the blogroll at Reinventing.
I hope we can also recontextualize evangelism so that it means both, but sequential - 1. Reveal God's character through re-connecting God's people to His story, and 2. Salvation as a natural process of #1. Holy Spirit infused evangelism, rather than staged packaging makes more sense to me.
Peace,
Marcel
Marcel,
Glad to be found! My residency keeps me busier some months than others. During the busy months I tend to drop off the blogosphere map. For the new year I decided to jump back in.
I like that: Reconnecting people to God's story leading to a natural process of salvation. It sounds good. Now what? Like you said, I guess we try to stay attuned to Spirit led opportunities to learn from others and in turn share what we know of God.
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Glad to be found! My residency keeps me busier some months than others. During the busy months I tend to drop off the blogosphere map. For the new year I decided to jump back in.
I like that: Reconnecting people to God's story leading to a natural process of salvation. It sounds good. Now what? Like you said, I guess we try to stay attuned to Spirit led opportunities to learn from others and in turn share what we know of God.
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