"Jesus's teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day. However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect. The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones. We tend to draw conservative. buttoned-down, moralistic people. The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church. That can only mean one thing. If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think."
Tim Keller, The Prodigal God, 15-16.
I often have discussions with folks about how to reach out into our postmodern world. Some of these discussions are pleasant and encouraging. Others are perplexing and discouraging. I am glad many are having this discussion, as I think the question of how to reach our generation with the gospel is the most important of our day and age. In fact, it is the most important question for every generation.
(An aside before I begin. In 1830, the mission agencies trying to reach the Western territories with the gospel spent more money than the entire Federal government. That was a generation who understood the importance of this question.)
How does God work in today's world?
In the past five years I have heard often from pastors and Christian leaders that people are not converted like they used to be. I could not agree more. Leaving tracts on tables, one week gospel crusades, and impersonal evangelism techniques are not effective. Today, people often belong to the church before they believe the message of the gospel. I have seen this happen again and again.
So far, we have agreement. The problem is that such a statement is often followed by an explanation that people are not converted anymore because the process of conversion takes on average 7 long years. Then, when people are converted, they are not really that committed.
I find this strange and perplexing.
While I hear the basis for their thoughts, I think they might wish to look at their understanding of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It transforms hearts and then minds. It brings forth the fruit of righteousness. If we are not seeing conversions and transformation, we should ask ourselves if we understand and proclaim the good news of the gospel. (please take this as a wound from a friend and not a wound from an enemy.)
I find that people are very hungry for the true gospel of God's grace. They thirst for His righteousness to transform their hearts. In fact, I would say the fields are ready for harvest! We just need the tools to enter into the harvest field. The greatest tool of all is the gospel of grace. Unfortunately, this gospel and living in light of it often do not mark believers in Christ.
(An aside before I begin. In 1830, the mission agencies trying to reach the Western territories with the gospel spent more money than the entire Federal government. That was a generation who understood the importance of this question.)
How does God work in today's world?
In the past five years I have heard often from pastors and Christian leaders that people are not converted like they used to be. I could not agree more. Leaving tracts on tables, one week gospel crusades, and impersonal evangelism techniques are not effective. Today, people often belong to the church before they believe the message of the gospel. I have seen this happen again and again.
So far, we have agreement. The problem is that such a statement is often followed by an explanation that people are not converted anymore because the process of conversion takes on average 7 long years. Then, when people are converted, they are not really that committed.
I find this strange and perplexing.
While I hear the basis for their thoughts, I think they might wish to look at their understanding of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It transforms hearts and then minds. It brings forth the fruit of righteousness. If we are not seeing conversions and transformation, we should ask ourselves if we understand and proclaim the good news of the gospel. (please take this as a wound from a friend and not a wound from an enemy.)
I find that people are very hungry for the true gospel of God's grace. They thirst for His righteousness to transform their hearts. In fact, I would say the fields are ready for harvest! We just need the tools to enter into the harvest field. The greatest tool of all is the gospel of grace. Unfortunately, this gospel and living in light of it often do not mark believers in Christ.
Most believers have been told or somehow have assumed that the way to reach out is to live such a good life before non-believers that they will naturally ask why you are so different (see yesterday's post). As I have talked with believers in different parts of the country, it has been confessed that this method of evangelism does not work.
Why? I believe most non-believers are very skeptical of anyone who comes from an overtly religious position. If an individual or church desires to reach out to others in this culture, you need to learn new strategies.
Why? I believe most non-believers are very skeptical of anyone who comes from an overtly religious position. If an individual or church desires to reach out to others in this culture, you need to learn new strategies.
All of this to say that Keller's opening quote should provide us with a basis to think of these new strategies. The point of his book is that the real gospel provides a basis to reach out to those with no religious background or inclination. It also provides a basis for reaching out to the confused and moralistic religious folks.
Jesus is alive and real. He is still searching for true worshippers. We participate in this search when we live out and proclaim the gospel of grace. Somehow and someway, the Holy Spirit works through the proclamation of the true gospel to bring about conversions and life-transformation. We should expect to see these results personally and corporately.
Tomorrow I will explore what this looks like in real life.
Jesus is alive and real. He is still searching for true worshippers. We participate in this search when we live out and proclaim the gospel of grace. Somehow and someway, the Holy Spirit works through the proclamation of the true gospel to bring about conversions and life-transformation. We should expect to see these results personally and corporately.
Tomorrow I will explore what this looks like in real life.
What would be helpful is to be able to see what a gospel-centered church really looks like. I feel if I could just watch it in action, I’d know what to do, how to fit in, how to live a godly life that really does attract unbelievers.
ReplyDeleteI’ve watched Shadow Mountain do its baptist-best to overwhelm people into heaven. I’ve watched New Life Presbyterian claim that evangelism was the preacher’s business and we weren’t to worry about it. I’ve studied online at Liberty university and my personal evangelism instructor said we should actually engage in pagan activities on a Sunday so that we could witness to the unchurched. All of it seemed well-intentioned, foreign, and somehow false.
Looking forward to the continuing blog posts - I’m just not getting this Christian-living-thing right at all.
Your final comment is very insightful. I think it illustrates you are getting the Christian-living-thing much more right than you think. Why? It show humility. Humility, properly expressed in cries for mercy, is the vehicle through which God moves.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right that "the victorious Christian life" is a fraud. It is so American, but not so Christian. Just ask, did Paul not get it right since he struggled so? Did Jesus somehow miss something since he was killed for his life and message? Of course not. Both illustrated faith in a fallen world.
This is the essence of proper witnessing. Holding on and affirming faith even when things are not going great. Joining with a fallen community of believers who are doing the same thing.
Maybe we don't see gospel-centered churches everywhere because such a true faith does not sound like the American ideal? I look forward to more discussion on these points.
I think we have a chance to get this right, here in the near future. That could just be vanity talking - I figure if I'm involved then things will have to be better. We'll see - the future is certainly full of opportunities to understand this in a way that honors God and makes sense to the rest of us.
Delete"Holding on and affirming faith...." The only advice, really. And yeah, I look forward to more discussion on these points as well.