1. In his book Dan Kimball uses the analogy of a tree being planted (rooted) in Christianity and how the later people are born the farther outside that sphere of influence they will be. I agree with that theory and do think that the younger generations don't have as strong a Christian root system as those thirty years ago. However, if we continue to go with the plant analogy, then I believe there is hope. In my daughters 2nd grade science, I taught her that plants always grow toward sunlight, in fact we did an experiment to prove that. Therefore, if we as Christians can open our hearts and minds and allow the Holy Spirit to shine thru us we will in turn create that light that the unbelievers are seeking. How we do that is by being fluid. What I mean by fluid, is that, we as believers need to not become fixed on only one idea or way of worshipping, fellowshipping, outreaching. We have to be open to the world around us and see how and what is capturing the attention of unbelievers. What works now may not and probably won't work ten years from now. I think some of the tension we see in our current churches is from the fact that we have members of our churches who refuse to change.
2. I totally agree with the shift from Roman evangelism to Celtic evangelism. I have seen it just with in my lifetime. I can remember growing up experiencing Christians going door to door to deliver tracts or to share what the church was doing. I can even remember seeing street corner preachers and revivals. Yet, if you look around now a days the only (primarily) Christians still going door to door are the Jehovah's Witnesses. Now a days churches have websites or blogs in order to provide their information or services on line.
http://www.gccwired.com/ (This church has some awesome video clips of things they have done with music. Check out the "I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For" video. POWERFULL!)
http://www.unitedworshipexperience.org/
Rarely do you see any revivals and if someone were to stand on a street corner and evangelize today, he would more than likely be ignored or carted off to jail for disturbing the peace. In this day and age of its all about me; people are realizing that they have an inborn desire for fellowship. Therefore, as the church we need to change to be able to meet them where they are at.
3. For my EC worship service, I would pick a location that could in no way be associated to a church. A business building comes to mind, one that has the rafters and beams showing, is open and unrestricted. I would have comfortable chairs, sofas and such to sit on and throw rugs on top of the hard wood floors. It would be well lit, but have the ability to be able to isolate the light or dim it where needed. There would be speakers throughout and have a cozy, comfortable atmosphere. We would definitely have a coffee corner, with one of those industrial sized coffee makers so as to be able to make lattes, mocha's and the like. We would have music playing at the beginning prior to the service starting. Christian music that was similar to the current sound or trend that was playing on the radio. Dress would be way casual. In the summer I would sport shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops (maybe) and in the winter it would be jeans or more than likely sweats and a t-shirt and slippers. The time of the service would be at night.
The service itself would consist of scripture reading, sharing of issues or testimonies, singing and the sharing of a message. Since I like to wander when I talk and use my hands I would not have a pulpit or podium. That's all that really comes to mind right now.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Session #7 - Strider returns :)
1) How have you domesticated the gospel?
Domesticating the gospel in my life (and, I suspect, in the lives of many in the American church) meant turning Jesus from the revolutionary figure that he was and is into someone who fits nicely into suburbia. He's white with wavy brown hair and an angelic pose even as he agonizes in the garden. He would attend church on Sundays, be considered respectable by the community, eschew certain movies and questionable forms of entertainment, vote a certain way and, most of all, not make waves. The Jesus I have been discovering for the past number of years is anything but that. He is grander than that. If there's a wrong, he will make waves to make it right. People in his community (i.e. the Pharisees and teachers of the law) didn't consider him respectable at all. We might even guess that he would go to questionable forms of entertainment for the purpose of reaching out to others who are in desperate need of his message that the kingdom of God is at hand. Yet, I have to be careful that I don't overcorrect my initial domestication of Christ by turning him by focusing solely on those parts of his character that seem to be missing from "suburban Jesus" - and there have been times I have caught myself doing just that. For example, I can't become so focused on his insistance to help the poor that I forget how he taught his disciples.
2) What is your reflection on the gospel as public truth? (p. 23)
In some ways, the gospel is a public truth and, yet, in other ways it is not. As Newbigin describes, Darwinian theory is easily accepted into the school system while creation (or intelligent design) is not. We can easily see other ways in which the gospel is excluded from the public discourse. In a few weeks, schools will start planning their graduation ceremonies and, inevitably it seems, there will be a story in the news about a student who wants to include a prayer in her speech, but is forbidden to do so by a school district afraid of the also seemingly inevitable lawsuit. Similarly, you can bet that every Christmas there will be an argument about a town manger scene. Digging below the surface a bit, we can see the gospel as private truth only in a society that devalues its members whether they be the poor, the marginalized or the unborn and leaves working with these people to the church or (in some cases) to government programs.
In a similar vein, however, we can see that there is a degree of surface awareness of the gospel as public truth. I am writing this entry on Easter (yes, it is indeed late) and it strikes me that it would be impossible to pass by this holiday without hearing some version of the gospel. Granted, it may be a distorted version on the evening news, but generally when the stores are all closed and church services are on television, it would come to the attention of the public at large. We also can't ignore the fact that the stores are closed. Many in the public may not have a clue why this holiday is so very important, but they have at least a surface idea of what is happening. We can also look to our laws and see a superficial understanding of the gospel as expected norms of behavior in society.
What is missing in the gospel as a public truth is that more in-depth knowledge that takes the gospel for societal norms to a truth that so invades the soul of an individual that they can never again live their life in the same day as the call of God beckons to them.
3) Apply Newbigin's perspective about paradigm shifts to the ECM.
It may or may not have been obvious in my posts, but I have been curious about the ECM for some time now. It's a curiosity born out of my ministry with the youth and from interaction with other youth workers particularly at youth workers' conventions and by reading youth worker blogs. In the youth I see some of the questioning that comes along with postmodernism, but in fellow youth workers I see the sense that something is happening. Five years ago, I attended my first youth workers' convention and even then I heard youth workers talking about how "things" just weren't working anymore. The assumptions on which youth ministry had been built for decades wasn't working and something else had to be developed. In 2005, when I attended the last youth workers' convention I was able to get to, the talk was more pronounced. Seminars were available from teachers like Dan Kimball and late-night theological discussions were held with people like Tony Jones. The sense was even greater that there was a change underway. These memories came to mind as I read what Newbigin wrote on page 44 about how a paradigm shift begins, "It has much more to do with intuition and imagination - the intuition that there is a problem waiting to be tackled, a configuration of things waiting to be discerned, an orderliness not yet manifest but hidden and waiting to be discovered."
What has been happening in the ECM, as I have followed it, is a quest to discern what exactly the problem is and how to creatively address it. And, to be frank, my theory is that many of these answers will come from those who work with college students or youth. Just take a look at some of the people already considered leaders in the ECM and you find that a background in youth ministry - even if only for a short time - is not uncommon.
4) Discuss your theological reflections on the logic of election and the Bible as universal history. Differ, critique, or affirm as you process these thick and rich chapters.
Election has always been a curious thing to me, so I really appreciated Newbigin's insights. Hearing arguments about election over the years, I always had difficulty with the idea that God would have chosen some to be saved and others to be condemned. I couldn't make that fit with other passages that indicate that his will is that none should perish. So, Newbigin's statement, "God does not chose to save some and to destroy others. (He has consigned all to disobedience in order that he may have mercy upon all.)" came as a clarifying statement for me. In the end, to paraphrase a statement I read in magazine once, we are all freakish people living freakish lives. God's mercy is what makes us comfortable in our freakishness and brings us into his story to be part of his mission in the world.
The key to the Bible as universal history is, I believe, found on page 91 when Newbigin talks about how the loss of hope and vision makes everything meaningless, causing publicly held norms and values to disappear. In some ways, I see this as happening before our very eyes when we look at the postmodern culture. I see it, for example, in the continuing violence in the inner cities of our nation where some youth have grown up without a vision for the future. Even in a moderately sized city, you can see the results of the lack of vision in the disregard for life that causes one teenager to gun down another on a city street corner. Newbigin talks of his Hindu friend even understanding that the Bible held the communication of the "secret" (that is, the point of everything in all of history) to those who had been entrusted with it. This truth is available to all and results in a hope that stands out even in the darkest places when the world around us seems hopeless. In a sense, that will ultimately draw people to us, and, more importantly, to Christ as we share this "secret."
Domesticating the gospel in my life (and, I suspect, in the lives of many in the American church) meant turning Jesus from the revolutionary figure that he was and is into someone who fits nicely into suburbia. He's white with wavy brown hair and an angelic pose even as he agonizes in the garden. He would attend church on Sundays, be considered respectable by the community, eschew certain movies and questionable forms of entertainment, vote a certain way and, most of all, not make waves. The Jesus I have been discovering for the past number of years is anything but that. He is grander than that. If there's a wrong, he will make waves to make it right. People in his community (i.e. the Pharisees and teachers of the law) didn't consider him respectable at all. We might even guess that he would go to questionable forms of entertainment for the purpose of reaching out to others who are in desperate need of his message that the kingdom of God is at hand. Yet, I have to be careful that I don't overcorrect my initial domestication of Christ by turning him by focusing solely on those parts of his character that seem to be missing from "suburban Jesus" - and there have been times I have caught myself doing just that. For example, I can't become so focused on his insistance to help the poor that I forget how he taught his disciples.
2) What is your reflection on the gospel as public truth? (p. 23)
In some ways, the gospel is a public truth and, yet, in other ways it is not. As Newbigin describes, Darwinian theory is easily accepted into the school system while creation (or intelligent design) is not. We can easily see other ways in which the gospel is excluded from the public discourse. In a few weeks, schools will start planning their graduation ceremonies and, inevitably it seems, there will be a story in the news about a student who wants to include a prayer in her speech, but is forbidden to do so by a school district afraid of the also seemingly inevitable lawsuit. Similarly, you can bet that every Christmas there will be an argument about a town manger scene. Digging below the surface a bit, we can see the gospel as private truth only in a society that devalues its members whether they be the poor, the marginalized or the unborn and leaves working with these people to the church or (in some cases) to government programs.
In a similar vein, however, we can see that there is a degree of surface awareness of the gospel as public truth. I am writing this entry on Easter (yes, it is indeed late) and it strikes me that it would be impossible to pass by this holiday without hearing some version of the gospel. Granted, it may be a distorted version on the evening news, but generally when the stores are all closed and church services are on television, it would come to the attention of the public at large. We also can't ignore the fact that the stores are closed. Many in the public may not have a clue why this holiday is so very important, but they have at least a surface idea of what is happening. We can also look to our laws and see a superficial understanding of the gospel as expected norms of behavior in society.
What is missing in the gospel as a public truth is that more in-depth knowledge that takes the gospel for societal norms to a truth that so invades the soul of an individual that they can never again live their life in the same day as the call of God beckons to them.
3) Apply Newbigin's perspective about paradigm shifts to the ECM.
It may or may not have been obvious in my posts, but I have been curious about the ECM for some time now. It's a curiosity born out of my ministry with the youth and from interaction with other youth workers particularly at youth workers' conventions and by reading youth worker blogs. In the youth I see some of the questioning that comes along with postmodernism, but in fellow youth workers I see the sense that something is happening. Five years ago, I attended my first youth workers' convention and even then I heard youth workers talking about how "things" just weren't working anymore. The assumptions on which youth ministry had been built for decades wasn't working and something else had to be developed. In 2005, when I attended the last youth workers' convention I was able to get to, the talk was more pronounced. Seminars were available from teachers like Dan Kimball and late-night theological discussions were held with people like Tony Jones. The sense was even greater that there was a change underway. These memories came to mind as I read what Newbigin wrote on page 44 about how a paradigm shift begins, "It has much more to do with intuition and imagination - the intuition that there is a problem waiting to be tackled, a configuration of things waiting to be discerned, an orderliness not yet manifest but hidden and waiting to be discovered."
What has been happening in the ECM, as I have followed it, is a quest to discern what exactly the problem is and how to creatively address it. And, to be frank, my theory is that many of these answers will come from those who work with college students or youth. Just take a look at some of the people already considered leaders in the ECM and you find that a background in youth ministry - even if only for a short time - is not uncommon.
4) Discuss your theological reflections on the logic of election and the Bible as universal history. Differ, critique, or affirm as you process these thick and rich chapters.
Election has always been a curious thing to me, so I really appreciated Newbigin's insights. Hearing arguments about election over the years, I always had difficulty with the idea that God would have chosen some to be saved and others to be condemned. I couldn't make that fit with other passages that indicate that his will is that none should perish. So, Newbigin's statement, "God does not chose to save some and to destroy others. (He has consigned all to disobedience in order that he may have mercy upon all.)" came as a clarifying statement for me. In the end, to paraphrase a statement I read in magazine once, we are all freakish people living freakish lives. God's mercy is what makes us comfortable in our freakishness and brings us into his story to be part of his mission in the world.
The key to the Bible as universal history is, I believe, found on page 91 when Newbigin talks about how the loss of hope and vision makes everything meaningless, causing publicly held norms and values to disappear. In some ways, I see this as happening before our very eyes when we look at the postmodern culture. I see it, for example, in the continuing violence in the inner cities of our nation where some youth have grown up without a vision for the future. Even in a moderately sized city, you can see the results of the lack of vision in the disregard for life that causes one teenager to gun down another on a city street corner. Newbigin talks of his Hindu friend even understanding that the Bible held the communication of the "secret" (that is, the point of everything in all of history) to those who had been entrusted with it. This truth is available to all and results in a hope that stands out even in the darkest places when the world around us seems hopeless. In a sense, that will ultimately draw people to us, and, more importantly, to Christ as we share this "secret."
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Session #10 Newbigin: Rock Daddy
1. In this PM world I agree that all students who are going through seminary need to be aware of the challenges that they will face. Regardless of what denomination you come from or are going into, unbelievers are still just unbelievers. I think that a seminary would not be setting its graduates up for success if it did not educate them on how to approach and overcome the challenges that await us all out in the real world. But, it is not only the real world, because as our churches enter into this PM world there are new challenges that arise. Therefore pastors need to be aware of them and how to over come them as well.
2. To ask if the Hindu's are saved is a very ambiguous question. That would be like asking if the Jehovah Witnesses are saved, or the Latter Day Saints. "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."" (1 Sam 16:7, NIV) In this verse we see that God does not look at the same things man does. Instead, God looks at the heart of man. Also, there is no way for you to claim that any one group of people will or will not be save. This is because our salvation is a personal thing. Therefore, whether or not a person who practices Hinduism is found right in God's eyes during the final judgement is up to him. Take Gandhi for instance, he practiced Hinduism, however he said this about religion, "by religion, I do not mean formal religion or customary religion, but that religion which underlies all religions, which brings us face to face with our Maker." (www.mkgandhi.org) You can see that Gandhi himself believed in a higher Being and being in a relationship with him. Gandhi goes on to say "to me, [Jesus] was one of the greatest teachers, humanity has ever had. To his believers, he was God's only begotten Son." (www.mkgandhi.org) Is this quote saying that Gandhi believed in Jesus and therefore is going to be saved? We will never know until the end times. We might just run into Gandhi in heaven. In fact we might be surprised who we do and don't run into up in heaven.
3. For me growing up as a white male from a middle class family, my culture has greatly impacted my views and thoughts about the gospel. For me, I did not understand the need for slavery or racial tensions. I never understood why people couldn't just get along. But as I grew older the thoughts and ideas of my parents rubbed off onto me. It was not until my mother made a comment about me hanging out with a friend of mine, who happened to be black, that I realized she had some prejudice. After marrying my wife, we tried several different types of churches. It was only after she pointed it out to me that I in turn was showing prejudices toward other believers if they weren't exactly like what I grew up with. Thankfully, my wife has helped me to open my mind and learn to accept new and different things. It is only through my experiences and continual growth that I am able to see and learn new things. So, in this manner I am overcoming my culture because, as it says in Acts 9:18 "something like scales feel from Saul's eyes, and he could see again." (NIV) I too continually feel the scales falling from my eyes, in order that I might see things thru God's wave length and not the worlds.
4. In Genesis we read about how man lived in perfect harmony with God in Eden. But, after man sinned, God kicked them out of Eden. So, here are man and woman, creations of God. As mad as he was with them he could not simply take them from one extreme (Eden) to the other (out of Eden). Therefore, God the ultimate author of everything, created balance within the world. This is why even though the powers are never going to win , they are allowed to rule and reign. When Christ died on the cross he forever sealed the powers fate, however, only God knows when the end is coming and until them Satan and his minions are allowed to rule the earth. Augustine said, "For if every sin were now visited with manifest punishment, nothing would seem to be reserved for the final judgement; on the other hand, if no sin received now a plainly divine punishment, it would be concluded that there is no divine providence at all. And so of the good things of this life: if God did not by a very visible liberality confer these on some of those persons who ask for them, we should say that these good things were not at His disposal; and if He gave them to all who sought them, we should suppose that such were the only rewards of His service; and such a service would make us not godly, but greedy rather, and covetous." (The City of God) From this quote we can start to see a possibility into why the powers are allowed to remain, even though in the end we believers win!
5. Obviously, Newbigin is revered and honored in the Christian community. So, why hasn't there been a movement or more of a shift towards what he wrote about in this book by that community?
2. To ask if the Hindu's are saved is a very ambiguous question. That would be like asking if the Jehovah Witnesses are saved, or the Latter Day Saints. "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."" (1 Sam 16:7, NIV) In this verse we see that God does not look at the same things man does. Instead, God looks at the heart of man. Also, there is no way for you to claim that any one group of people will or will not be save. This is because our salvation is a personal thing. Therefore, whether or not a person who practices Hinduism is found right in God's eyes during the final judgement is up to him. Take Gandhi for instance, he practiced Hinduism, however he said this about religion, "by religion, I do not mean formal religion or customary religion, but that religion which underlies all religions, which brings us face to face with our Maker." (www.mkgandhi.org) You can see that Gandhi himself believed in a higher Being and being in a relationship with him. Gandhi goes on to say "to me, [Jesus] was one of the greatest teachers, humanity has ever had. To his believers, he was God's only begotten Son." (www.mkgandhi.org) Is this quote saying that Gandhi believed in Jesus and therefore is going to be saved? We will never know until the end times. We might just run into Gandhi in heaven. In fact we might be surprised who we do and don't run into up in heaven.
3. For me growing up as a white male from a middle class family, my culture has greatly impacted my views and thoughts about the gospel. For me, I did not understand the need for slavery or racial tensions. I never understood why people couldn't just get along. But as I grew older the thoughts and ideas of my parents rubbed off onto me. It was not until my mother made a comment about me hanging out with a friend of mine, who happened to be black, that I realized she had some prejudice. After marrying my wife, we tried several different types of churches. It was only after she pointed it out to me that I in turn was showing prejudices toward other believers if they weren't exactly like what I grew up with. Thankfully, my wife has helped me to open my mind and learn to accept new and different things. It is only through my experiences and continual growth that I am able to see and learn new things. So, in this manner I am overcoming my culture because, as it says in Acts 9:18 "something like scales feel from Saul's eyes, and he could see again." (NIV) I too continually feel the scales falling from my eyes, in order that I might see things thru God's wave length and not the worlds.
4. In Genesis we read about how man lived in perfect harmony with God in Eden. But, after man sinned, God kicked them out of Eden. So, here are man and woman, creations of God. As mad as he was with them he could not simply take them from one extreme (Eden) to the other (out of Eden). Therefore, God the ultimate author of everything, created balance within the world. This is why even though the powers are never going to win , they are allowed to rule and reign. When Christ died on the cross he forever sealed the powers fate, however, only God knows when the end is coming and until them Satan and his minions are allowed to rule the earth. Augustine said, "For if every sin were now visited with manifest punishment, nothing would seem to be reserved for the final judgement; on the other hand, if no sin received now a plainly divine punishment, it would be concluded that there is no divine providence at all. And so of the good things of this life: if God did not by a very visible liberality confer these on some of those persons who ask for them, we should say that these good things were not at His disposal; and if He gave them to all who sought them, we should suppose that such were the only rewards of His service; and such a service would make us not godly, but greedy rather, and covetous." (The City of God) From this quote we can start to see a possibility into why the powers are allowed to remain, even though in the end we believers win!
5. Obviously, Newbigin is revered and honored in the Christian community. So, why hasn't there been a movement or more of a shift towards what he wrote about in this book by that community?
Session #10 & #11, Kimball (Due April 10)
[To lighten your load and have time for worship and reflection during Holy Week, consider the following post assignment.]
1) Reflect upon the philosophy, spirituality, and ministry in PM-->PC era of the future. How we think this next ideological era will pan out impacts our missiology and ministry strategy today (pp. 57-77).
2) Discuss your response to the Celtic/Roman strategies of evangelism (pp. 197-211).
3) Design a EC worship service, explain your rationale. If you have time, experiment with a small group in experiencing your design (share your experiences).
1) Reflect upon the philosophy, spirituality, and ministry in PM-->PC era of the future. How we think this next ideological era will pan out impacts our missiology and ministry strategy today (pp. 57-77).
2) Discuss your response to the Celtic/Roman strategies of evangelism (pp. 197-211).
3) Design a EC worship service, explain your rationale. If you have time, experiment with a small group in experiencing your design (share your experiences).
Friday, March 23, 2007
Session # 9: Rock Daddy
1. Newbigin asks "what does it mean to write or to tell history? It cannot mean the recording of all the uncounted millions of things which have happened int he past. It involves selection." (pg 89-90) That selection he speaks of is the key to understanding the Bible and how it acts as the universal history for the world God was the one who selected what would and would not be included in the Bible. He was the one that directed and told the writers of the Bible what to write. If you look at the Old Testament, you see primarily historical events and happenings that lay the ground work for the Jewish religion. From archaeological digs and other writings we see that what the Bible speaks about was accurate and thereby was recording what was going on in the world at that time. The New Testament can be viewed initially as the telling of Jesus' life, but then it continues on with more historical events that happened afterwards. It concludes with the recording of a dream or prophecy. Again, through physical evidence we find that the Bible is proven correct and accurate. I once heard a radio evangelist comment that people question things about the Bible, specifically some of the details that are omitted. He commented that someone had asked him what he thought Jonah did while in the belly of the great fish. His response was, if it was important enough for me to know, God would have included it in the Bible. Since it is not there, I don't spend time thinking about it or arguing about it. I really like this train of thought and often use it and share it with others.
2. The PM the mind set is that there are no absolutes, that what is good for you might not be good for me. However, as Christians and especially as an ECM, we need to stick to our guns, so to speak and present only the gospel and what it represents. PM's will view the gospel as a truth and will therefore accept it. However, the challenge comes when we continue to stress that the gospel is the only truth. Newbigin references how Marxism, Communism and Islam all tend to spring up where Christianity begins to grow and show strength. If this isn't a blatant attack by Satan to create confusion then I don't know what is.
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " (Rom 14;11, NIV) In this scripture we see that every knee will bow. Now whether that means that we will bow humbly or whether it means we will bow because we are forced too, every knee will bow. Knowing this we need to heed Newbigins words, "patient endurance."
3. Newbigin speaks on both sides of the Mission in word vs. the Mission in deed. One side feels like they should merely be building up the Church by "preaching the gospel of salvation from sin and offering eternal life." (pg. 135) This is all well and good because how can nonbelievers be saved if they are not told the Good News? How can the church increase its numbers if it isn't out converting others?
On the other hand the other sides feels that this is not kingdom work and therefore focuses their energies on helping the poor, healing the sick and freeing the enslaved. This too is all well and good, but how can those who are sick or poor or enslaved every truly rise above their situation if they are only helped out of their predicament and not taught how to over come it? It reminds me of a saying I learned in the Special Forces, "give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."
Just as Newbigin suggests, both sides need to take a step back and include some of what the other side is doing. A church should be spreading the gospel of salvation, but they should be doing it while helping someone who is bed ridden. For Christians there are no absolutes, except Jesus. Everything else needs to be taken in stride.
4. Kaufman's argument is based on the fact that in his mind unity means everyone and everything getting along and not fighting. This is where his flaw is and therefore, why he doesn't believe that the Christian gospel can furnish the center for unity. The American Heritage Dictionary defines unity as "the state, quality or condition of accord or agreement; concord." To me this means that everyone is in an agreement. If we travel ahead to the end of the time, when Christ comes back everyone will be in an agreement. Those that have accepted Christ and his gift of salvation will have entered into an agreement with him. And those who have rejected Christ and his gift of salvation will also have entered into an agreement. For the first set of folks that agreement includes eternal life and getting to live with God. For the others their agreement includes eternal damnation and getting to live separated from God. Either way, they are still in an agreement.
2. The PM the mind set is that there are no absolutes, that what is good for you might not be good for me. However, as Christians and especially as an ECM, we need to stick to our guns, so to speak and present only the gospel and what it represents. PM's will view the gospel as a truth and will therefore accept it. However, the challenge comes when we continue to stress that the gospel is the only truth. Newbigin references how Marxism, Communism and Islam all tend to spring up where Christianity begins to grow and show strength. If this isn't a blatant attack by Satan to create confusion then I don't know what is.
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " (Rom 14;11, NIV) In this scripture we see that every knee will bow. Now whether that means that we will bow humbly or whether it means we will bow because we are forced too, every knee will bow. Knowing this we need to heed Newbigins words, "patient endurance."
3. Newbigin speaks on both sides of the Mission in word vs. the Mission in deed. One side feels like they should merely be building up the Church by "preaching the gospel of salvation from sin and offering eternal life." (pg. 135) This is all well and good because how can nonbelievers be saved if they are not told the Good News? How can the church increase its numbers if it isn't out converting others?
On the other hand the other sides feels that this is not kingdom work and therefore focuses their energies on helping the poor, healing the sick and freeing the enslaved. This too is all well and good, but how can those who are sick or poor or enslaved every truly rise above their situation if they are only helped out of their predicament and not taught how to over come it? It reminds me of a saying I learned in the Special Forces, "give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."
Just as Newbigin suggests, both sides need to take a step back and include some of what the other side is doing. A church should be spreading the gospel of salvation, but they should be doing it while helping someone who is bed ridden. For Christians there are no absolutes, except Jesus. Everything else needs to be taken in stride.
4. Kaufman's argument is based on the fact that in his mind unity means everyone and everything getting along and not fighting. This is where his flaw is and therefore, why he doesn't believe that the Christian gospel can furnish the center for unity. The American Heritage Dictionary defines unity as "the state, quality or condition of accord or agreement; concord." To me this means that everyone is in an agreement. If we travel ahead to the end of the time, when Christ comes back everyone will be in an agreement. Those that have accepted Christ and his gift of salvation will have entered into an agreement with him. And those who have rejected Christ and his gift of salvation will also have entered into an agreement. For the first set of folks that agreement includes eternal life and getting to live with God. For the others their agreement includes eternal damnation and getting to live separated from God. Either way, they are still in an agreement.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Session #10, Newbigin
Our journey up the "Newbigin River" continues to be an adventure with lots of twists and turns. Missiology incorporates all the theological disciplines and more (sociology, psychology, anthropology, and more). The MACD degree program is step in the missiological direction.
1) In PM, perhaps we should be preparing pastors to be pastoral missiologists? What do you think?
2) Are the Hindus saved? (Chapter 14)
3) Self-awareness missiology examination, how has your culture impacted, distorted, or uncovered the gospel? (Chapter 15)
4) Reflect upon the topic of the powers (Chapter 16). If they are disarmed, but not removed from their place in the "excluded middle" until the consummation, why?
5) Ask your question for the class and me to discuss.
1) In PM, perhaps we should be preparing pastors to be pastoral missiologists? What do you think?
2) Are the Hindus saved? (Chapter 14)
3) Self-awareness missiology examination, how has your culture impacted, distorted, or uncovered the gospel? (Chapter 15)
4) Reflect upon the topic of the powers (Chapter 16). If they are disarmed, but not removed from their place in the "excluded middle" until the consummation, why?
5) Ask your question for the class and me to discuss.
Session # 9, Newbigin
Newbigin is perhaps a 20 century Wesley who is eclectic and masters many skills and disciplines to become a powerful ambassador of the gospel.
1) On page 89, Newbigin quotes a Hindu scholar that Christians have misrepresented Christianity as another religion. Reflect upon this theological concept that the Bible is universal history for the world.
2) The logic of mission, explain the relationship of the gospel and the meaning of history as it relates to pluralism (p. 122). This is a vital perspective that connects to PM & ECM.
3) Discuss the polarities and resolution of Mission in word, deed, and new being (p. 135-136).
4) Respond to Kaufman's position of modern historical consciousness that Christ is not unique--the God/Man. (p. 159).
1) On page 89, Newbigin quotes a Hindu scholar that Christians have misrepresented Christianity as another religion. Reflect upon this theological concept that the Bible is universal history for the world.
2) The logic of mission, explain the relationship of the gospel and the meaning of history as it relates to pluralism (p. 122). This is a vital perspective that connects to PM & ECM.
3) Discuss the polarities and resolution of Mission in word, deed, and new being (p. 135-136).
4) Respond to Kaufman's position of modern historical consciousness that Christ is not unique--the God/Man. (p. 159).
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