An interesting idea from a church up in the Chicago suburbs...

http://www.joethorn.net/2009/05/06/theology-pub-tonight/


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posted by Matt

I’ve often heard preachers talk about the emotional nature of conversation, particular in the “moment of surrender,” if you have a particular one in mind.  I have had the privilege of being present when people do cry their eyes out and are visibly distraught over their sin.  I understand this.  When we realize our utter sinfulness and the absolute perfect holiness of God, we have every reason to tremble.  As I continue to walk with Christ, these times of repentance have much more gravity in my own heart.

Yet that inward brokenness may manifest itself in many different ways.  I was recently reading John Piper’s book, Finally Alive (p12).  He gives this quote from C.S. Lewis.  The non-emotional side of me really enjoyed reading this paragraph.

I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was taken.  I was driven into Wipsnade one sunny morning.  When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.  And yet I had not exactly spent the journey in thought.  Nor in great emotion.  ‘Emotional’ is perhaps the last word we can apply to some of the most important events.  It was more like when a man, after long sleep, still lying motionless in bed, becomes aware that he is now awake.  And it was, like that moment on top of the bus, ambiguous. Freedom, or necessity?  Or do they differ at their maximum? (From Surprised by Joy, p 237).

So what is the role of emotion in conversion?  I know people don’t just giggle their way into the kingdom, as my pastor likes to say, but I think it’s unreliable at best and maybe even legalistic to try gauging the sincerity of repentance based on the emotion of the moment.  Moments and prayers don’t save anyone anyway.  Faith in Jesus saves.  I think Lewis nailed it.

posted by allen

Allen and I (this is Matt) have been talking a bit lately about evangelism and outreach, and as we've done that, a couple distinct views of outreach have materialized; and there's likely a view that merges them both. What I mean is that it seems that when one says something about outreach, folks will invariably have different ideas in their head in regards to what that (outreach or evangelism) actually means. Allow me to elaborate a bit more.

For some (and in the interest of full disclosure, I don't fall into this group necessarily), outreach is something that ought to be fully programmed and implemented in an organized fashion by the local church. Generally speaking, this group would advocate things like door-to-door evangelism and the like. To evangelize, within this framework, often involves meeting someone, and within minutes presenting the gospel, only to minutes later be moving on to someone or somewhere else.

For others (again in the interest of full disclosure, I would more closely align myself with this view), outreach is something that is, or at least ought to be, more organic in nature. It involves being very intentional about every context within which the Lord has placed you. That means that your favorite coffee shop, restaurants you frequent, your dorm (if a student), your apartment complex, your neighborhood, your gym, etc--all of these are specific areas into which a sovereign God has placed you. In this view, evangelism is far more relational in nature, often coming about as you invest in people's lives, show them the gospel, talk about Christ, and so on. Whereas the former view might be described as flashing a Polaroid of Christ in front of someone and then pulling it back and moving on, this position would seem to be more akin to your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and whoever else being exposed to an ongoing narrative about the gospel. As you invest in them, love them, and serve them, they'll be continually introduced and reintroduced to Christ and His gospel.

It does seem like this can be a cultural thing within a church as well. For some churches, a lack of a door-to-door program is a sign of serious problem, and the presence of one might mean that all is well as far as evangelistic efforts are concerned. For others, the mindset is in place that evangelism is not relegated to organized programs, but rather is just an outgrowth of being the church in your community.

There's certainly much more that could be said to flesh out the two positions, and again, there's certainly middle ground between the two, but this should be enough to get the conversation started. I'm interested in you guys' take. Thoughts?

Seriously? With all of the other myriads of blogs on the interwebs, do we really need another blog from another group of young Reformed guys? What makes us think that we can be more insightful or more relevant than ? Well, there are two things. One is that is not located here in Alabama where we are. In essence we see this as an outgrowth of our ministry in our local church body, as another outlet for discussion, discipleship, and fellowship as well as an avenue for networking with like-minded believers and churches in our region. So, we hope to build locally first, where we can actually be in contact with our readers and commenters to continue our discussions in the church hallway or after church, or bring in conversations from sermons or discussions from Bible studies. Two, we want this to be more of a conversation between friends, discussing random thoughts and how the Gospel and Christ influence those conversations. Now, we are fully aware of how the term “conversation” has been used and abused for all manner of things, but we plan to have actual conversations of consequence (…wait… did we just create a new buzzword? Quick, let’s develop a book and study guide before someone else thinks of it…) which would mean that our conversations are built around objective truth, not just mindless drivel. Again, our goal is not to merely discuss the Gospel, while we would definitely be in favor of that, but to also discuss the other interests in our lives in such a way as to see the Gospel being lived out in those areas. So, in large part this is somewhat experimental as we invite you to listen in on our conversations and ask questions, make comments, agree, disagree, help us as we seek to better understand the truth of Christ.

Be sure to grab a cup of your favorite coffee and check out the Resolved conference via the live feed at http://www.resolved.org/live.aspx . The schedule's below. All times West Coast.

Friday, June 12

8pm - Session 1, Rick Holland

Saturday, June 13

11am - Session 2, Steve Lawson

5pm - Session 3, C.J. Mahaney

6pm - Session 4, Enfield Concert

Sunday, June 14

11am - Session 5, Steve Lawson

5pm - Session 6, John MacArthur

7pm - Session 7, John Piper

Monday, June 15

9am - Session 8, Rick Holland

11am - Session 9, John MacArthur

5pm - Session 10, C.J. Mahaney

7pm - Session 11, John Piper