Its been a long time. I thought instead of some pretentious bull shit about moving and change or about not blogging for a long time and begging for your affirmation, I would just tell you that I am at an impasse. Having been a Christian for over fifteen years now, with a degree in theology (from what I honestly believe is probably one of this country’s finest Christian colleges), and one week away from starting seminary, I still don’t know how to tell some one about Jesus.

Tonight I hung out with a friend with “special needs.” My friend sustained serious physical and mental debilitation from a childhood accident. He spends most of his time listening to heavy metal, playing video games and thinking about what life would be like if he had a girl friend. He is friendly and I have to admit fun (though he can be obnoxious and overbearing at times). But he is angry and a good deal of the time he is depressed that he is a very lonely, sexually frustrated man who can do little for himself in a world where charm and beauty are considered anything but deceptive or vain. It doesn’t take that long having a conversation with him before such feelings come out in the form of sarcastic remarks or inappropriate humor.

To tell my friend that Jesus loves him more than any girl ever could and only Jesus will really make him “happy” would be little better than a slap in the face. What I need to do is to love my friend like Jesus would (does). But I don’t know how. I have not been trained to. Or maybe I am just too lazy or apathetic to really put in the time and effort that would require. I really don’t know. A bit of all of thee above I suppose. All I do know is how to spot what wont work, bitch about it and talk a good game about “relational” or “community oriented” evangelism or other related hot topics that those of us in the who study this Jesus stuff like to talk about. But cynicism is getting old. Mine is about as thin and veiled these days as my friend’s is about his disability.

Above is a famous “evangelism tool” called “the bridge illustration.” I honestly believe that such so called evangelism must make Jesus just as queezy as it makes me. There are few things worse than “evangelism explosion“, bullet point proof text (like those in the bridge illustration above), “the Romans road,” or evangelism tracts. I believe this. I can think of few Christian efforts I think are more misguided.

But one thing comes to mind thats probably far, far worse: not sharing the faith at all. My friend who I hung out with tonight knows I am a Christian. We have talked about how I have worked at church, am looking for a new job in a church and am going to school to eventually work full time in the Church. We have talked about that. I know that he doesn’t much like church although he appreciates the sound of the music and the aesthetic of pretty girls in Sunday dresses. We have talked about that too. But we’ve never really had a conversation about the gospel. And I don’t know how to.

I am someone who you could say has been through a lot of stages in my spiritual journey. As a fundamentalist I was comfortable wearing a dog tag that read “Jesus Freak.” I wrote letters to friends with explanations of the gospel that read a lot like the examples above. But Jesus gave the people who gathered around him anything but all of the right answers with proof text and bullet points to back it up. He often gave them parables, virtual riddles and more questions. He left people uncomfortable and unsettled.

I was also a proponent of “seeker sensitive” Christianity for some time. But again if anyone was anti-seeker sensitive it was Jesus. He told people to sell all they have and follow him; and he wiped away their tears and demanded no less than “go and sin no more.”

I came to where ever it is that I am now by way of the emergent movement. Now please hear me. I really think the emergent movement or “conversation” has done a lot of good, especially with shaking up the sleepy and stagnate fundamentalism which birthed most of the movement’s leaders. But unfortunately – at least in my experience – the theological and practical alternatives offered in the the “conversation” are just rehatched liberalism. I am encouraged just to love people where they are at (which is great advice) but I have been encouraged to do little beyond that. The emergent rejection of an over-intellectualized version of the gospel which rests solely on accepting a the “correct propositions” resonates well with me. I am even comfortable and happy to join in the conversation reevaluating the meaning of things like Heaven, Hell or substitutionary atonement. But as far as I can see the “conversation” has yielded little more than many age old questions without offering at least some tentative answers. The problem with that is no one ever talked about the kingdom of God/Heaven or Hell and judgment or laying your life down for your friend more than Jesus. So if we are to call the pat answers and trite explanations of the gospel that we’ve been given into question in the name of conversation we best be just as eager to get to the heart of what the gospel really is.

The writings of Lesslie Newbigin have been instrumental in reminding me that the gospel is not simply a matter of individual salvation. Rather, it is the story of what God has done for all humanity. Therefore, the gospel is communicated through people and to people living in communities. In his book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Newbigin writes,

Since the gospel does not come as a disembodied message but as the message of a community which claims to live by it and which invites others to adhere to it, the community’s life must be so ordered that it “makes sense” to those who are so invited. It must as we say “come alive.” Those to whom it is communicated must be able to say, “Yes, I see. This is true for me and my situation”(141).

Later Newbigin adds,

True contextualization happens when there is a community which lives faithfully by the gospel and in that same costly identification with people in their real situations as we see in the earthly ministry of Jesus. When these conditions are met, the sovereign spirit of God does his own surprising work (154).

I think that this is probably a pretty good explanation of what good evangelism is. But honestly I know very little about what that looks like because I have not really lived it. I hope to.

Long before Newbigin, the apostle Paul – probably implementing much of a hymn of the early Church – wrote,

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life (Philippians 2:1-16a)

I hope the next three to four years of spiritual formation and learning in the seminary setting does more than help me to identify bad evangelism technique and theorize about good technique. I want to live it. I want to bear Christ’s image so deep within me that it becomes obvious – even with all of my faults and blemishes – to those with even the most limited capacity that I am a follower of Jesus and they should be too.

Shalom,
Wayne

Throughout the ages, Christians have developed a plethora of different ways for reading and interpreting scripture. For some the Bible is a set of proof texts used to uphold and defend the particular views of an individual or community of believers. For others – often those rightly noting the many different genres, traditions and even discrepancies within the biblical texts – the Bible needs to be read with a degree of scrutiny. Unfortunately this sometimes collapses into skepticism. On one hand there can develop an unbending allegiance to the way things have always been understood, with no room for critique. On the other hand the overly skeptical often fall the way they are leaning into the vortex of theological liberalism. Of course blind fundamentalism and theological liberalism are extremes on a spectrum and the vast majority of Christians today will fall somewhere in between theses broad polarizations.

A favorite understanding for some Christians is to approach scripture as one would a family photo album or scrap book. The pictures are painted with words – history records and narratives. Near the back of the book there is a collection of letters from distant relatives to other family members of the past, who often found themselves in situations that parallel those that family members find themselves in today. For those baptized into the family of God in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Bible is the official family album.

Above is an icon of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. You can find more like this at the icon gallery of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America I love Icons – they are wonderful – and as a protestant I am a bit Icon deprived. The art of the church served as a primary vessel for conveying important Bible stories, stories church history and the gospel message for 1500 years. In the Catholic and Orthodox traditions icons and stained glass still find a more welcome place than they do in certain protestant traditions. I find this unfortunate; for I feel I am missing out on something that is a cherished part of the Christian Heritage.

However we do have our Bibles and are often encouraged (or sometimes beat over the head) to read them. I recently have been researching the portrait of Paul that is found in the book of Acts. What I found was that the author of Acts (traditionally understood to be Luke) finds a Hero in Paul. For him Saint Paul is a Hero because he is carying out the mission of Jesus to take the gospel from Jerusalem to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

For the skeptic the snap-shot of Paul in Acts will be compared to his self portrait in his letters – often “discrepancies” will be found and this illustration of Paul will get largely dismissed. For the Bible thumping, proof-texting fundamentalist we find a set of actions that must be perfectly emulated. However as I have suggested I prefer a narrative approach. Taking this understanding seriously, I too find a hero in Paul. I find a man willing to go anywhere and brave many obstacles to tell others about Jesus. Above that I see a Picture of God opening up his family to everyone and through Paul, Peter and others ensuring that his message gets heard.

(I also find my Bible ransomed back from the cold hands of modern scholasticism).

Peace,
Wayne