A Faith from Frightening Areas

"The faith of artists and individuals who grew up and live in inner-city environments and deal with the same kind of tempations and demons (i.e. drugs, sex and violence) is very authentic. That type of faith cannot be comprehended by middle-class or upper-middle-class Christians because the type of saving that needs to take place is not one exclusively spiritual. In fact, it cannot even be comprehended by most Christians because it is not draped in false piety. 

The type of faith exhibited by these individuals is very rugged and, according to Dr. Daniel White Hodge, their theology engages, ‘The profane, the secular, and the sacred - an area frightening to those still etched and stooped in the hallways of simplistic and ‘milk’ theological paradigms.’"

   — Ryan Herring, online article in ‘Red Letter Christians'

Opportunities and Divine Nudges

"Evangelism is still shrouded in mystery, fear, and misconceptions. However, in today’s culture the best evangelism is simply having everyday conversations with our friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbors, and everyone else … and being sensitive to those Divine nudges.
                                                                                                            -- Bill Easum

Moving Forward

'Those of us who have gone “beyond evangelical” have moved on from the early 20th-century fundamentalist vs. modernist debate that our forefathers passionately fought . . . a fight that continues to rope many contemporary Christians into today, some 100 years later. This fight leaves people with a false choice between left or right. The alternative direction of “forward” doesn’t appear on the radar screen. Those who are “beyond evangelical” have moved on from that battle to discovering, exploring, and displaying the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ with our brothers and sisters in Christ.' - Frank Viola

Beyond Mere Propositions

"The scourge of evangelicalism is that it has centered itself on making correct propositional statements rather than on a way of living in, through, and for the Lord Jesus in a shared-life local community."   - Frank Viola

Helps in Perspective and Understanding from N.T. Wright

I loved this book! Wished I had been able to have available its concepts and pointers back when I began my ministry, some 35 years ago. But then, I did (and still) have the Gospels available to me, and the rest of Scripture. What will I now do with, I believe, this fuller revelation and teaching that helps put breadth and depth to my understanding of what God has done, in Israel, in Christ - and continues to to do today through His People?

From the Amazon review(s) of the book - 'How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels' . . .

"Western Christians today think "that Jesus came to teach people how to go to heaven. That is, I believe" says Wright, "a major and serious misunderstanding." Wright claims: "We have belittled the cross, imagining it merely as a mechanism for getting us off the hook ... It is much, much more. It is the moment when the story of Israel reaches its climax; the moment when, at last, the watchmen on Jerusalem's walls see their God coming in his kingdom; the moment when the people of God are renewed so as to be, at last, the royal priesthood who will take over the world, not with the love of power but with the power of love; the moment when the kingdom of God overcomes the kingdoms of the world. ... God ... is now inviting us to ... build with him ... This is the vision the evangelists offer us as they bring together the kingdom and the cross." (Ch.10)

"The four gospels leave us with the primary application of the cross not in abstract preaching about 'how to have your sins forgiven' or 'how to go to heaven' but in an agenda in which the forgiven people are put to work, addressing the evils of the world in the light of the victory of Calvary." (Ch.10) "Jesus himself is ... at the heart of the new creation ... on the move, as Jesus' people go out, in the energy of the Spirit, to be the dwelling of God in each place, to anticipate that eventual promise [of the whole earth being filled with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea] by their common and cross-shaped life and work." (Ch. 10) Such 'life and work' is not the subject of this book, and needs further exploration.

In his previous book After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters (2010), Wright comments that Christian character should reflect "God's image once more into the world - the image of the generous, loving creator filling his world with beauty, order, freedom, and glory ... seeking, generating and sustaining justice and beauty in a world where both have been at a discount for too long." (p. 231) However, Wright acknowledges that "This is a large topic, in need of much fuller exploration than we can give it here" (p. 231).

In Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (2008) Wright identifies 'justice' (pp 213 - 222) and 'beauty' (pp 222 - 225) as important areas in which "to work for God's kingdom in the present" (p. 207). Wright asserts that God is redeeming the world of space, time and matter, not discarding it. He states: "... the church ... must... claim [the world of space, time and matter] for the kingdom of God, for the lordship of Jesus, and in the power of the Spirit so that we can then go out and work for that kingdom, announce that lordship, and effect change through that power." (p. 264) "The mission of the church must therefore include, at a structural level, the recognition that our space, time and matter are all subject not to rejection but to redemption." (p. 264) "If it is true, as I have argued," says Wright, "that the whole world is now God's holy land, we must not rest as long as that land is spoiled and defaced. This is not an extra to the church's mission. It is central." (pp. 266) For Wright `mission' includes, for example, addressing "massive economic imbalance" and "Third World debt", politics, art, music, sculpture, poetry, architecture, town planning, transportation, agriculture, "proper use of resources" etc., areas of our 'life and work' through which Jesus is reclaiming and ruling his world (pp 216, 223, 265-266)

Make Backyard Missionaries

The following is from Bill Easum and, with the sentiments expressed by him and Mike Breen, I very much resonate and agree. 


Everyone of who follows my stuff knows I am a great fan of the local church. It is fundamental to the growth of the Kingdom, along with other forms of being the Church. I have no trek with those who say the day of the local church is over.

I can't stand what the vast majority of mainline churches and many sideline churches have become. They set back a wait for people to show up like a spider that spins its web waits for an unsuspecting victim. I call this the Jerusalem effect and the build it and they will come effect. Oddly enough, this approach to evangelism worked when I started ministry over 50 years ago. Today, however very few unchurched people come to worship on their own.

Interestingly enough a friend gave me a url to Mike Breens blog . It was right up my ally. I thought I would share a couple of his quotes with you.

"So let us be clear: missionaries are always better than mission projects. Leaders are more necessary then volunteers. And disciples are surely what we're going for rather than mere converts."

I couldn't agree more. I've always told churches that volunteers, missions committees, and programs are not the way to go. In our new book , Effective Staffing for the Vital Church, I talk about "backyard missionaries." 

Everyone needs to be trained to be a missionary in their everyday life. Also disciples are needed not volunteers.

Here is another goodie.

"There is a paradigm shift that needs to happen. We need to move from being a worshipping body that sometimes does mission to a missional body that gathers to celebrate and worship."

I have started telling leaders that it is not enough to have small groups that make disciples; now small groups need to the missionary arm of the church. Each small group needs a mission in the community.

That leads to Breen's last comment I want to highlight.

"Missional communities are the training wheels that teach us how to ride the bike of oikos."

Now this is brilliant. He's talking about 20-30 people acting as an extended family taking the message to their communities. We need to focus on training Mom and Dad, Aunts and Uncles, etc. to help their extended families be those backyard missionaries we talk about.

What is your church doing to make backyard missionaries?

Relationship Over Program

The church is, at heart, a people movement following Jesus. Often, focus is given to the 'what' of church: buildings, events, programs. We need to be careful to keep the focus on people, relationships and community. Relationships with God, other believers in those Jesus wants to reach should be the heart cry of his church, and the foundation of our focus.

The Future of Faith

 . . . We stand on the threshold of a new chapter in the Christian story.  Despite dire forecasts of its decline, Christianity is growing faster that it ever has before, but mainly outside the West and in movements that accent spiritual experience, discipleship and hope; pay scant attention to creeds; and flourish without hierarchies.  We are now witnessing the beginning of a “post-Constantinian era.” Christians on five continents are sharking off the residues of the second phase (the Age of Belief) and negotating a bumpy transition into a fresh era for which a name has not yet been coined.
  -- Harvey Cox, 'The Future of Faith'