A Place of Healing by Joni Eareckson Tada

I just finished Joni Eareckson Tada's latest book A Place of Healing.  Friends, if you have never read or listened to anything by Joni, please do.  I don't know how else to describe this woman except as a global treasure for the body of Christ.  The path marked out for her by the Lord has been so unique and her ministry and message so profound that it is simply impossible to estimate what value she has brought to the Church over the years.  I still remember the life-changing impact her book Heaven: Your Real Home had on me years ago as a young youth minister in Oklahoma.  Now, having tasted the tears of nearly 15 years of ministry, sitting to learn at Joni's feet again is a very refreshing and humbling experience.  I was sad that she wasn't able to come to Cape Town for Lausanne III back in 2010.  I still hope I get a chance to meet her this side of eternity.  So, go and read (or listen to, it is available in audio) Joni's book and also check out the ministry she leads at Joni and Friends.

Confronting Deficient Concepts of the Gospel: Lausanne Theology Discussion (1 of 7)

When I began writing my reflections on this paper, it was only supposed to be a brief blog post.  However, it quickly evolved into about seven pages.  So, now, I’ve decided to break it up into seven distinct posts.  So, today will mark the first of seven days of posts in response to the Lausanne Theology Working Group paper.  It won’t be the only thing I’ll be posting, of course.  But I hope you enjoy and benefit from the series.  Each post will feature a key question that I actually really want to hear from you on.  I’m not just putting the question there as a decoration.  So, please to leave your comments.

Before I launch off into my own thoughts on this subject, let me first say that I've taken the liberty of creating a place on the Lausanne Global Conversation for the express purpose of generating broad and global conversation surrounding this important paper.  You can go to that place and join the conversation by clicking here.

Now, what I'm talking about today is the paper that has been officially submitted by the Lausanne Theology Working Group for the 3rd Congress on World Evangelization taking place very soon in Cape Town, South Africa.  The paper is the fruit of a tremendous amount of work by many of the great theologians and leaders in the global Church and is designed to sort of "fill out" the famous Lausanne Movement slogan, "The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World." This they have done primarily by reflecting Biblically on the phrases, "whole gospel", "whole Church", and "whole world." Asking basically, what does the Bible say these things are?  The LTWG has done an impressive job and, by God's grace, has really provided the Church with an invaluable piece of theological reflection.  I strongly recommend to my readers that you read this paper yourself and consider sharing it with your various circles of influence.  I can testify that the Sunday night we spent at TIBM studying this just recently was one of our more fruitful times in God's Word as a church.

You can read this profound and stimulating paper by follow either of these links:

"The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World: Reflections of the Lausanne Theology Working Group" (condensed version)

"The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World: Reflections of the Lausanne Theology Working Group" (full version)

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Now I'd like to move on to raising a few of the specific questions and reflections that I have regarding the LTWG paper. 

1. Regarding the "Whole Gospel"

For me, this first section was the most helpful (out of three extremely helpful sections), because it did the difficult work of providing a broad Biblical answer to the question, "What is the Gospel?"  The insight that the term "gospel" (Gk. εὐαγγέλιον) often means at least slightly different things at different times in Scripture is invaluable. If we are to give a full answer to the question, "What is the Gospel?", we must pay attention to and adequately represent all of these nuances. When the Bible as a whole is enabled to answer this question, we find the following (which I've reworded from the LTWG paper):

• The Gospel is the story of Jesus Christ in whole Biblical context.
• The Gospel is the reality of the new, reconciled humanity manifest in the existence of the Church.
• The Gospel is the saving message of Christ's death and resurrection and all God accomplished in that.
• The Gospel is the fact that we can be changed, transformed by the power of God.
• The Gospel is the proclamation of truth and the exposure of evil.
• The Gospel is that God is as He is.

While it is true that these six answers are quite overlapping, they nevertheless each highlight an important dimension of the gospel which much not be neglected.  Oh that God would permit that this broader and more Biblical definition of the Gospel overwhelm the Church and overtake the all-too-popular and dangerously narrow simplifications of the good news!

Question #1- How do we effectively challenge deficient definitions/explanations of the Gospel which are often so deeply embedded in the hearts and minds of individual Christians and even built into the infrastructures of denominations and mission agencies? (for example - "word of faith" or "prosperity" gospels, or the overemphasis on making converts at the expense of true discipleship)

To Burn or Turn & Other Thoughts on Evangelism

Today will, I believe, be a truly rambling edition of "The Ramblings."  I want to share some thoughts today about evangelism in the 21st century.  That is, what does it mean for us to be a faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ in our world today.  As I write this (9/10/2010 at 5:54PM CST), the very latest news out of Gainesville, Florida is that Terry Jones has indefinitely suspended his planned "Burn the Qu'ran Day" event.  That's a relief.  Of course, the news on Jones has been changing pretty quickly, so I'm not holding my breath.
But, I think there is in this whole, ridiculous affair an important question about evangelism.  In the mind of Jones, burning the Qu'ran was a necessary step in proclaiming the truth about Jesus in our world today.  In his own words, "Why is there always room for discussion and discussion and discussion . . . why is there not sooner or later a time when we climb upon the mountain and we tear the altar down?"  Dr. James White, on the contrary recommends an approach that is drastically different. He believes that mature Christians should actually read and study carefully the Qu'ran in order to demonstrate to Muslims why it is not truly the word of God.  So the question with regards to the Qu'ran is, do we burn or turn -- the pages that is.  Jones and White recently had this brief exchange on the Aramaic Broadcasting Network:

I think the point made by David Wood at the end of this clip is quite compelling. Islam depends on the existence of uneducated and immature Christians who know neither the sound teachings of the Bible nor the actual teachings of Islam in order to spread.  Let me add to this a great insight made by Jochen Katz on the subject:

"Ideas cannot be fought by burning the books that contain them. Ideas and ideologies have to be fought by putting sound arguments against them. They can only be overcome by exposing their errors and/or immorality."

I commend to you the entire Katz article, "Cancel the 'Burn a Qur'an' Day! When Irresponsibility Meets Irrationality". It is well-reasoned and well-written.  At the end of the day, I come down well on the "turn" rather than the "burn" side of this debate.

Now, if you are looking for a bit more positive, I want to commend to you another article.  This is one of the advance papers for the 3rd Lausanne Congress and entitled "A Fresh Approach to Witness for the 21st Century: A Global Perspective."  It has been submitted by Rebecca Manley Pippert and Bishop Benjamin A. Kwashi, two of the truly great evangelistic leaders of the Church today.  The article does a great job of illustrating the need for the Church to have a renewed vision from the Lord about sharing the gospel.  The authors point out that "less than 2% of Europeans call themselves Evangelical Christians" and less than 5% of Australians attend church.  They articulate concern over the "prosperity gospel" that is often being proclaimed in Africa and much more.  The following video is meant to provide an introduction to the problem of "prosperity preaching" in Africa:

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Pippert and Kwashi also make some great points about contextualization such as, "There is no such thing as a Christian culture or civilization." The provide some snapshots of evangelism issues from different parts of the world and ask compelling questions such as:

• How do we communicate the absolute uniqueness of Christ in a country where there are many faiths or as in India, where there are literally thousands of gods and goddesses to worship?
• How do we respectfully share our faith when our family is of another faith and where there is deep misunderstanding and prejudice concerning Christianity?
• How do we present Christ to someone who finds the claims of truth offensive?
• And more.

Most important for me where the comments made about confidence.  That followers of Christ must become confident that the gospel is not only for us but for the whole world.  That we must become confident in the fact that there is no greater power in the world than the power of the Holy Spirit.  That we must become confident in the power of the gospel message itself.

So, do take time to read the Pippert and Kwashi paper. And, I would love to hear from you any comments, questions, or views that you'd like to share on the issue of evangelism in the 21st century.