Sharing Good News – Kingdom as Agriculture

George October 22, 2019 Sharing Good News 0 Comments

As is often the case when I write on a subject, related or relevant thoughts and ideas seem to mysteriously (coincidentally?) appear. That was the case in my last post on Post Modernism and Sharing Good News. This post is similar in that the subject post from Richard Beck stimulated another perspective for me to consider in reimagining evangelism:

“Is my understanding of sharing good news consistent with the nature and character of the kingdom of God? “

Beck’s questions at the end of his post are helpful to me in addressing my question.

The Kingdom as Agriculture

Posted on 10.22.2019

It’s not news that Jesus was drawn to agricultural metaphors when we shared parables about the Kingdom of God. But I’ve been thinking about that more and more, wondering what Jesus was getting at.

Specifically, I was reading in Mark 4 where Jesus compares the kingdom to planting and seeds three times in quick succession.

The Parable of the Sower: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path…seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

The Parable of the Seed: “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed: “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Of course, each parable has its own particular interpretation. The seed needs receptive soil. The seed grows on its own. The seed will grow beyond its humble beginnings. Each of these, held together, provides a window into how Jesus thought about what he was doing in the gospels.

But what I want to ask is this: Is there something significant in thinking about the kingdom in these agricultural terms?

What strikes me is that, given the military and conquest expectations Israel had for her Messiah, these agricultural metaphors seem very unexpected. When you think of “kingdom” you don’t, I expect, tend to stare at a seed growing, day after day. When you think of “kingdom” you think of armies, walls, territory, and power. You think of Empire.

And then here comes Jesus with something that sounds like this: “The Kingdom of God is like watching grass grow.” How anti-Empire is that vision? And watching the grass grow is a strange sort of Revolution. Watching the grass grow isn’t, I’m guessing, anyone’s view of The Resistance.

Some other thoughts:

What does it mean that the kingdom is sown rather than taken?

What does it mean that the kingdom requires waiting and passivity rather than forcing and activity?

What does it mean that the kingdom begins with the smallest thing rather than the largest?

All that to say, I think there is something deeply subversive going on in Jesus’s agricultural parables.

Sharing Good News – Postmodernism

George October 21, 2019 Sharing Good News 1 Comment

Continuing the Sharing Good News series, today is a post from Pete Enns’ blog by Aaron Bjerke. I found it to be informative and challenging as I think about the audience for Good News in our culture today.

“Searchers”: The Ignored Demographic of Spiritual Secularists

Throughout my pastoral experience over the past decade, I’ve noticed a new demographic emerging through questions that I’ve been asked by other congregants. There is a growing sub-demographic in the secular population that is searching for a spiritual experience, and it hasn’t received a lot of attention from the church. Whether it’s feeling stressed at work, increasingly dissatisfied with a relationship or money, postmodern Americans are increasingly seeking a spiritual remedy.In 2017, the meditation market (as it has been called) was a $1.2 billion industry in the U.S. Some project it will be worth over $2 billion by 2022. This growing trend is everywhere. For example, meditation rooms are the hottest new work perk, and CEOs are personally seeking out a practice of meditation in order to become better leaders. One observation is that the meditation movement is where the yoga movement was in the mid-90s, which means the ceiling for the meditation market is still miles high.The meditation market represents a spectrum of practices—such as mindfulness, transcendental meditation, or various forms of Buddhism—and promises an experience of peace, productivity, happiness, etc. This is done by taking back control of the mind and taming it. Consumers of these practices are generally not “skeptics”—the Richard Dawkins of the world who are hostile toward spirituality—nor are they “seekers” who are exploring the Christian faith and dialoguing with other Christians. These two groups have been engaged with success through various evangelism programs. Rather, those in the meditation market are what I’m calling “searchers”: seculars searching for a spiritual experience.

Is it true? Vs Does it work?

This difference comes down to Modernism and Postmodernism. Modernism attempts to construct a coherent worldview through the pursuit of an absolute truth. The Church’s response was to make a fact-based case for Christianity—e.g., eight reasons why Jesus was historically real, five reasons why the resurrection is true, etc.Postmodernism, on the other hand, is marked by relativism and individualism, which has produced a culture defined by the phrase “you do you.” The value proposition for a Postmodern person is whether or not something works. “What works for me works for me, leave me alone.” This is where searchers reside, and they are not initially looking for a 200-page book of claims or a bulletproof sermon. They would rather taste and see whether what is offered is good.In other words, the modernist asks the question “Is it true?” whereas the postmodernist asks, “Does it work?” And if it works, then for the postmodernist, it is true–because truth is found in something that works. This is not to say that facts do not matter to the postmodernist. But the searcher says, “If something gives me peace, relieves my stress, gives me satisfaction, or provides a feeling of transcendence, then it works, and it surely must be true.” This is the story I’ve heard when Ivy League-educated lawyers in New York convert to Buddhism—it gives them an experience of peace.

Re-imagining Ministry

The church must respect the searcher posture if it’s going to make any missional inroads into today’s culture, and the Bible gives us a picture to consider. In John 4, Jesus first told with the woman at the well “I work.” He said “I know you’re thirsty. I’ll quench your thirst forever.” It’s only after that that he has a theological conversation about mountains and her sin. He interacted with what she wanted to satisfy most—her thirst—and showed her that he works.What is it for the church to take a “Does it work?” approach to ministry? It means we must consider how we can help others experience God in non-modernist ways. The Bible and prayer give great opportunities for such a mission.Regarding the Bible, the skeptic/seeker approach (modernist approach) would seek to show that the Bible is presenting facts: spiritually, historically, and scientifically. The searcher’s approach is more reflective in nature, asking questions such as “What does this mean?” This question points to the importance of story, because what drives a story is meaning—“What’s the point?” And, if it’s true that the best stories always win, then a ministry approach for searchers does the hard and important work of learning how, as the hymn says, to re-“tell me the old, old story, of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love” in a way that is less about facts and more through the lens of the story of the power of Jesus in one’s life. For what could be more powerful than quenching your thirst forever?Regarding prayer, the claim of Jesus working in one’s life is not the prosperity gospel: follow Jesus and your life turns around. Rather, it’s saying that even if your life doesn’t turn around you can still have peace and joy amidst the chaos and unmet expectations, which is exactly one of the promises in the meditation market: peace in a chaotic life. Except unlike meditation, which is a form of control (and any therapist worth his or her weight knows the problem emotion of control is anxiety), the path of Jesus is one of prayer. This is significant because when you pray, you learn that God is in control—not yourself. Therefore prayer is not a posture of control but a posture of surrender, and it is that posture of surrender that the church needs to introduce to searchers. Up to this point, this demographic has largely been ignored by the American church. Like the woman John 4 who told her friends “come and see” the one who told me everything about myself, the church too must decide to strive to introduce and show searchers the same claim that Jesus revealed of himself at the well: I work.

Aaron Bjerke is planting a church in NYC out of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Having been an Assistant Pastor there for seven years, he is excited to see a new expression of the gospel take root in the city for those searching for a spiritual experience. Originally from Minnesota, he lives with his wife, Erica, and two kids in Manhattan. Visit his church at www.TheWellNYC.life

Sharing Good News – People as Projects

George October 18, 2019 Sharing Good News 0 Comments

For several weeks I have been engaged in thinking and ultimately re-thinking evangelism. The catalyst for this has been a Sunday class on the subject. That experience has been interesting because the premises of the class have challenged some of my preconceived notions about evangelism. In this post I intend to share one particular thought that arose as I pondered the class and associated readings. All of my posts on Sharing Good News can be seen HERE.

People as Projects

“Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!”
? Charles Spurgeon

“Soul winning for Christ Jesus is a great business everyone must endeavor to start and keep it diligently”
? Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

An anecdotal reflection from my past, “You can’t go to heaven alone.”

A dogmatic view of evangelism opens the door to a pharisaical impulse to make obedience the end rather the means.

Each quote, in some way, reflects the idea that the sole purpose of Christians is to win souls for Christ. In the extreme, to not save others condemns to hell. I believe that is a truncated view of life in the Kingdom of God and does violence to the Kingdom. Elevating any clearly mandated responsibility of disciples to an extent that other mandates of Jesus are diminished, denigrated and/or eliminated is an attribute of Phariseeism which Jesus vehemently condemned.

“Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals.” Matt. 23 MSG

To establish evangelism as the preeminent command of Jesus to his disciples, presents the same risk as when applied to sabbath, tithes, making converts, cleanliness et al.

Christian faith is “a missionary religion.” Christians, both by the internal logic of the faith that they (classically) embrace and by specific injunctions of that faith, are called to bear witness to faith. My sense is that we ought to think of evangelism precisely in those terms, as bearing witness—not converting other people, not making them into Christians, but bearing witness to who God, as revealed in Jesus Christ, is, and leaving the encounter between that God and the person to the conscience of the person and to the work of God in their lives. Christian witness goes wrong when it tries, in subtle or explicit ways, to manipulate people into making a decision, and not allowing sufficient freedom for people to make that decision. Or, to put it the other way, the problem is not respecting the fact that it is the Holy Spirit which adds people to the church, and that Christian evangelists and pastors don’t grow churches. At their best, evangelists do what John the Baptist did: they point to Christ; they say, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” And “He should increase and I should decrease.” Miroslav Volf

I have argued that mission-shaped discipleship is about seeking to be filled, transformed and overflowing with love of God and neighbour at the interface of embodied and virtual life. As such, our participation in the mission of God is substantially expressed through works of mercy, in which God’s love for our neighbours reaches out through us in a holistic way. From a discipleship per-spective, evangelism as a work of mercy is specifically directed towards the spiritual needs of others, by developing transformational friendships as means of grace. Through these relationships, we come to share life and faith in spiritual conversations with the expectation that people will be awakened to the love of God, and seek out his grace for themselves. Philip Meadows -Mission and Discipleship in a Digital Culture

For my own part, I believe Christian mission and evangelism is simply this: Proclaiming and participating in the Reign (basileia, “rule”, “reign”, “kingdom”) of God that has broken into the world through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is “the good news”: the victory over sin and death, the abundant life Jesus promised, and the gift of the Indwelling Spirit are available…today. We do not need to delay gratification, awaiting some far off heaven in the sweet by and by. God’s life is available right now. So any urgency in Christian mission is the urgency of joy. It is not the urgency of doom and gloom. The urgency of turn or burn. The urgency of fear. It is, rather, the urgency that the eschatological wedding banquet is in full swing and you’re missing out. Mission work should move away from “persuasion models” to actually changing the world. The question for missionaries should shift from “How many souls were saved?” to “How have you transformed that community into the Kingdom of God?” MIchael Frost

In my mind, there is no dispute regarding the responsibility of Christ followers to share good news. Sharing good news should be seen as the very nature of Christ followers, not as a responsibility. The issue is, in what manner is good news be shared?

To adopt a dogmatic perspective on evangelism necessarily leads to the objectification of people, making them the means to a well-intentioned end. To present good news as an ultimatum stands in stark contrast to God’s loving expression of grace in the sacrifice of Christ. No person should be denied the opportunity to express their volitional gratitude to such profound good news.

The question to be answered is: “Am I a disciple of Jesus? If the answer is YES, debate on evangelism becomes moot.

Sharing Good News – Salvation

George October 5, 2019 Sharing Good News 0 Comments

This post is a continuation of thoughts and questions regarding evangelism. If you have not read my previous posts you do so HERE and HERE.

Although not directly mentioned in my initial post, I am of the opinion that our view of salvation will significantly influence why and how we share good news. The subject of salvation arose from a 2008 post, shared In part below:

Written By Jason Zahariades, the post is related to his journey and its path to Eastern Orthodoxy .You might enjoy reading the entire post. The excerpt below relates to salvation, thus the connection my post today. Jason first describes the judicial view of salvation which is has been my prevailing belief about salvation for most of my life.

For most of my Christian life as a western Evangelical, I lived and operated under the judicial view of salvation that is common to western Christianity. In addition, I had fully embraced the reduced popular version that one hears in many witnessing opportunities. It goes something like this:

“God loves you and has created you for a wonderful purpose. However, humanity rebelled against God and therefore all people are born and live under the guilt of sin, compounded by their own disobedience. We are all guilty of breaking God’s Law and because the wages of sin is death, every human being is condemned to die. But because God loves you so much, he sent his son to die on your behalf. On the cross, Jesus took upon himself the wrath and judgment reserved for you. So if you accept Jesus’ gift simply by believing it in faith, you are forgiven of your of guilt and God now views you with Jesus’ righteousness.”

Or to reduce it further into how most western evangelicals think, salvation means we’re forgiven of all of our sins and as a result, we will go to heaven when we die. This viewpoint focuses primarily on the individual and treats salvation as an event and a commodity regardless of the actual state of one’s life.

Jason then describes salvation as he has come to understand it as a result of his theological reconstruction.

Salvation is the process of restoration to what humans were created to be. Rather than sin being the breaking of God’s Law, the root of sin is the movement from being to non-being. Sin is the distortion of our humanity, of who we are supposed to be as God’s image on earth. Rather than being truly human, sin makes us subhuman. So the problem of sin is much deadlier and sinister than mere guilt or disobedience. It is the warping, distortion and brokenness of who we are as human beings. It is the full corruption of my mind, heart, body, soul and relationships. In this light, I don’t just need to be forgiven. I need to be healed. I don’t just need assurance of admittance into heaven in the future. I need assurance that who I am in the present is being transformed out of my desperate and destructive subhuman existence and into the image and likeness of God as I was divinely intended to live.
So salvation isn’t primarily about guilt and forgiveness. It’s about brokenness and healing. It’s about delusion and illumination. It’s about distortion and transformation. It’s about death and life in the here and now. As a follower of Jesus, I truly cannot say, “I am saved.” I can only say, “I am being saved.”
Christ’s crucifixion has conquered evil, destroyed death, reconciled creation, redeemed the human nature, and released God’s forgiveness. In other words, Jesus has made God’s salvation completely available to all people. But as St Paul exhorts the Philippians, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Salvation is something that is worked out progressively with God.

(From my original post): As is usually the case, I am much clearer about where I’ve come from than where I am going. Jason’s understandings are deeper than I have delved before but they reflect a direction in which my thinking is moving. I am confident that salvation is more than just having assurance of eternal life in heaven. What we believe about salvation has profound implications on our understanding of God and our relationship with him as well as how we live out our daily lives in the Kingdom of God ..and how we share that news with the world around us.

It is not my intention to lapse into discussion about the views of salvation Jason presents, though a conversation would be in order. What struck me, as I re-read, was the potential implications to how and why we share good news. Each perspective has potential to shape our message. As Jason describes the western Christian view, I cclearly hear the echoes of disenchantment. His Eastern Orthodox view embraces enchantment and tickles my progressive tendencies.

Thinking on this produces several challenges for me, and, any others so disposed:

Re-examine presuppositions and understandings of salvation. ( I suggest writing them out) I understand this is no small matter, but neither is sharing good news.
Submit all presuppositions and understanding to critical examination. (I encourage serious conversation with serious followers of Jesus)
Upon finding any presuppositions or understanding of salvation to be incorrect or incomplete, revise the previous documentation accordingly.
Determine to what extent, if any, new understandings might change why and how good news should be shared.

I do not see this as THE issue or solution to concerns regarding sharing good news. There are numerous issues related to the challenge of sharing good news in today’s culture. I increasingly resist solutions that rely on guilt to motivate and nostalgia to define methods. Modernity has made many presuppositions about how to share good news doubtful.

In succeeding posts I will continue to raise, what I see as, underlying issues and ideas to stimulate thinking and initiate meaningful and appropriate change.

Prayer is always welcomed.

Sharing Good News – Disenchantment

George September 30, 2019 Sharing Good News 0 Comments

This post continues a thread started in my previous post. If you have not read it you should do so to provide context for this post. Click HERE.

This post is directed at the question in my first post “…to what extent does the prevailing cultural ethos of tolerance, acceptance, individual rights, etc restrain our engagement with unbelievers? “ Those who are familiar with my writings will recognize the subject of disenchantment (hopefully not with regret). If you are not familiar with the subject as I have engaged it and are a bit masochistic, you can read my posts HERE.

To begin with my conclusion, Our disenchanted age is a highly significant factor related to, both, the unsuccessfulness of evangelistic efforts, and the methods adopted to deliver good news. It has been, and continues to be my contention: “Living in a disenchanted age is the most significant challenge we face in seeking a relationship with God”.

To begin the discussion, some basics about disenchantment, particularly life in our disenchanted age is helpful.

The default mode for the disenchanted age is reliance on human ability/reason and scientific laws as an ultimate source for answers to the problems of modernity. Utility, efficiency and production are our preimemmant tools to achieve full potential as human beings. Inherently, disenchantment rejects the transcendent. Mystery, fantasy, spirituality, faith, divinity, magic, art, namely, enchantment, is rendered irrelevant. our existence in a disenchanted age is reduced to one dimension, removing depth and meaning and distorting the purpose of our lives. As Beck describes, “When creation is stripped of its holy, sacred and enchanted character …it becomes–material. Raw, disenchanted material. Inert stuff. Piles of particles.”

In my first post, I questioned whether our problems related to Sharing Good News were attributable to either, of what I see, as opposing camps in the discussion.

Are progressive Christians the problem? “The progressive impulse toward tolerance and inclusion, along with a post-modern stance on truth, leaves progressive Christians in an awkward position in regards to evangelism, sharing the gospel with non-believers. Evangelism smacks of judgementalism, I’m right and you are wrong. Worse, evangelism can tend toward colonialism, the history of white missionaries being sent to save dark pagan savages.” (Beck)

Could uncompromising, evangelism zealots be the problem? “ Compelled by an urgency of doom and gloom… turn or burn.. fear, fueled by “you can”t go to heaven alone”; sharing the Gospel becomes an ultimatum to the human will. Choose Christ and live or deny Christ and go to hell.

My intuitive response to those questions is to develop thoughtful answers and suggest solutions to each problem. After some pondering, It occurs to me that the only thing that path would accomplish would be to clarify in each of the parties minds’ how right they are and how wrong the other is. Since we agree(?) we are all for Sharing Good News, it would seem to be unproductive to further solidify our disagreements. Therefore, why not recognize each position reflects honest, but real differences and are equally yoked in their ineffectiveness in Sharing Good News. I am suggesting we (both parties) share another common bond, namely disenchantment.

Starting with progressive Christians, which I most closely identify with. Progressive Christian are highly susceptible to the impact of disenchantment. The preeminent values of a disenchanted culture, …individualism, …tolerance, …authenticity, …justice… fairness, et al, comprise the lens through which we read scripture and interpret how to live out our lives as Christ followers. To the extent that evangelism is perceived to require us to violate those deeply held values, we will resist. That resistance will not be overcome by force.

Speaking to evangelism zealots, which is a part of my faith heritage. I believe disenchantment is an equal opportunity disease. Evangelism zealots are not exempt from our disenchanted culture. From their disenchanted perspective, their preeminent values are …truth, …rightness, …justice,..loyalty,…obedience, et al. Similarly, these comprise the lens through which they read the Bible and interpret how to live out their lives as Christ followers. Resistance toany violation of those values is uncompromising. Additionally, their enthusiasm for evangelism will grow or wane to the extent that their perception of evangelism resonates with those values.

For each of the parties, their deeply held values come as a result of this disenchanted age. Ironically, both attribute their values to scripture. We live In the reality of human progress and the optimism of an unbounded future, all attributable to human ingenuity and science. Each party, in their own way, embrace that reality and support its achievement. I suggest that serious engagement on that point, could lead deeper understanding and has potential for transformative change.

On the other hand, there is a transcendent reality. An awareness that we exist and recognize our need for meaning and purpose which is unfulfilled in a disenchanted reality. This is our common need which can only be fulfilled in the transcendent.

As usual, I don’t have answers, but I hope the issue has been reframed in a way that will generayte serious self-examination and meaningful conversations.

Disclaimer: I fully realize I have stepped into deep waters. I do wish to quibble over minute details. I have written with my usual personal limitations. I am painting with a broad brush and I hopeful others will help fill in the gaps.

I was wrong once before.

Category: Sharing Good News