Plants and animals who grow up in a sheltered 'tailored' environment lack the resiliency to be put in much more harsh conditions. You cannot take many lions, who've grown up in a zoo, and who have grown up in a tailored experience that includes being handed meat daily, and then drop them into the wild, and expect them to flourish.
Christ discipled people by bringing them into difficult, uncomfortable situations, where people were forced out of their comfort zones, and to deal with the uncomfortableness of a broken society.
I increasingly believe that it's resilience like this, that's missing from Western Christianity. Christianity is relegated to a Sunday morning experience, with lights and sound, and a professional concert, with a very well crafted message, - where all you have to do is show up. We're 'successful' if we can coax just enough people to volunteer in Children's ministry to keep it running.
I wonder if our current Church experience is also a part of our failure to send out resilient missionaries.
The uncomfortableness of the Missions call increasingly doesn't fit with the tailored experience that Church has become. In the last 10 years, as we've been recruiting from everywhere around the world, and we've seen that it's increasingly the 'majority world' Christians who seem much more willing to go to the hard places, to sacrifice, and do whatever it takes to get the gospel to those beyond the reach of the existing church.
So my point is this... Perhaps we're just not creating disciples with the resilience which leads them to leave the comforts of home, and to enter a truly broken and dark world.
But his final paragraph speaking of the younger generations, is of note... since he is indicating that they will have to decide on what works for them in their approach to the Great Commission (GC).
Each generation has to make their own choices as to how they will carry out the GC and what style or the nature of the messaging that they employ.
Generations of the past had to come up with theirs... and this essay is a critique of the last few.
Now, let's see how future generations will approach this as we pass the baton on to them as they take hold of the task which God has in store for them in pursuit of His mission.
And by the way... the sooner we pass on the baton to the younger generation the more satisfied we will be about the real imminence of Christ's return.
Good thoughts. To them, I add this:
Plants and animals who grow up in a sheltered 'tailored' environment lack the resiliency to be put in much more harsh conditions. You cannot take many lions, who've grown up in a zoo, and who have grown up in a tailored experience that includes being handed meat daily, and then drop them into the wild, and expect them to flourish.
Christ discipled people by bringing them into difficult, uncomfortable situations, where people were forced out of their comfort zones, and to deal with the uncomfortableness of a broken society.
I increasingly believe that it's resilience like this, that's missing from Western Christianity. Christianity is relegated to a Sunday morning experience, with lights and sound, and a professional concert, with a very well crafted message, - where all you have to do is show up. We're 'successful' if we can coax just enough people to volunteer in Children's ministry to keep it running.
I wonder if our current Church experience is also a part of our failure to send out resilient missionaries.
The uncomfortableness of the Missions call increasingly doesn't fit with the tailored experience that Church has become. In the last 10 years, as we've been recruiting from everywhere around the world, and we've seen that it's increasingly the 'majority world' Christians who seem much more willing to go to the hard places, to sacrifice, and do whatever it takes to get the gospel to those beyond the reach of the existing church.
So my point is this... Perhaps we're just not creating disciples with the resilience which leads them to leave the comforts of home, and to enter a truly broken and dark world.
Not a well organized essay.
But his final paragraph speaking of the younger generations, is of note... since he is indicating that they will have to decide on what works for them in their approach to the Great Commission (GC).
Each generation has to make their own choices as to how they will carry out the GC and what style or the nature of the messaging that they employ.
Generations of the past had to come up with theirs... and this essay is a critique of the last few.
Now, let's see how future generations will approach this as we pass the baton on to them as they take hold of the task which God has in store for them in pursuit of His mission.
And by the way... the sooner we pass on the baton to the younger generation the more satisfied we will be about the real imminence of Christ's return.
Well said, Ted!
Your points on the imminency of the return of Christ and reductionism are especially well-made.
However, I must ask if this all a mute argument since the faxangelists have essentially finished the task?
;-))
And all God's people said, AMEN!!!