Obviously this is a bit of a caricature, but theology does effect how we view the process of evangelism, and in turn how we evangelize. How might different aspects of the evangelical church’s theology negatively effect how we witness? How might we improve our sharing of our faith in word and deed?
The Institute for Cultural Engagement, an official program of Multnomah University and Biblical Seminary
Ha ha ha. That was funnn-eeee. That’s about all I have to say in response to your deep, proving questions. Really though, I do agree that it is surely intertwined, and this is why I believe that the way we live, the way we “share the gospel” must must be done intentionally and thoughtfully. The only way to do this, I believe is to really wrestle through theological questions and issues. The way we view ecclesiology, eschatology, soteriology…all those esoteric sounding words drastically affect the way we live our lives. Similarly, if we are too concerned with nailing down a solid theology, we may also miss the forest for the trees and look back realizing we were weighed down by “ology”s that we forgot the simple–and most challenging–call to love in action and truth. Sometimes it’s so much easier to hide behind a book with a furrowed brow than to figure out what it really feels like to love a neighbor. But again, the delicate balance, in my estimation, is where it’s at–and I do agree that it is incredibly important to examine why and how we are living our lives as Christians.
Thanks, Kelsi. This was more an excuse to share the monergism dance, which should be included in any gospel presentation for “My dance will not return to me empty”… or something like that. But to answer my own question, I think if we don’t take the time to reflect some, we tend to go with the flow and sometimes this leads us into unhelpful directions. To offer one example, and I think I’m going to post on this further, but I’m noticing that in a few circles, blasting the brokenness of the church has, in a way, become an evangelistic method. I know I’ve been guilty of this. In a sense, it’s the attractional model popping up again: “We’re just like you, we don’t like those guys either.” And I wonder if I haven’t seen some of the same results as with what is usually considered the attractional model: a tendency towards somewhat shallow discipleship and a weak sense of community in the church and between churches.