Christ

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Four models
Christ
culture
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To be a disciple of Jesus means to live life not
standing against, or closing in, or shutting out,
but walking alongside.- Leonard Sweet We have
to understand that we cannot stand against or
above culture (because culture really equals
people) and neither can we allow the Gospel to be
absorbed into it- we must have a dialectical
stand- respecting, using and even enjoying the
tension. Seeking those redemptive windows
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"I don't deny that there should be priests to
remind men that they will one day die. I only
say it is necessary to have another kind of
priests, called poets, actually to remind men
that they are not dead yet." --G.K. Chesterton
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Engaging in a positive dialogue with culture
which affirms, appreciates, questions and when
appropriate, challenges. We must fight the
impulse to throw out the baby with the
bath-water, withdrawing from the world by
creating parallel structures, but must, like
Christ, enter into, the structures of the world,
investing, enjoying, challenging, confronting
But like Christ, always coming from that position
of servanthood and humility.
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Staubs book- Impressions? Likes,
Dislikes? Those who wholeheartedly embark on
this path will end up seeming both too Christian
for their pagan friends and too pagan for their
Christian friends.
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• Some main points-
• 1. Staying is easier than going.
• Jesus is always on the move and wants us to
  follow Him.
• This ties back to the idea of the Missio Dei- God
  is a sending God, God is a sent God. We are a
  sent church and need to be a sending church. Our
  own culture is a missionary context, a field we
  are sent to. We need to treat it like we would a
  missionary field- doing our best to understand
  the culture and context, contextualizing the
  Gospel, finding redemptive windows and joining
  the people as a productive member of the
  community, not standing apart in judgment

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The Christian who is too Christian doesnt love
the world enough to enter fully into it, and the
Christian who is too pagan doesnt love Jesus
enough to make a difference while there.
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1. Three Bad Models a. 1- Many Christians have
no pagan friends. b. 2 Many Christians befriend
pagans only to try to convert them 1. Friends vs
targets for evangelism 2. The progressive nature
of the media assignment c. 3 Many Christians Do
Not influence their pagan friends.
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1. A better way Being a true friend a. Allow
friendships to grow naturally out of daily
activities and interests, dont need to
strategize or force it. 2. Jesus didnt just
make friends with social equals, but with the
poor and marginalized as well.
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1. Go to the Party 2. See- Keep your eyes open to
what God is doing around you 3. Feel- 4. Think- 5.
Tailor your message 6. Learn to
exegete- 7. Listen to the Music 8. See the Movie-
9. Read the book 10. Tell short
stories- a. Tell your story b. Ask for theirs
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1. Be humble 2. In controversy, show you care.
3. Wait for the right timing a. Evangelists as
midwife- well talk more about this in the second
hour 4. Expect magnificent defeats
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How long would you have to conduct man on the
street interviews with people free-associating
on the words evangelical or Christian before
they came up with the phrase Really good
listeners??? Really creative people? I dont
agree with them, but they are a real positive
force in society
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McClarens book
Thesis/main word-picture Evangelism as dance,
rather than wrestling
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Three realizations
1. Many people want to talk about God, but not
just anybody is safe to talk to. 2. You have to
see, like, approach, and serve people if you want
to be their spiritual friend 3. Many people have
stayed away from Christianity for good reasons
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Eight Factors
1. The Relational factor count conversations not
just conversions 2. The Narrative Factor
Listen to their story, share your story, and
share Gods story, not just propositions or
formulas 3. The Communal Factor Expect
conversion to normally occur in the context of
authentic Christian community, not just in the
context of information
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Eight Factors
4. The Journey Factor See disciple-making as a
holistic process and unending journey, not just a
conversion event 5. The Holy Spirit factor
Believe that God is at work out there in
everyone, not just in here in the church. 6.
The Learning factor See evangelism as a part of
your own discipleship- not just the other persons
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Eight Factors
7. The Missional factor see evangelism as
recruiting people for Gods mission on earth, not
just for heaven (The Gospel is about more than
life after death) 8. The Service factor See
evangelism as one facet of our identity as
servants to all
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Five Themes for a New Apologetic

• We dont just offer answers, we offer mysteries.
• Computers are useless- they can only give you
  answers.- Picasso
• Postmoderns dont want answers so much as they
  want help with the questions, help in choosing
  what questions their lives should be asking and
  answering.- Sweet

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Five Themes for a New Apologetic
2. We dont debate minutiae we focus on
essentials If you allow yourself to be drawn
down into a debate, into talking about carbon
dating and whether dinosaurs could or couldnt
fit on the ark, you are already lost.- R.W.
Hyatt, Jr Is there a God Can He be known? What
is He like? Todd Hunters method
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Five Themes for a New Apologetic
3. We dont push credibility alone we also
stress plausibility Credibility has to do with
the intellectual coherence and verifiable
evidence for our faith Plausibility has to do
with its beauty and satisfactions- balanced
realistically with its costs and struggles- as it
is lived out in real life -McClaren, COTOS, pg 79
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Five Themes for a New Apologetic
4. We dont condemn our competitors we see them
as colleagues of sorts and reason with them with
winsome gentleness and respect. Get beyond name
calling as an apologetic We cant keep
comparing our best with their worst and feeling
smug. -McClaren, COTOS, pg 81
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Five Themes for a New Apologetic
5. We dont dont rush people we help them at a
healthy pace The evangelist is never coercive,
pushy, combative rather she is patient and
gentle like a midwife, knowing that the giving of
life takes time and cannot be rushed without
potentially lethal damage. -McClaren, MRTYR, pg
28 Its like learning a language
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Bobs Summary
Give people a place to belong before they
believe Use Christian Community as a tool to
bring people to faith, not their reward for
joining the club Teach them to pray Let them
serve Walk with them Be authentic
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