What is the gospel we share?

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What is the gospel we share?
Ecumenism, Mission and Evangelisation Northampton
Diocese Ecumenical Commission

• A presentation by
• Jim Currin, Church Army Captain,
• Secretary for Evangelisation
• Churches Together in England

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Introduction many facets
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Aim of the day
to find a new compass for Ecumenism, mission and
evangelisation in 2012
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Compass is the Gospel

• Four books of the Bible
• Sunday reading
• Message of salvation
• swear gospel truth
• Doctrine
• Preaching
• Good news
• Etc

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What is the gospel we share?
Answers on a post card please ... The gospel
message is ...
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Text from 40 cards
www.wordle.net www.jesus360.org.uk (RC
Northampton)
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Compare with FPE Conference
www.wordle.net www.jesus360.org.uk (FPE
Conference)
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Premise
the western church has largely inherited St
Pauls model of mission and evangelisation

• 300 books
• Protestant systematic theology
• Catholic St Paul primary source EC
• Mar Thoma St Paul the architect
• Missionary Methods St Pauls or Ours?
• Conversion, and being saved language
• Even
• ... born again used to fit Pauline structure ...

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Premise seen in -

• Church
• Language
• Letters
• Theology
• Structure
• Sermons
• Etc
• Discuss Past and Present / Right /
  wrong?

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St Pauls gospel explanation

• Gospel .. Regarding his son Rom 13
• power of God for salvation Rom 116
• Delivered to death for our sins and raised to
  life for our justification Rom 4 25
• Wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
  eternal life in Christ Rom 623
• Grace given you in Christ Jesus 1Cor 14
• sent .. To preach the gospel 1Cor 117
• we preach Christ crucified .. Christ the power
  of God 1 Cor 124
• Q who were the words written for?

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Paulin ism Frost Hirsch Shaping p112/3

• Preaching and church planting
• Church pattern and order
• Theology to Early Church
• Etc, so Paul architect
• BUT who is the rock?
• What are the great theological / missiological
  themes which St Paul explored, shaped, presented
  and handed down to us?

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Pauls great theological themes

• Redemption
• Justification
• Sanctification
• Salvation
• Election
• Etc
• gtgtgt Add?

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NB Evangelisation / experience

• Parents
• Osmosis
• Conversion
• Pastoral
• Counselling
• Vision
• Healing
• Etc
• Q what was Pauls experience? Ergo?

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Examples of St Paul as norm

• Roland Alan Missionary Methods
• CH Dodd Apostolic Preaching
• John Finney Emerging Evangelism
• The Biblical Foundation for Mission
• Arguments for Paul gt Jesus x4
• Almost all of Jesus universal commissions found
  int he Gospels are presented as post-Easter
  contexts....Thus the Gospels do not offer strong
  evidence that during his lifetime Jesus of
  Nazareth engaged in an explicitly universal
  mission, no did he so commission his disciples
  p142

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Start from different place?

• Scripture
• Tradition
• Reason
• Experience
• Holy Spirit
• Kingdom
• Old Testament
• Jesus
• Incarnation
• Crucifixion
• Resurrection
• Q - your starting place?

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Different place Gospels

• Task to find
• The gospel
• in the Gospels
• Q What is the message of Jesus?

A new compass for ecumenism, mission and
evangelisation?
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NB Paul points to Jesus

• Follow me Mt 419
• Blessed a re the poor in spirit for theirs is
  the kingdom of heaven Mt 53
• Ask and it will be given to you Mt 77
• Take up your cross Mt 16 24
• Your sins are forgiven Mark 25
• Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the
  poor Mk 10 17-20
• etc
• Q who were the words written for?
• A John 20 30, 31.

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Introduce 360 - not a formula
360 used in

• Pictures
• Interview
• Antivirus
• Xbox
• Digger
• ADD
• Jesus 360?

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Jesus 360 starting point?
Etc
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Lessons from the Master

• Bill Hybells Contagious Christian
• Martin Hengel composite Gospel
• James M Robinson Q
• Tom Wright For everyone
• Robin Gamble
• Pope Benedict XVI
• .... etc

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360 jigsaw

• Pieces to big picture
• From all four Gospels
• Removing duplicates
• Listing as given words of Jesus
• Taking top 50
• Looking at all facets
• Possible answers to question what must I do to
  inherit eternal life.

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Jesus 360

• All angles
• All directions
• Contradictory
• Paradoxical
• gt Experience of paradox?
• gt Faith Development / stages of faith
• gtgt Cyprian Smith, The Way of paradox. DLT

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Gospel - exciting adventure
Paradox
Paradox
Paradox
Paradox
Paradox
Paradox
Paradox in the Gospel?
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The 360 Gospel of Jesus

• Jesus model is not one size fits all. Just like
  the facets of a diamond it depends on the angle
  as to what you see
• Repent and believe
• Follow me
• You must be born again.
• Give away your goods to the poor
• Take up your cross
• etc

Add?
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Pastor and Evangelist story
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Gospel in the Gospels

• Q What must I do? Answer x2!
• Read all 4 Gospels
• Lose duplicates
• List all possible answers (84)
• Eliminate to get top 50
• Add all texts to www.wordle.net
• gtgt What are possible texts?
• NB accept text out of context pretext, BUT
  argument from Pope Benedict XVI in Jesus of
  Nazareth about historical criticism method

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Word picture of top 50 texts
Q - What does this word cloud say to us about
the gospel?
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Headlines counted in top 50 texts

• Repentance of sin (x16)
• Follow and love me (x13)
• Live a righteous life (x8)
• Care for others (x8)
• Believe and trust for eternal life (x13)

Q How close to St Paul? Q Implications for
ecumenism, mission / evangelisation?
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The compass the gospel in the Gospels

• Principles
• Three stories
• Their story and Gods story gt my story
• What they hear is more important than what I say
• At appropriate time, name the name of Jesus
• Dont point finger Jesus didnt
• The motivation, and the gift, is love
• John 316 gospel in a nutshell

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Ecumenism and Evangelisation

• Paradox of unity (Vine / branches)
• Growth at the edge
• Adventure people / God
• Look to Jesus pioneer and perfecter

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Facets of the gospel for all

• Their need gt ours
• Prayer, Care, Share ... dare!
• Name the name of Jesus
• Individualise the message

PLAY You tube video J John He is the one
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Inherited evangelism model?

• Preaching
• Bible bashing
• Pressure
• Judgement

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New evangelism model?

• Three relationships

Ecumenism? Mission? Evangelisation?
God
You
Me
Sharing faith the Jesus way Bible Reading
Fellowship
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Mission together - principle

• Christ's intercessory (high priestly) prayer
• I pray also for those who will believe in me
  through their message, that all of them may be
  one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in
  you. May they also be in us so that the world may
  believe that you have sent me.'
• John 17 20b,21.

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Swanwick Declaration 1987

• 'It is our conviction that, as a matter of policy
  at all levels and in all places, our churches
  must now move from co-operation to clear
  commitment to each other, in search of the unity
  for which Christ prayed and in common evangelism
  and service of the world'.

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Prayer of Churches Together

• Lord God, we thank youFor calling us into the
  companyOf those who trust in ChristAnd seek to
  obey his will.May your Spirit guide and
  strengthen usIn mission and service to your
  worldFor we are strangers no longerBut
  pilgrims together on the way to your
  Kingdom.Amen

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Five Marks of Mission

1. To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom
2. To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
3. To respond to human need by loving service
4. To seek to transform unjust structures of society
   
5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation
   and sustain and renew the life of earth.

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Five Marks of Unity

1. Working together
2. Mutual accountability
3. Visible unity
4. Whole inhabited earth
5. Coming kingdom of God

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Missio dei the 'mission of God'.

• The missiologist David Bosch is often quoted as
  saying 'mission is not primarily an activity of
  the church, but an attribute of God. God is a
  missionary God'.
• (David Bosch in Transforming Mission, Maryknoll
  Orbis Books 1991. p 389/310).

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The Lund Principle

• Since the World Faith and Order conference at
  Lund in 1952, the churches have been asked
  whether they 'should not act together in all
  matters except those which deep differences of
  conviction compel them to act separately? The
  question is sometimes asked the other way round!

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Churches Together in England

• 'Churches Together in England is a visible sign
  of the churches commitment as they seek a
  deepening of communion with Christ and one
  another, and proclaim the Gospel together by
  common witness and service. It's strength comes
  from people from different traditions finding new
  ways to work and worship together.
• Annual Report.

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'Churches Together' and 'churches together'

• England
• 2500 local 'Churches Together' groups, some of
  which like Bristol and Cambridge have a long
  history going back to the 1920's and 30's. Many
  were formed after World War II when the World
  Council of Churches came in to being, especially
  in the 50's/60's/70's
• 800 formal Local Ecumenical Partnerships

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There are 6 kinds of LEP

• 1. Single Congregation Partnerships
• 2. Congregations in Covenanted
• 3. Shared Building
• 4. Chaplaincy Partnerships
• 5. Mission Partnerships
• 6. Education Partnerships

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Hope 08 1500 gps of churches

• 88.2 report that as a result of Hope08 their
  church's attitude towards other Christian groups
  and denominations improved. In areas where
  inter-church partnerships were already in place,
  71 thought these working relationships were
  strengthened. No one thought attitudes had got
  worse as a result of Hope08.

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Hope 08 churches involved

• 91.7 said Baptists involved
• 88.9 CofE
• 77.8 Methodists
• 58.3 Roman Catholics
• 55.6 Salvation Army
• 50.0 URC
• (47.2 said other new churches)
• 41.7 AOG

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Mutual Respect and Interdependence MRI

• Phrase has been key for 20 years in overseas
  mission activity and reports of the Council for
  World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council
  of Churches.
• The MRI principle, it has lead to fundamental
  changes in how mission is conducted, especially
  overseas (eg missionaries are now called 'mission
  partners') and is now seen by many as a guiding
  principle for mission in the UK.

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The Great Commission

• A key mandate for mission comes from the Great
  Commission of Jesus
• 'Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority
  in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
  baptising them in the name of the Father and of
  the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them
  to obey everything I have commanded you. And
  surely I am with you always, to the very end of
  the age.'
• (Mt 28 18-20)

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2012 Mission Together

• Unprecedented

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www.cte.org.uk/2012missiontogether
Web resource
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Contact

• Jim.currin_at_cte.org.uk