Sundays here in Asia are a time when I try to read, pray, and generally emotionally unwind. Today is a little different. I started out the morning by reading an article forwarded to me by my friend Troy Coons and it has me thinking.
In World Magazine’s article “The ‘new legalism’”, author Anthony Bradley writes on “how the push to be ‘radical’ and ‘missional’ discourages ordinary people in ordinary places from doing ordinary things to the glory of God”.
In this article, the author criticizes David Platt and other Christian leaders in America for calling people to live out “radical” Christianity. David and others place a great deal of effort in calling their churches to live their lives consistent with the teachings of Christ. Embedded in this teaching is caring about issues such as poverty alleviation, orphan care, and people groups who have never been exposed to the Gospel of Christ.
The author of this article claims that this teaching is leading to “legalism”, resulting in Christians feeling guilt over leading “normal, quiet Christian lives.” Specifically, teachers such as David Platt cause Christians “to experience an intense amount of shame for simply being ordinary Christians who desire to love God and love their neighbors.”
The heart behind this article, I think, is to free people up to simply serve and enjoy Christ where they are in life. There is no such thing as “varsity Christianity”, with the first-teamers being missionaries and pastors and the “b-team” being those lowly others who are content to live “ordinary lives” in suburbia America. I completely agree with this point. There is no hierarchy within the body of Christ. None.
However, while I appreciate the sentiment and agree with some of this article, I think the author completely misses the overall point of this teaching.
For most of my Christian life, I have been consistently annoyed by this line of thinking. Those that are calling people to simply care about the world at large and the things that Christ Himself called us to care about are often branded “legalists” by the broader Christian church. This article is just the latest in this tradition.
Here is my response . . . stop the dichotomy!
Christ is not calling us to love the world OR our neighbors. He is not beseeching us to have a heart for world evangelism OR be content in where we live. Christ is calling us to care for all of this, while being content in our lives. It is not a question of “either/or”, but rather the case of “both/and”.
Christ calls us to BOTH be content with our “quiet, ordinary Christian lives” AND to be a part of the world-wide Christian church in “radically” loving the world at large with the message and love of Christ Jesus.
This is David Platt’s message and this is Biblical teaching. This is NOT “radical”, but rather the normal Christian life.
The bottom line is that as Christians we are to care about the things the Bible tells us to care about. Love our neighbor AND go to all nations. Love our own families AND care for the widows and orphans of our communities (and the world).
We are to work towards the elimination of sex trafficking and the Gospel transformation of the people within this world, both the victims and the purveyors of this ongoing tragedy. However, we are also to care about our neighbors who are struggling with porn addiction and/or marital conflict.
It is not an “either/or”, but rather a “both/and” lifestyle Christ calls us to lead.
The call of Biblical Christianity should move us with passion in our lives, purpose in our callings, and joy in our Savior and His salvation. It is Christ who desires that none should perish, but for “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” as we see in 1 Timothy 2:4 and several other such passages.
This should move us to want to be a part of places in the world where the Gospel is absent and in issues such as orphan care and social justice. This doesn’t mean that we all need to physically go to these places, but it does mean we should care about, pray for, and do whatever we can do, where ever we live, for issues such as these; issues which the Bible clearly spells out are important to God.
The result should not be the shame and guilt of “legalism”, but rather the joy of our Savior who both has saved me as an individual and desires this same joy to spread to other places and people who are yet to experience the joy of Christ and His Gospel freedom.
It is not a case of EITHER being joyful and content where ever you are and in whatever vocation you are serving within OR “living radically” in caring about the unreached and underserved of the world. The teaching of Christ and the liberation of the Gospel is much bigger and more wonderful than this “either/or” mentality.
The Gospel of Christ should embolden and inspire us. . . BOTH to serve with joy and contentment where ever we are, no matter our occupation. . . AND to pray for, give to, and sacrificially strive towards the work of redemption in places and peoples we may never meet face to face.
The proper application of this will not result in “legalism” and shame, but rather “the joy of my salvation” to the glory of God!
Agreed!
Thanks. . . nice blog!
John, I have found your post and this discussion to be very thought provoking and enlightening. I found a quote from C.S.Lewis in a Methodist Sunday School lesson that speaks on this subject.
From North Georgia Advocate, May 5, 2013:
“C.S.Lewis stated, ‘When the Lord returns,it matters not whether we are in a great crusade to free the slaves or whether we are tending the pigs. The important thing is that we be found at our posts, doing our duty.’ Amen and amen!”
This sounds like a Lewis endorsement of your both/and position to me!
Thanks Big Becky! Great quote from C.S. Lewis here. I completely agree. Martin Luther also often taught on this concept.
Thanks and I hope you are well!
Great post, I agree. The original article brought up a good and needed discussion, but this is where I land too, both/and.
Thanks. I also agree that the discussion needs to take place and I appreciate World Magazine broaching such topics. However, I do believe the author here is treading on his how experiential presuppositions which are clouding his own judgement here.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
After reading your post, I read the article you referenced above. Oh boy is there a lot I could say in response. Good thing for you (and your other readers), it’s late here in Indo and I need some sleep!
Firstly, LOVED the post! Loved the strength of thought, the words, the voice. One of my favourites, I’d have to say.
Secondly, our staff reading this year was Christopher Wright’s book The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church. (Have you read it? If not, I’d love to send it to you…SO GOOD!) I’ll just leave a couple of quotes hopefully in support of what you’ve posted above….
“It’s not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world,
as that God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for
the church; the church was made for mission- God’s mission.”
“Mission arises from the heart of God himself, and is communicated from
his heart to ours. Mission is the global outreach of the global people of a
global God.”
So what’s “radical’ and “missional” is that God is doing what he’s always been doing…asking us, his people to participate with him in his redemptive work. I don’t see ‘legalism’… I see life – Believers behaving like the People of God because of the mission of God.
G’night! Grace & peace
Alexis, thanks for your response and thoughts to this post. Great quotes as an addition to my thoughts here!
I have not read this book, but I’ll check it out.
Thanks again for your words here. I was a little nervous putting this one out there, as it is not my usual tone. Thanks for your affirmation in this!
Hey, sometimes this is exactly what is needed… Brothers and sisters to help build from a Biblical perspective and to question & challenge & discuss/debate. The tone did not hit like condemnation or judgement… rather challenge from conviction and in love.
Do you read e-books or actual books? If it’s okay with you, may I gift you an ebook or send a book to you as a ‘Thanks’ for sharing Life from your vantage point? If it’s okay with you, I would need an email address or actual address. Just don’t know how to get it to you otherwise and think that you would enjoy the read. I think you will have my email from when I signed up for receiving notifications if you are okay with it.
Wow, thanks for your generosity. I actually looked it up already, thought it looked good, and bought it for my Nook. Thanks for the offer, but I have already beat you to the punch.
Thanks for the thought, though, and the suggestion on the book!
Good on ya for getting the book, John! I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts. After reading some of what your friends have been posting, this seems a ‘hot’ topic. Decided to get David Platt’s book “Radical”. Think I should read it for myself. Need to see the big picture of what he’s written to fully understand the dilemma that Anthony Bradley is communicating.
Yeah, it does seem to have stired something up in many of us. Definitely was not prepared for this post to be read by so many people.
I’ll keep you posted on the book. Might be a little while till I can get to it, but I look forward to reading it!
thoughtful post john, i agree with you.
love for God results in love for others, and love for His mission
mt 22:36-40 and mt 28:18-20 both apply for all of us
Thanks brother! Just read your update and am praying for you. Look forward to hearing more about GSU.
Jeremiah 29:4-7 shows one view of how we should be “living in exile” as believers in Christ these days as we wait for His coming to wind things up.
Hebrews 13:12-17 shows another view of our “living in exile” these days.
Matthew 28:19-20 shows still another view.
.All three are needed for proper balance.- but keep them all in balance!
1.) Live as “ordinary” people to make a difference in the sphere of influence in which you find yourself.
2.) But be committed to doing good and sharing with others where you are because “with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Heb. 13:16)
3. And always be committed to what God wants to do about reaching out to those who have never heard His message. (That may be going, praying or funding others.)
Today a former Johns Hopkins University professor who has lived for Christ in the classroom for 37 years shared these thoughts with our S.S. class in church.
Great points, Don. I like the way your SS put out these points. Definitely what I am trying to communicate, but looks like you friend did it in a much better, more clear way!
Love your response! Jeff and I have been talking about this all day!
Thanks Rachel. . . I really appreciate hearing from you on this. I’m really encouraged you and Jeff would take the time to read and talk about this post.
Hope you guys are well!
So grateful for this! I actually wrote about the same thing in the world of orphan care yesterday. Posted this on my wall. So grateful for your willingness to share!
Thank you, Catie. I just read several posts on your blog. . . great stuff! Thanks for your comments here and for your advocacy of orphans. Really encouraging to read and see!
Yes! Thank you, friend! So appreciate you speaking into this. 🙂
Thanks Vicky, great hearing from you!
Amen! This is written a thousand times better than the referenced article. Personally, I question whether Anthony Bradley actually READ David Platt’s book at all, or is just writing this reactionary post because some misguided young person came to him in frustration and he’s looking for a reason to remain comfortable. There is no legalism in the teaching of Platt and others to live on mission…all you have to do is listen to him preach for five minutes…it’s all out of an overflow of transforming grace and joy in the life of a disciple of Christ! It is *absolutely* a both/and proposition! No one ever said we must say yes to every opportunity for ministry that comes along, but we must hear and respond to the Lord’s call to act. To love our neighbor, to love the orphan, to love the Muslim in Indonesia, to love our own family sacrificially. All of it.
Yes.
Thanks for chiming in on this! Yeah, I read an article by the author a few years ago criticizing David. This time I just felt I needed to speak up.
I just checked out your blog. Looks great!
Well done, John! I really enjoyed reading this. Glad to have found your blog! I’ve had similar thoughts to this author, but I reached a different conclusion much like you. It seems to me that whenever shame is a product from hearing the Word of God (which is what men like David Platt preach), the problem is (most often) in the hearer’s heart and not the speaker’s words. That is from personal experience! 🙂
I agree, Elizabeth. I completely agree.
Thanks for “finding” my blog. . . hope you guys are well!
Amen amen amen amen amen. I’ve been tossing around the idea of blogging a response to that article, but frankly, the idea wore me plumb out. Thank you for this!!!
Thanks!
Well said, well said. Wow–this really makes me think. Thanks for posting this!
Thanks, my friend. We are overdue for a conversation.
Great response! The original article and your post definitely bring up great things to think through and talk about. Whenever I hear things from David Platt and others like him it challenges me, not shames me, to take a look at my life and see if I am living for Christ where he is calling me to. I really like how you simplify everything down to both/and.
Thanks Teri. . . missed having your comments on the blog the past few months!
Hope you guys are well. Miss you guys!
Amen! Love that you’re response is simple, respectful, and proper to God’s word. I think it’s lovely that God is missional, so we are to be missional, and it included “here, near, and far away”…
Thanks!
I appreciate your thoughts, Gunter. The Christian life is not an either/or when it comes to love. But speaking as one who got to the point that I literally could barely function because I was so terribly burned out, came to the very brink of losing my faith, and working with a TON of young Christian women who function as if they are still in chains because they feel so incredibly guilty about not being “radical” enough (I just had yet another conversation about it with someone this week), I think Anthony actually calls the church to reconsider how we’ve been teaching a few things. Are we ALL called to preach to the nations AND rescue the trafficked AND minister to the poor AND teach the Word to those who are young in the faith AND… AND… AND… This is where I had to personally surrender my dreams of grandeur fostered largely by youth conferences, college conferences, and – dare I say it – work conferences when I was in ministry. I CAN’T DO IT ALL.
This is the point of Anthony’s article. Millennials carry a heavy weight of being more aware of the world’s injustices than any previous generation, while simultaneously being the most individually narcissistic generation in a long, long time. The conclusion, then, is that every Christian is called to be the Apostle Paul (who, by the way, didn’t organize anti-slavery movements, adopt any orphans that we’re aware of, or have any neighbors to speak of as he was traveling). I’m sorry, but that’s false theology.
The purpose of the Church is that some are the hands, some are the feet, some are the pinky finger. God has called each of us individually to be part of the whole – therefore all together taking care of the work of the Kingdom. For me, it has to be that I do what God has put in front of me to do. If He brings an international non-Christian in my path for me to minister to, fantastic. If He burdens my heart specifically for helping in the anti-trafficking movement, glorious. And if He simply calls me to love my husband, our neighbors who are broken, and the young women in my Bible study whom I have the awesome privilege of teaching God’s Word, then I have to be content with the fact that I am being faithful to do what He has called me to do at this season of my life, just like you have to be content with the fact that you are doing what God has called you to do at this time in your life.
Leaders are right to call the Church as a whole to living in light of God’s Kingdom instead of America’s kingdom. But it has to be in the context of the whole Church and the “radical” nature of grace. God will raise up people to care for each of those sectors of His Kingdom – there’s no need to make every person feel like s/he is not a true Christian if s/he isn’t adopting all the orphans in the county, while also preaching to the nations, while also working at the homeless shelter, while also leading a Bible study with your unreached neighbors – to say nothing of caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ within our own church bodies who are in need.
The call of a pastor is not to shame people into “doing” enough, even if he says it should be out of love for Christ. Quite honestly, that just adds another layer of shame… I must not love Jesus enough if I’m not saving the world! Nor is that the Gospel: “I love You, but clearly you don’t love me enough, you selfish white-washed tombs/brood of vipers.” Jesus said things along those lines, but to His enemies, not His children.
How do we draw people in the Church to [collectively, but on an individual assignment basis] take care of the world? WE DON’T!! The Holy Spirit does! And He does that as pastors and teachers speak of His unfathomable love for us. We simply can’t serve others out of love for Christ if we’ve been given a list of what we must DO to love Jesus. The love comes first. HE will direct in what manner we show it when we are ready for it. Those people who have experienced and grown in that love are the most effective missionaries, social justice advocates, witnesses for Christ, and neighbors. There have been some pretty detrimental “missionaries” who have been sent to the mission field because they got hyped up at a conference and then felt guilty for not being “sold out” enough to Jesus.
Sorry for the blog post (or whole article?) response, but as you can tell, it’s a topic that has become near and dear to my heart as I’ve recovered from trying to save the world all by myself. You know we love you and praise God for the work He has called you to do!
Hey Becca, thank you so much for taking the time to share much of your own pains and story in this. I really do appreciate this. Seriously.
I completely get where you are coming from, having teetered on burn-out myself from time to time. I honestly get and agree with EVERYTHING you are saying here. I also, honestly, don’t see where I am disagreeing with you in this post.
I completely agree that we are all not called to these things. Much of the examples I mention here in this post, I personally very little to nothing to do with them in ministry.
My main heart in this is that I honestly think we as the evangelical church in America are constantly putting up “straw men” of people whom are a little different from us in the faith. We then paint them as all good OR all bad. I felt the World article was doing that with David (and others). I didn’t think it was balanced for faith, especially given a different article the same writer wrote about David two years ago.
Sorry to have brought up some bad memories and wounds for you in this post. I really do hope to hear more about this from both you and Nagib whenever I find myself back in Atlanta.
Hope you guys are well and really do look forward to seeing you guys as a married couple one of these days!
Grateful for you and Nagib,
John
I agree with everything you have said in response to that other article. Our Senior Pastor has been preaching on this topic for the last six weeks. We have been called to be radicals, Jesus was a radical!
Thanks Tatuu, and thanks for getting me the links to the messages. . . look forward to listening. Thanks!
Gunter, thanks for this post, really enjoyed your thoughts!
Thanks Jessica. . . praying about you guys are you sum things up there in America!
Amen! Loved this post, I agree. Hugs!!!
Thanks Jane!
This is fantastic! I suppose I’ve had these thoughts floating vaguely around in my head but never thought to articulate them; thanks for doing it so well.
Thanks Sindy. . . this directly applies to you guys and what you are doing there in TN. Hope you are having a good week!
Thanks for the post John. I couldn’t agree with you more. I am a “layman” (I hate that term). I am married, have a family, and live and work in a small town in middle America. I guess I fit the definition of the suburban quiet Christian.
And while my vocation is not in the ministry, per se, I have been blessed to be able to go on missions to such far away places as Africa, Asia, Central America, and other places which cannot be named for fear of endangering those who remain.
In actuality, all of us who call ourselves Christians are missionaries.
The thing that bothers me most about the article and about some of the responses to your post, is the coupling of Christianity with shame and guilt about not doing enough fort the Kingdom.
One thing that I think many Christians find themselves trying to do, even after they have accepted Christ as their savior, is “earn” their salvation. It can’t be done. It is a gift. A free gift. It is Grace.
If we could “earn” it, then it would be accompanied by such things as pride, envy, and self-righteousness. It would also be accompanied by such feelings as failure, defeat, and shame at not being able to do enough, because we never could, and never will be able to do enough.
However, since God in his wisdom chose to make it a gift, it frees us to serve him humbly, without pride of personal accomplishment, nor fear of failure, and also without guilt and shame. Love for Christ and for others is our motive, not personal achievement. And that love and joy in partnering with Christ is its own reward.
What’s more, our attempts to earn salvation is an affront to God. It is telling him that what he did was not enough.
If we believe that it is the Spirit of God that does the changing, as we must, then we must remember that we are called only to be witnesses, not salesmen. Our job is to go and tell, whether it be across the globe, or across the street. After that we must trust God to do the changing, not us.
The truly comforting thing is the certain knowledge that God’s perfect plan has already been accomplished. He is just extending to us the joy of partnering with him to tie up the loose ends.
Great stuff. . . thanks for adding to this post through you experience!
I especially agree with your thought in saying, “The truly comforting thing is the certain knowledge that God’s perfect plan has already been accomplished. He is just extending to us the joy of partnering with him to tie up the loose ends.”
Thanks!
This is a brilliantly done response, John.
I suppose, given my name, it will be easy to see where I come in on the issue.
Anthony addresses a legitimate concern, but in the process suggests tossing the baby out with the bathwater. The push for urban churches/ministry/whatever comes as the result of people fleeing the urban core in favour of safer suburban communities. Now we find ourselves in need of people who can go back into the core and continue to perform mission there as well. This can be done with support of people who feel called be in the suburbs but still want to help the people who feel called to the urban core.
It’s balance. They both need each other.
Anthony is correct to be concerned about how we have gone about mission (although he seems to be applying a different understanding of mission and radical than I would understand). Mission doesn’t need to be any more difficult that finding what your sphere of influence is, and then, through the guidance and ministry of the Spirit, become active in it. It’s not all grand gestures. Radical doesn’t need to mean “crazy”, the love Jesus demonstrates and calls us to, in its very definition, is radical and should leave us going, “But why? What did I do to deserve this?” Which, again, can be accomplished in the simple process of developing, authentic, meaningful relationships with people, surrendered in prayer.
Anthony’s article is just another push in the opposite direction in the pendulum swing of missions. We always seem to push hard one way or another but never seek out balance.
Thanks Mr. “Urban”. I also agree that Dr. Bradley does bring up some good points and I do know that guilt as a motivation does show it’s ugly head from time to time. However, I completely agree that he is completely over-reacting here. It truly is an over correction.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I agree with John’s point here. And Mainlinemom is probably right too that the CT writer may not have actually read the book so most of his critique is inaccurate.
However, if a significant number of people are being mislead by Radical (I am not sure they are, but I have seen several unhealthy responses both in the local church community and the campus ministry), then correcting David Platt may be justified.
My personal opinion is the problem is type of vehicle used to convey “Radical” not the engine. How can a pastor correctly engage an audience across the internet and through a nationally promoted book on a topic this deep and complex? Radical makes sense and is helpful in certain contexts for certain people. Beyond that, it is a dangerous over simplification of what is wrong with Christianity in America. In my opinion almost all the “prophetic” mega-preachers make this same offense. (ie Lordship salvation teaching, new Calvinism, leadership movement, men’s movement…)
Of course we American Christians are not radical and we should be. But the reason is way more nuanced and messy than what a gut wrenching book or sermon can faithfully address.
John, thanks for being radical and messy!!
Trent, man, I miss our long “solving the issues of the world” conversations we had many years ago. Thanks for getting some thoughts down here.
I hope you are doing well. I’m about to fall asleep, so I need to sign off. . . have a great day!
Great perspective! Thank you for this!
As one who has struggled both with the term “radical” (because why does following Jesus need a label … isn’t it just what it is?) and with this tension between faithfully serving in the here and now AND faithfully obeying the Biblical imperative to go into the world with the Gospel, I so appreciate how you approached this.
And your final sentence: “The proper application of this will not result in “legalism” and shame, but rather “the joy of my salvation” to the glory of God!”
Yes, that!! Could not agree more! Because that’s what happens when our eyes our fixed on Christ and we’re following Him with our all rather than comparing ourselves with the way He’s working in and through others.
Great points. . . thanks for taking the time to get your thoughts in here. Thanks!
I feel very impressed by the post and the comments that followed. It sounds very Christ-like.
Two ideas particularly rang the bells of heaven to me :): the fact that we are all various parts of Christ’s body in the church, and love as the driving force in being these parts, a hand or a foot or the ” pinky” as Becca-Nagib put it. Never the head, anyway.
I guess if more Christians felt and acted this way there would be less non-Christians who would feel like Mahatma Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Thanks Iulia. . . great points! Becca and Nagib are great friends and really do provide some great thoughts here. Thanks!
It’s already been said, John, but I too, really appreciate your thoughts on this. The pendulum does seem to swing too far in one direction or the other and I appreciate your calling the body back to center. Every need is not a call and how we individually live out our callings will look different and there needs to be room for that but we are all called out and with every call there is a commission.
I really like your comment “every need is not a call”. . . great statement and I often say this in advising others.
Thanks for your input here!
{My sincerest apologies if this is WAY too long! The article struck me and I have tried to process for the past couple of days, wondering if I should even post. My hope is that in my passion I am not mistaken as angry. That’s not my heart at all.}
I’ve mulled over this article for days, trying to get my thoughts together, about why specifically it bothers me so much. I like your “stop the dichotomy” comment. Chris was privileged to sit under the teachings of Richard Pratt while at RTS and I remember the discussion of the sacred/secular split: THAT THERE IS NO SUCH SPLIT! All is sacred. Those who serve in the mission field abroad are no more significant or “acceptable” to God than those who serve at home—where you live, work and play (as Randy Pope likes to say). I appreciated how Heather pointed out that “every need is not a call.” I also appreciated Trent’s post…much more eloquent than I’m sure to be! I’m disappointed that it seems Bradley has missed the heart behind Platt’s book and plea to be Radical for Jesus. Although what is “radical” for some, may be “not-so-radical” for others. Instead of worrying about being radical enough, I fear that we ought to be concerned about being holy and praying to be faithful.
On a different note, I’m also disappointed and even a bit confused why the term “new legalism” is used, as if the “old legalism” was any more acceptable. Maybe it’s just semantics and we need to define our terms. And granted, while it may be difficult to strike balance, as believers, we should not be operating under either extreme: legalism or licentiousness. The balance comes, albeit momentarily, when we strive to live lives of worship in OBEDIENCE to Christ, out of LOVE and GRATITUDE for his gift of GRACE, because HE IS WORTHY! We should strive to be HOLY and pray to be FAITHFUL. The context of what that looks like in terms of calling is different for each of us. To the extent that we believe we can EARN God’s favor, we will most certainly feel guilt, shame, inadequacy. BUT to the extent that we soak in the miracle of his grace and offer praise and thanksgiving for WHO He is and His work on the Cross, and offer our lives in humble obedience, we will joyfully obey and follow and be RADICAL for Him.
Amy, thanks so much for sharing your heart in this, and NO, it is not too long!
Your points of drawing us back to grace and holiness are tremendous and something I personally need to hear and experience.
I won’t add more here, as you have said everything so clearly and eloquently.
Thanks!
Visiting family out of town, my husband and I visit some of the local bodies there, to be connecting with other parts of the Bride. The church service we attended last was a grab-your-bootstraps kind of message that focused much on pointing fingers at what was good or bad, but spent very little time calling the Body to the CHRIST.
I felt very sad and icky after the sermon… I felt likewise after reading Bradley’s “message”.
It seems to me that it has become very popular in our Post Post-Modern culture for EVEN the church to pick apart the teachings of others… but not in a sharpening kind of way, in an “I’m Righter Than You” or maybe “You’re Wronger Than ME” kind of way. So sad.
I fear that the anonymity of the internet provides fertile ground for this kind of thing. People tend to forget (if they have ever realized) that our call is to BUILD each other.
The only way we can ever hope to do that is to live in obedience to Christ, ever ONLY pointing the way to the Cross. Not one of us is perfect at it, but what I appreciate about your response here, John, is that the Lord Jesus Christ is at the center, not the shallow attempt to affirm or soothe those who have been wounded by this-or-that. In the end there is nothing that will bind up the brokenhearted besides the Gospel, and it is NOT a “tame” Gospel.
Ariena, I could respond to all of this in different point. Everything you say here is interesting, well thought, and (I believe) spot on.
Side note. . . I love visiting “out of the box” churches when on the road. Can be messy, but always fun.
I also really despise the culture of many Christian circles in America that seem to constant nit-pic and take shots at others within the Body of Christ. It sickens me as well. There is always need for healthy debate, but with the purpose of drawing folks to Christ, not simply tearing others down, as you stated here.
Thanks for your thoughts here. Very much enjoyed reading your thoughts!
Thanks for extending the conversation, John. It was good to meet you on twitter as well. I have thoughts flying every which way and was going to blog about this topic, but it takes me so long to process that I often miss the crest of the conversation. So here are some scattered thoughts.
I’ve read Platt’s book and heard him preach and I don’t think he is preaching legalism. Some folks, however, hearing a strong message on following Christ in a full and focused way receive it as legalism because as one of those commenting mentioned that many Christians continue to believe that performance is a means of gaining God’s favor and so if God wants me radical then radical I shall have to be. The next challenge might be on giving and so guilt feelings rise up because of that. People who have this reaction will burn out or give up. We need to help people understand God’s grace while learning to live obedient lives.
I agree with your both/and approach. I’ve lived in the suburbs and now live in a very small mid-western town. What appears all clean cut and proper on the outside is not so much so when you get to know people. Even though there are plenty of opportunities for people to hear the gospel in the U.S., it seems to me that most haven’t. People are hurting and crushed by life. If we are just consumers of the American dream then our message won’t resonate, but if we live lives that are dedicated to obedience to Christ and raise children who know and love God and who follow Him faithfully, our lives will stick out “like a sore thumb” and we will have an impact. We will be in a position to help those who are burdened down. And isn’t that what Christ wants in each setting. For example, we are told in Philippians to do all things without murmuring and complaining. That would be radical, wouldn’t it? The result will be that we will shine like lights in a dark world, and we prove ourselves to be children of God without fault. By not joining in complaints about the weather or about our boss or our work load, we show we have something worth sharing. We can live both radical lives and live in middle America but we must always be alert to the potential of drifting into the normal humdrum of American life. We have to be careful not to use our claims of a Christian testimony to become an excuse to do nothing.
Great thoughts and nice meeting you also!
Ministry is a real thing. No doubt about it. However, I agree with you in that it is not the preaching of the message of Christ which is to blame. We need to promote and live within a community of grace. When I am not, I am in trouble.
Thanks for your thoughts!
WOW !!! for me it’s about keeping JESUS 1st & tearing down idols that take my focus away from HIM. I can be self-absorbed or focused on people places & things …wanting SECURITY that only JESUS gives. ALL I need I already have in GOD, the FATHER,SON & HOLY SPIRIT, more love O CHRIST to thee & may YOU be seen in ALL who belong to YOU . ” PREACH the GOSPEL and when necessary use words from the BIBLE.”
HUGS !!! THANKFUL for YOU & the way You minister to us.
Christianity is an Either/Or. The Way of Christ is this – to take up the cross and follow him.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Gunter, I know this post is getting a little back in the pile, but I just read this article advocating for ‘ordinary’ lives….and thought you must have written it with a pen name! At any rate, wish I could blather on with my own take, but this will suffice for now:
http://blog.acton.org/archives/53944-the-new-legalism-missional-radical-narcissistic-and-shamed.html
tb
Thanks Todd. . . yeah, I do agree with some of this article, but my differences are pretty obvious in this post I have written here.
Thanks for the article!
Well said. I wonder where “either/or” thinking comes from. Dynamic tension and even a triperspectival view is necessary for those who have a mind to understand scripture. Examples: law and grace; loving kindness and justice; living on earth, but citizenship in heaven; Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Prophet, Priest and King; etc.
Thanks for your thoughts here, Russ. You are right in saying “dynamic tension”. As long as we are in a world where sin is present, many, many dynamic tensions will be present.
Thanks for adding your thoughts here!
“quiet, ordinary Christian lives”.. I really do not think Mr. Bradley’s article was referring to not making evangelism a fundamental part of our Christian lives. I simply think the good point he was making was that in many churches today the “missional living” concept is a center stage agenda. As if loving the Lord your God did not come first. Another words evangelism is not a compartmentalized work, its a produce from my good relationship with Christ. I am radical and missional and in fact an ordinary christian if I am living biblically. I am not an ordinary person, but among true believers I am. You see I believe in the Holy Spirit; Him who convicts me and causes compassion for others in need of the gospel – thankfully I do not need outside coercion such as the missional living community has introduced. I simply need to be saved and personally obey and that has to start with my love for Christ. If were going to harp on our congregation to live “missionaly” lets start with that… the rest will take care of itself. I am thankful for Mr. Bradley stepping up and saying something that needed to be said. Yet I also embrace your desire here to live radically for the Glory of God via evangelism. Cannot help but wonder what the church did before “missional living” was introduced ….perhaps they were aspiring to live “quiet ordinary lives”as prescribed in 1Thes 4:11 all the while humbly reaching out to the lost. Perhaps they did not need to be coerced to live missionaly because they already had a relationship building with their neighbor. John- It’s obvious your great motives here but can we think a little deeper here about what Mr. Bradley was trying to communicate, that he probably evangelizes others and in so doing is living radically?
Pete, thanks for you tone and the constructive manner in which you have approached your words here. Not everyone is as charitable as you in this format.
I agree with you here in everything you are saying outside of your opinion of Dr. Bradely’s meaning.
I completely agree that we are called to both live in obedience in our daily lives WHEREVER we are and in WHATEVER we are called to. We are also freed up by the beautiful, all encompassing fullness of the gospel of Christ Jesus to honestly and earnest live in JOY and completeness in all things. This is wonderful and seems to be what you are pointing towards here. I agree and say I completely and totally agree.
However, I still want to simply not discredit the Biblical call to care for and work towards the Biblical mandate of working to expand the kingdom of God in the unreached and under-served of the world. I do believe Dr. Bradely and others like him are doing this in their writings and teachings.
As I said here and will continue to hold to, it’s not an “either/or” but rather a “both/and” scenerio. We serve the infinite, good, Creator of the universe. I simply am calling for us to acknowledge this and life accordingly.
Again, thanks for your words here. Very well stated and I agree with your heart. I am sorry if you and others have felt manipulated and “coerced” in some of the teachings you have received. However, I still feel like the article referenced in my own here was an irresponsible overreaction upon the faithful teachings of men like John Piper and David Platt.
I enjoyed your comments here, Pete, and hope you have a great day!