Oct
28
2011
Proselytism, Depth, and Urban Legends: Kingdom People – Years 4 & 5
Kingdom People was launched five years ago this week. Today is the last day for revisiting some past Kingdom People posts. Here are some notable posts from the fourth and fifth years of this blog:
“In Defense of Proselytism: Talking Points for Brit Hume” (January 11, 2010)
As Christians, we must recognize that before we can make a robust defense for the Christian faith, we may have to clear the air by making a case for evangelism in general. After having listened to some of the remarks made about Brit Hume, I have compiled a list of common objections to “proselytism” and why each of them are unpersuasive.
Jennifer Knapp and Larry King: Why We Always Lose This Debate (April 26, 2010)
I’m convinced that we continue to lose the argument about homosexuality and Christianity because the traditionalist almost always makes his case within a conversation that has been framed by the opposing viewpoint. The Christian doesn’t lose the argument at the micro-level. The argument is lost from the beginning because of how the discussion is framed.
Building Deep Relationships Before Sharing Christ? Impossible! (November 9, 2010)
It’s true that effective evangelism usually takes place after trustworthy relationships have been built. But something is amiss when we can “get to know” people well over a period of months and never talk about Jesus.
So You Want to Go Deeper… (January 6, 2011)
I once met a youth pastor who was so frustrated with accusations of “shallowness” and demands for “more depth” that he told me, “Fine! If they want to go deeper, I’m going to go so deep it drives them nuts. I’ll drown them in depth!” Not exactly the best posture to take as a disciple-maker of the next generation.
I didn’t like the youth pastor’s attitude. But I did understand his frustration. Sometimes it’s hard to please the people clamoring for “deeper” teaching because everyone seems to have a different idea of what “deep” is.
Urban Legends: The Preacher’s Edition (April 27, 2011)
Those of us who are entrusted with the task of expositing the Scriptures in a local church must take care to verify our sources, illustrations, and stories. No matter how helpful an illustration may be, it is dishonoring to God if it is untrue.
Here are a number of urban legends that get repeated in sermons. Some are more pervasive than others, even appearing in commentaries and scholarly works…