oratory could be the means by which the barbarian was transformed. The claims
of this thesis are not as bold, and yet they are significant. The nudge of a
sceptic towards the way of Jesus, rather than a transformation of the
barbarian, has been the focus. It has been established that there is a role for intrigue in the
communication with sceptics.
mere words and images. The intriguing communication must flow from intriguing
communities, living distinctive lives with distinction. Good words operate best
when they are in unison with good works. A pluralist society offers the
opportunity to step forward, rather than to step back, to be more outgoing, not
less. To initiate a community-wide conversation through billboards which
intrigue is one such way to step forward.
more than mere human skills. It will require a sustained, prayerful dependence
upon God, the one who opens eyes and softens hearts. The blindness and the
hardness in the sceptic are real but this can change under the influence of the
Spirit of God. To design a series of billboards which intrigue is to supply the
Spirit with some tools with which he may choose to go to work.
who is more than a mere project. The sceptic is to be respected, to be
understood and loved. Disputes can be delayed, preferring to loiter to
intrigue, rather than rushing to persuade. Of Timothy Keller it is observed
that he offers the sceptic the same respect he offers to a member of his
church [see here]. Kinnaman and Lyons conclude that followers of Jesus must respond to people the
way he did [see UnChristian, 213, 217]. These are the examples to follow.
thesis is a mission one. There are large numbers of ‘skeptics, critics, and
cynics’ and hostile UnChristians who resist what the Christian community
represents. Are they to be left alone, just ignored? No. The small nudge of
intrigue may lead to the big change of entanglement in the way of Jesus.”
nice chatting
Paul
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
Football helps me train preachers. See, when you speak to me about football—or, ‘footie’—I need to know where your feet are before I can understand what you mean. Are your feet in Ireland, or Brazil, or the USA, or NZ—or in crazy Australia? It must be the most fanatical sporting nation in the world. Within…
Having been born in 1959, I don’t remember much about the 1960s. But I have heard a lot. Hippies. Drugs. Rock ‘n Roll. Assassinations. Moon-walking. A quick trip across to ChatGPT informs me immediately that it was ‘a transformative decade across the world’—marked by the civil rights and feminist movements, Cold War tensions, consumerism and…
Beautiful. Now we just need to get this out to the "Jesus is the rizzle in the sizzle" signwriters.