« Facebook Follow-Up | Main | Update: Taliban Agrees to Release Hostages »

Whose Side Are You On?

I recently did a brief interview with Outreach Magazine about the role of the local church in evangelism. Justin Taylor linked to the article and someone left the following comment, which I respond to below:

Comment: Harris explains that the community of believers "living life together" can be the most appealing way to present the Gospel to unbelievers. But then he goes on to criticize "religious lingo" as a stumbling block which can prevent the unsaved from hearing that same Gospel.


I don't understand how any church can have a tight-knit community without it naturally giving rise to certain cultural distinctives like worship practices, cultural habits and, yes, even a "lingo."

I guess I don't really know which side Harris is really on, but I don't think he can have it both ways.

My Response: Thanks for reading the interview I did. I don't pretend that it is complete representation of all that can be said on the important topics of building a local church and reaching unsaved people.

But I do think we can "have it both ways" as you put it and the key is paying attention to where we are, who we're with and how our words are serving others.

So, yes, we can build a distinct culture and language within a church and that isn't wrong in itself—it can be very good. But if we fail to recognize when we're with people outside the church that they might not comprehend our lingo, than our use of language could be an expression of selfishness.

So in answer to your question of which "side" I'm on, I'm on the "I love the church and want to reach the world" side.

For a more on the subject of "obstacles to the gospel" referenced in the interview, here's a video clip from a sermon on the topic. The full audio of the sermon (from 1Corinthians 9:1-23) can be found on our church's sermon audio page.


Posted by on August 25, 2007

Comments (4)

Do you believe one can be a Muslim and a Christian at the same time?

Well this Priest does.

http://webandchurch.blogspot.com/2007/08/muslim-priest.html

Insane isn't it!

Posted by Gene | August 27, 2007 3:47 AM

hi josh!

your 'i kissed dating goodbye' is the first book that i finished.. it was given by my friend. i wrote you a letter when i was in 2nd yr high school,but i never had the courage to send it.(i've finished bs psychology and im now working in the field of IO) i just pray that i'll have the same boldness that you have now. im slowly loosing my hopes of living a life of joy. im not ok (but i pretend to be). at times i feel that other people are so blessed to be able to freely live their Christian lives..and to be able to find someone who shares the same faith. the fire that i used to have is now dying(and this is my first time to admit it).. im not sure if God still want to call me as His child..i just feel lost.
im so blessed by your family and i hope we'll cross each other's road someday. i have the book boy meets girl and not even a hint but i never had the courage to finish them..
please pray for me..
regards to your family.

Posted by elaine dela paz | August 28, 2007 3:14 AM

Elaine,

I want you to know that I will definitely pray for you. I'm so sorry for the struggles that you're facing. I do want to encourage you not to lose heart. God calls you to continue to seek him. He promises that if you draw near to him, he will draw near to you. Please continue to read the Bible and ask him for help to believe and obey his word. It's also important to be receiving encouragement and teaching in a local church. If there's any way I can help you locate a church in your area, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Joshua

Posted by Joshua Harris | August 28, 2007 5:43 PM

Josh,

I am the commenter from over on Justin's blog. Thanks for responding to my criticism.

I heartily agree with your theme that we should be prudential in our speech with non-believers. As a fellow graduate of the homeschool culture, your parable of biting your tongue when speaking to your "Socialization Question Neighbor" rang true. Even so, I don't think that the cultural distinctives of a church that is exhibiting a Gospel-centered worldview are truly "obstacles to the Gospel."

Let's take, for instance, your example of Biblical courtship as an obstacle. Obviously, no one actually says "You can't come to Christ unless you observe every precept of I Kissed Dating Goodbye. I think what you are getting at is the fact that non-believers or Church visitors feel an unspoken expectation to conform to the community's norms. You think that we should attempt to alleviate that pressure.

But why should we want that pressure alleviated? The reason we try to have Christ-centered dating relationships is to conform our lives to a Gospel-oriented worldview. If unbelievers reject Christ because they don't want to make Christ the Lord of their dating relationships, isn't their sin the obstacle, rather than the "Courtship culture"?

When the Rich Young Ruler came to Jesus seeking eternal life, Jesus didn't just say, "Follow me." He placed an "obstacle" in the man's way, and that obstacle revealed the sin in the man's heart.

In the same way, an unbeliever may cite an unpopular component of the Biblical worldview is his attempt to justify his refusal to convert: "Christians are pro-life," "Christians homeschool," or even "Christians do that weird courtship thing." But none of those positions are obstacles to the Gospel, they are implications of a Biblical worldview. The unbeliever is scandalized by the claim of Lordship that the Gospel makes on his life.

So in short, while we should use prudence to ensure that unbelievers will understand the centrality of the Gospel, we should not consider the implications of a Christ-centered worldview to be "obstacles" that should be removed.

Posted by Keith Miller | September 8, 2007 10:40 AM

Post a comment

Please enter the letter "e" in the field below:

All content on this site is © 2007 Josh Harris