I was interested to see this article in the men's Christian magazine Sorted.
I'm sure we as a church have a long way to go in the desire to reconnect with men and men's needs. The gospel is unchanging we know, but I think the idea of incarnational ministry is key. Personalising the gospel or meeting people where they're at is what Jesus was all about surely. Expecting all people to 'get it' by our narrow methodology is unrealistic, particularly in the ever-changing landscape of the digital age. I'm trying to get my head round what Paul means in Titus 2:10 when he instructs Titus to teach slaves "that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive."
That word 'atrractive' intrigues me. I know primarily the teaching here is aimed at lifestyle and honouring others in respect to conduct and behaviour but nonetheless the motivation is that the gospel is not neutered by making it less attractive. We do that every time we say one thing and act the opposite.
But maybe there's something more to it. It's not about watering down the gospel, or wrapping gimmicks around it. But to make the gospel accessible to some, we need to remove some of the barriers. The barriers may have been erected by the church or by the individual's preconceptions or prejudices about church.
Some people become Christians (then disciples) because at a specific point in time they are arrested by the Spirit of God working in tandem with the power of the Word. But for most people there is a 'connecter', someone they are in relationship with who invites them into a position where they can investigate faith/church/God.
But no doubt many of our church people are retiscent to invite friends or family because of lack of trust in what they will be presented with when they step over the threshold of our churches.
This is a huge challenge to us as leaders as we offer evangelistic opportunities and bridge-building events. Would we 'buy the product?'
Ultimately it's relationships and incarnational ministry that ushers in conversion, but we must be more self-aware of the barriers in the way.
1 comment:
I couldn't agree more! This is a subject that is very close to my heart. We so often make church very unfamiliar territory to the average guy..and it can seem a big issue to resolve...and yet it's not rocket science! We need to be imitators of Jesus. (Eph 5) He certainly knocked down hurdle after hurdle and he was always magnetically attractive to all sorts of ordinary people. Where do we go wrong?
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