5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake.
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
We have the truth of Jesus that has been expressed in our hearts, and we have the opportunity to radiate that truth to a world that so desperately needs to know Him. In our interaction with other people, even those who do not know Christ, we recognize that God will direct us in the way we should act and He will inspire the words that we say. It is important that we are sensitive to representing Christ well, allowing His light to shine through us.
In John chapter 17, Jesus is praying for those who would come to know Him:
15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
I have commented and written about occasionally about what is obviously a lack of civility in our culture. Earlier this week, I pointed out the opportunity in our lives to be peacemakers. But that can be hard when we are having trouble communicating with people different than we are.
And, a new Barna survey shows that evangelicals seem to be suffering from a "communication gap." The Barna Group website says:
Now, zeroing in our evangelicals, the summary on the website states:
Barna Group President David Kinnaman is quoted as saying: “This splintering and polarization of American culture has made it more difficult than ever to have a good conversation, especially about faith,” adding that, “Even when two people agree, honest interaction can seem elusive. Try to talk about things like gay marriage—or anything remotely controversial—with someone you disagree with and the temperature rises a few degrees. But being friends across differences is hard, and cultivating good conversations is the rocky, up-hill climb that leads to peace in a conflict-ridden culture."
He observes that, "In order to have meaningful conversations, we must first realize that it’s not enough to be nice...," adding:
This survey can challenge us to examine the way we relate to others, even with whom we disagree. Perhaps the most common place where one might meet and interact with people from a different moral perspective is in the workplace. This gives an opportunity for Christians to show who they are in Christ and to engage with people who have a different point of view. And, there is a challenge to compassionately and, in a civil manner, build relationships, holding firm to the principles of Scripture, without compromise. Neighborhoods can also be instances where believers can be salt and light and interact with people who do not share or practice the Christian faith.
I think that, if we're not careful, evangelicals can develop a bunker mentality. Some manifestations of this can be the adoption of an "us vs. them" attitude, the proliferation of a Christian counterculture, or even the tendency to isolate from a world of corruption. While the basis for these attitudes is Scriptural, the practice of trying to "be in the world, but not of it" can tend to contribute to a separation that maybe outside what the Lord intends. Certainly, in our churches and through our engagement with Christian resources, we can grow in Christ and develop holiness. We can recognize that from our engagement with Christian activities, we have a springboard from which we can exercise our duty to our Lord to express His truth and His nature to a world that needs to see who He is and to experience His love.
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In John chapter 17, Jesus is praying for those who would come to know Him:
15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
I have commented and written about occasionally about what is obviously a lack of civility in our culture. Earlier this week, I pointed out the opportunity in our lives to be peacemakers. But that can be hard when we are having trouble communicating with people different than we are.
And, a new Barna survey shows that evangelicals seem to be suffering from a "communication gap." The Barna Group website says:
In research conducted for David Kinnaman’s new book Good Faith, Barna discovered just how difficult it is for most people to reach across these cultural divides. Most Americans indicate that they think it would be difficult to have a natural and normal conversation with minority groups who are different than them.The research shows that 73% of Americans would struggle to have a conversation with a Muslim, 60% would struggle with conversing with a Mormon. Other groups and percentages include: an atheist, at 56%, an evangelical, close behind at 55, and someone from the LGBT community at 52%. Please note, these are all majorities.
Now, zeroing in our evangelicals, the summary on the website states:
Evangelicals seem to have a particularly difficult time talking to those outside their group. They report higher tensions than any other group when it comes to having conversations with those who are different from them. For instance, almost nine in 10 evangelicals (87%) believe it would be difficult to have a natural and normal conversation with a member of the LBGT community, but only six in 10 in the LGBT community (58%) say it would be difficult to have a natural and normal conversation with an evangelical.And, as the summary points out, "Evangelicals consistently report higher levels of difficulty toward other groups than those groups report toward them."
Barna Group President David Kinnaman is quoted as saying: “This splintering and polarization of American culture has made it more difficult than ever to have a good conversation, especially about faith,” adding that, “Even when two people agree, honest interaction can seem elusive. Try to talk about things like gay marriage—or anything remotely controversial—with someone you disagree with and the temperature rises a few degrees. But being friends across differences is hard, and cultivating good conversations is the rocky, up-hill climb that leads to peace in a conflict-ridden culture."
He observes that, "In order to have meaningful conversations, we must first realize that it’s not enough to be nice...," adding:
“Though important, being winsome often means leaving some of the more inevitable conflict at the door, which limits meaningful dialogue. It also causes an uncomfortably large segment of Christians to agree with people around them rather than experience even the mildest conflict. We must embrace the hard edges of dialogue, extending kindness and hospitality, but doing so in the face of inevitable, but healthy and constructive, conflict."Kinnaman also says that, "social media at its worst can magnify our differences, making it even harder to have conversations that matter."
This survey can challenge us to examine the way we relate to others, even with whom we disagree. Perhaps the most common place where one might meet and interact with people from a different moral perspective is in the workplace. This gives an opportunity for Christians to show who they are in Christ and to engage with people who have a different point of view. And, there is a challenge to compassionately and, in a civil manner, build relationships, holding firm to the principles of Scripture, without compromise. Neighborhoods can also be instances where believers can be salt and light and interact with people who do not share or practice the Christian faith.
I think that, if we're not careful, evangelicals can develop a bunker mentality. Some manifestations of this can be the adoption of an "us vs. them" attitude, the proliferation of a Christian counterculture, or even the tendency to isolate from a world of corruption. While the basis for these attitudes is Scriptural, the practice of trying to "be in the world, but not of it" can tend to contribute to a separation that maybe outside what the Lord intends. Certainly, in our churches and through our engagement with Christian resources, we can grow in Christ and develop holiness. We can recognize that from our engagement with Christian activities, we have a springboard from which we can exercise our duty to our Lord to express His truth and His nature to a world that needs to see who He is and to experience His love.
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