DeYoung/Gilbert, "What Is the Mission of the Church?"
(I'm posting on this one a little early. Just to avoid any confusion, we are discussing Shelby Steele's White Guilt on Monday, April 7th, and then we will discuss DeYoung/Gilbert's What Is the Mission of the Church? on Monday, April 14th.)
(1) Be ready to discuss the significance of the following biblical passages in relation to our understanding of the mission of the church:
Genesis 1:28 and 9:1, 7
Genesis 12:1-3
Exodus 19:4-6
Luke 4:16-20
Matthew 28:18-20, John 20:21-23, Luke 24:45-49, Acts 1:8
(2) How have you seen the mission of the church compromised in recent years? In what ways might it be compromised in the future based on trends you see today? How can we guard the church from mission drift?
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(2) How have you seen the mission of the church compromised in recent years? In what ways might it be compromised in the future based on trends you see today? How can we guard the church from mission drift?
Perhaps most pervasively I have seen a kind of seeker sensitivity which puts the general pagan/secular culture as the lens to see and understand Scripture rather than Scripture itself. This manifests in many ways and seems to center on a warped sexual ethic. Because of this I think the church will follow the culture as it develops and it seems to be headed toward a more openly and unashamed paganism, so I foresee the liberal “churches” to head more toward a kind of polytheism with a ‘preference’ for Jesus. A few other ways I have seen the church err is with the social gospel and with legalism. I think the Church can guard against this by holding fast to Christ in a commitment to His word and by unashamedly denouncing ‘churches’ which compromise Christ.