The Dawn Treader

The gospel of Christ has always been most effectively spread through the context of relationships. 

Why is it, then, that so many conservative, evangelicals have such a difficult time building relationships with non-Christians?  It seems obvious to me that Christians ought to be intentional about befriending non-Christians -- yet it so rarely happens today.  Yes, I know there are exceptions.  But, by and large, modern evangelicals are quite insular.  Why?

This is an honest question.  I am not trying to trick anyone or start any quarrels.  I really want to know.  I realize several non-Christians are regular Dawn Treader readers ... what say you?  How about you Christian readers ... what say you?

"The humans live in time, but our Enemy destines them to eternity.  He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself and to that point of time which they call the Present.  For The Present is the point at which time touches eternity."

Uncle Screwtape, letter 15

We have spent several weeks talking about being Kingdom-minded at Christ The King Presbyterian, PCA.  Indeed, being kingdom-minded is part of our core vision as a church.  It has also come up on a thread here on the Dawn Treader.

But what does it mean?

Noted New Testament scholar, Bishop N.T. Wright, will be speaking at Roanoke College this March 16th, 17th and 18th.

Bishop Wright has written over thirty books and has taught at Cambridge, Oxford and McGill universities.  The conference theme is “Jesus’ Resurrection—Then and Now.”

Wright will give talks on “Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead?”, “Resurrection and the Future of the World”, “Resurrection and the Task of the Church” and "Resurrection and the Calling of the Christian”

I will host a themed Pigfest on Thursday, March 15th to get us ready for this event.

On Oct 16th, this was put on the street.  It was written by a former Bush staffer named David Kuo.  The reverberations are still being felt.

Alan Wolfe, who teaches political science at Boston College, thinks Evangelicals are over as a political force.

David Limbaugh thinks Christians should feast, not fast from politics (Kuo argues that Christians ought to fast from politics).

Stand to Reason agrees that it would be unwise to fast from politics.

Marvin Olasky thinks the book is valuable for its specific detail on where the faith-based initiative went astray; however, he thinks that fasting from politics would merely create a vacuum which will be filled by anti-Christian politicians.

TM Moore thinks we ought to step back from political parties, but not from politics.  He regards this as a clarion call to Christians to work hard at discerning and declaring Biblical convictions about public policy issues, and look for opportunity to establish a Kingdom presence in both parties along a wide range of fronts, letting in the light of truth.

What does Mr. Dawntreader think?

If you don't subscribe to By Faith magazine, you really should.  I find the articles on church and culture to be especially engaging, thought provoking and high quality.  Last month was an outstanding article on the issue of global warming.  This month is an article on Christ-centered science (hope to post on that).

Much to my surprise, I saw my former church, Westminster Presbyterian, featured in a full length article on p.36 called "United By Service".  It was an upbeat article describing the impact of one church on the lives of sixteen inner city kids who were struggling with grades and life.  I read the entire article with a big smile on my face.  I know the folks involved in this ministry and it made my day to read about the investment they are making in the work of the kingdom.

An article entitled Common Grace and Theological Scholarship by Westminster prof Dr. Dennis Johnson is worth a look.

The topic of Common Grace is incredibly important.  There is a tension between the notion of Common Grace and the notion of Antithesis.  Folks of the reformed faith typically lean toward one or the other.  I lean toward the Common Grace end of the spectrum.

But if Antithesis is the correct view of reality, then why bother engaging the culture?  In other words, just focus all of your energy on church because non-Christians won't understand anything you say and are incapable of responding or changing.

The stakes are huge because it affects how we view culture.  That is why I want to do a series on Common Grace ... which I intend to do once I make my final post on Reading On The Run.

(HT: Theologica )

Justin Taylor asks who has heard of  Prayer: Conversing with God, by Rosalind Rinker.  He suggests that not many have heard of this book and ponders why this book was chosen.  I can't answer why this book was chosen, but I can say this.  This book has powerfully shaped how I pray and it helped me overcome many of the hang ups, stereotypes and hindrances I had about praying in a group.  It is the most influential book on prayer I have ever read -- and the same probably goes for my father, who introduced me to the concept of conversational prayer.  The book has sold close to a million copies -- so I don't think it is too much of a stretch to select it as one of the top 10 most influential books by Christianity Today.

I taught the concepts on prayer that are discussed in this book in an adult Sunday School class at Friendly Hills several years back and had at least two people tell me that that class on prayer was life transforming.

Has anyone else read this remarkable book?

(HT: Christian Mind )

Anyone besides Mr. Dawntreader happen to stumble on the Bill Moyers special last night?

I was kicking back flipping channels when I happened upon it.   This looks interesting, I thot.  I wasn't disappointed.

The most interesting question was Moyer's question to reformed theologian Dr. Calvin Beisner about Hurricane Katrina and God's will.  Anyhoo, the meat of the special was more about the Evangelical enviromental movement known as "creation care".  It is a good worldview issue to discuss.  Moyers had an agenda ... and wasn't bashful about making anyone who disagreed with him out to be an idiot.  A far better article ... presenting a more balanced view ... is at ByFaith.  You won't be sorry for reading it.

Anyone else see the Moyers show?  I be interested in hearing your take on it.

Chuck Colson started Prison Fellowship Ministries some 30 years ago.  It has had an enormous impact on countless lives ... including mine.  Colson writes about his experience in yesterday's Breakpoint commentary.