Tried With Fire

When I read Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert , I was moved by Rosaria Butterfield's conversion story, but I also fell in love with Ken and Floy Smith. If there ever was an example of friendship evangelism, this is it. This Presbyterian pastor and his wife became Rosaria's friends. They were honest with her about their faith and where they disagreed with her, but they loved her. They debated, but they didn't bully or pressure her into believing. They didn't pull a Charles Finney and manipulate her emotions through fear-mongering. The Smiths saw her as another human being made in God's image, not just a project. They believed it was the Holy Spirit who did the saving, not them, and he did. As I considered their example, it struck me how opposite they were from the cage-stage. If you have never heard the term, it's a period of intense enthusiasm over the newly discovered Five Points of Calvinism that may result in tactless and even ungracious behavior (iron...

The words "Jesus" and "God" are used by many, but what do those words mean? What does it mean to be a "Christian?" Is it okay to press for a clearer definition of those terms and how a person is using them, or is that being too nit-picky and unloving? Should we just take everyone and what they say at face value?  If we are upfront about our theological distinctives, we then have a platform from which to let others know what confessions we align with the most. This way, we aren't being manipulative in our conversations and with our teaching. With proper boundaries set in place, we can acknowledge where we agree and disagree, all with the common goal of sharpening one another according to the Word of God and the working of his Spirit. But this requires a resolve to take theology seriously , take ourselves less seriously, and desire to grow in a meaningful way. Pretending that we are all on the same page and overlooking important differences can only f...

This is a quote from Divided by Faith : [W]hite evangelicals view the race problems as (1) prejudiced individuals, resulting in poor relationships and sin, (2) others trying to make it a group or systemic issue when it is not, or (3) a fabrication of the self-interested. Given that issues of inequality, systemic injustice, and group conflict are not part of their assessment, we did not expect to hear these addressed as part of the solution. And we rarely did. What we did hear from many was what others have called the "miracle motif." The miracle motif is the theologically rooted idea that as more individuals become Christians, social and personal problems will be solved automatically. What is the solution to violent crime? Convert people to Christianity, because Christians do not commit violent crimes. What is the solution to divorce? Covert people to Christianity, because Christians are less likely to get divorced? What is the solution to hate problems of race? ......

I borrowed Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield on Wednesday and finished it by Saturday. It is the amazing story of the conversion of an atheist lesbian college professor to Christ. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. She writes candidly about her struggle to come to faith and the complete train wreck it made of her life. She also tells of her transition to becoming a Reformed Presbyterian pastor's wife and their journey to parenthood through adoption and foster care. But I was especially moved by the process of her conversion because God used a means as simple and ordinary as friendship. Butterfield was befriended by a Reformed Presbyterian pastor and his wife. Ken and Floy Smith invited her to their home. They didn't ram the gospel down her throat, even waiting two years before inviting her to church. They were honest about their belief in God, His Word, and what it said about her lesbianism, but that did not d...

If the evangelical church at large was ever too confrontational in its evangelism, those days are gone. The pendulum has swung, with a commercialized and psychologized temperament, in the other direction. The church today leans strongly toward offering Jesus as appealing or not offering him at all. And what's new about this temperament is that we are more inclined than we used to be to let the customer, or the person who is offended, define what is appealing.  The commercialized mindset moves away from personal conviction toward pragmatic effectiveness. It feels that if the consumer is unhappy with the presentation, there must be something wrong with it. When this feeling becomes overriding, it circles around and redefines the "truth" being presented so that the presentation can be made enjoyable. If the claim that Jesus is the only way of salvation offends people, the commercialized mindset will either not talk about it or stop believing it.  The psychologized mindset ...