Tim Keller and evangelism

Actually, I have listened partially to Tim Keller’s talk – his 20 minutes introduction of his talk during lunch yesterday. I like Tim Keller. Though definitely not the most energetic of speakers (compared with say John Piper), his language was clear, articulate yet profound at the same time. After all, he mentioned one of my heroes Martyn Lloyd-Jones! The topic was evangelism in a post-modern world. He started by quoting from MLJ’s first sermon in a series of sermons on revival given in 1959.

MLJ’s text for that sermon is the story in Mark where the disciples failed to cast out the demon out of a a possessed boy. Whereas they have succeeded in other areas, they couldn’t cast the demon out this time. MLJ’s point, as far as I remember, was that the first thing to do is to diagnose the situation before applying the solution. It is at that point that the disciples have failed and did not realise that this kind can only be cast out by prayer (and fasting). He then proceed to talk about what “this kind” is. The church, similarly, has failed to diagnose the current situation accurately and thus failed to apply the appropriate solution. We resort to evangelistic campaigns, programmes etc but all these have failed to bring about the exptected results. Therefore a deeper problem calls for a deeper solution. It is indeed a deep calling unto deep.

Anyway, I’d like the way he started the talk, because his point in the introduction, is that the post-modern western world is an ex-Christian world. He used the word inoculated, Christ-haunted to describe the western world. There was a time when Christian values pre-dominate the culture and now all we have left is but a fading shadow of the past. The inoculation refers to how people are hardened against Christianity because of the subconcious “been there, done that, that failed” mentality and the Christ-hauntedness refers to the fading memory of a presence of Someone. All these considerations calls for a rethinking on the work of evangelism and where I stopped listening, he was about to list six points of approach to evangelism in the post-modern world.

My reflections? It is interesting that quite a lot of other literature compares the ethos of the current age with the culture that the early church encounted in Acts. (Hence Carson’s point of using Acts 17 as a model of evangelism in the post-modern world). But Keller here has added an extra dimension that is often neglected – the current age is an ex-Christian, post-Christian world. There are significant overlaps in terms of culture with that encounter in the Acts of the apostles but there are significant differences as well. Its the inoculation that’s harder to break-in. It is the challenge of presenting eternal truths in a way that is strikingly timely and refreshing.

Singapore has its fair share of evangelism. It could be argued that the English-speaking side of Singapore have been quite aggressively evangelized with a fair measure of success. But the inoculation and hardening are quite obvious as well. Well, what does it mean? The declaration of the gospel is important. But surely the problem with most people is not a lack of information. It is a lack of authentic information. Towards those outside the church, the gospel is authenticated outwardly (that is, I take the inward conviction to the work of the Holy Spirit) by the presence of power and a certain kind of life within the church itself. And that is precisely why orthopraxy – right practise, is so important. Paul says in 1 Tim 4:16 “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Not just keeping a close watch on life (yourself, that is), not just keeping a close watch on the teaching(orthodox beliefs, that is) but both. Orthopraxy and orthodoxy. May God have mercy on us.

Desiring God National Conference 2006

John Piper is one of my favourite living preachers/Christian writers (living being keyword ). The recent Desiring God conference on the Supremacy of Christ and postmodernity was very intriguing to me. I am at the moment trying to get a couple of friends to listen through the messages and panel sessions with me. The audios can be found here. I will try to blog through the messages and write about what I learn through the messages. So if you have found this blog, pls pray that these messages will be edifying for me and my friends.

My second entry

Its been months since my last post. It’s harder to start and continue blogging than I thought. The reasons are for such delays are many: Procrastination, fear, and a sense of meaninglessness(which could be unfounded). There are, after, plenty of quality blogs out there in the blogosphere, and who am I, a Malaysian small town boy living in Singapore, to blog and voice my opinions and blah! But I guess that it is good for myself because the articulation of thuoughts actually helps me to be more clear about my own thoughts and beliefs. Perhaps such an exercise would be good for self-examination.

My first entry – vanities and vanities

Hi,

This is my first entry in this blog. Actually, its kind of funny starting out on a limp like this. I am pretty sure that no one will read this blog some time from now (though I confess secretly that I hope that someday somebody may be reading this?)

Hence a quote from Blaise Pascal seems appropriate:

“Vanity is so anchored in the heart of man that a soldier, a soldier’s servant, a cook, a porter brags and wishes to have his admirers. Even philosophers wish for them. Those who write against it want to have the glory of having written well; and those who read it desire the glory of having read it. I who write this have perhaps this desire, and perhaps those who will read it… “

and yet another quote…
“We are so presumptuous that we would wish to be known by all the world, even by people who shall come after, when we shall be no more; and we are so vain that the esteem of five or six neighbours delights and contents us.”

The forthrightness with which Pascal writes is something which I delight in reading. Surely, the problem with vanity is a problem of the heart. When the heart is vain, it does seek to be renowned in the world and yet is so easily pleased by the admiration of a few. The challenge, therefore, lies in seeking the praise from a correct source, which is a cure to vanity. The words of Christ echoes in all this:

“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”John 5:44

Therefore it is my prayer, Lord, that this blog would be a means of fellowship and communion with other brothers and sisters, rather than an avenue for seeking the glory that comees from one another and not the glory that comes from the only God.

The vanity of men is as such. He that begins to be concious of his vanity begins to take pride in this conciousness, for he realizes that this conciousness is not shared by many others. The urge to compare with others is so strong that it is almost irresistable. Unless, we cure it by recognizing the presence of a majestic and holy God before whom all pride is vain and in vain. Oh Lord, cure this heart which is deceitful above all else and desperately sick!

Maybe this blog is more of a means to preach to myself. Perhaps all blogs start out as such… seeking to speak to oneself(simply because nobody else is reading it! ) before speaking and interacting with others. It is definitely not a means of self-expression (see this) but rather a way to speak to myself within a community.

God bless,

Edward