tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post7399066344901383615..comments2024-01-29T14:24:46.852-05:00Comments on Wes Ellis: Being Lightwellis68http://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-40929217482344856632010-04-30T22:41:22.903-04:002010-04-30T22:41:22.903-04:00We're all numb. As Walter Brueggemann wrote i...We're all numb. As Walter Brueggemann wrote in "The Prophetic Imagination:" “the cultural situation in the United States, satiated by consumer goods and propelled by electronic technology, is one of narcotized insensibility to human reality.”<br /><br />There's an excellent article in "Christianity Today this month about some really innovative ministries in Latin America, but it's not on-line yet.<br /><br />Also, Michael Savage's new "Change the World" offer lines of hope.<br /><br />avage writes: "Who we are and why we are here are realized as we live and serve God together in community under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. The values of this community are not established by trends in media, art, politics, or economics. Those values change with every generation. The values of the Kingdom of God are eternal [...] If the world is ever going to take the good news of the Gospel seriously, then we must take a serious look at our paradigms for ministry, repent, and realign our priorities and resources with the message and mission of Jesus."<br /><br />Savage stresses that we need to shift from attractional evangelism to mission evangelism. He argues that we need to move away from trying to create quality programming for every age and life stage in much the same way that a cruise ship is a "self-contained fortress of programming for every age and interest." In this model the congregation members are like customers picking and choosing from the buffet.<br /><br />On the other hand, mission evangelism "parallels the priorities and focus of a mission outpost in a challenging place of great human need." We all are, after all, resident aliens sojourning in a strange land. The mission outpost is a more apt analogy than a cruise ship for what the church ought to be.Bo Grimeshttp://resident-aliens.orgnoreply@blogger.com