Here is an interesting article from Christianity Today about how teaching doctrine is making a comeback among younger Christians to augment the emphasis on living out the faith. This is an interesting look into reaching people with the Gospel in today's climate. The first anecdote in the article involves the Rev. Todd Wilken, LCMS pastor and host of the popular internet radio program, Issues Etc.
I find that there are a lot of people who want answers. I think a lot of people challenge the Church and Christians to step up to the plate and heed St. Peter's exhortation in 1 Peter 3:15, that we "in [our] hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy" while at the same time "always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks [us] for a reason for the hope that is in [us]; yet do it with gentleness and respect."
This is a great balancing act of our age: to teach the Church's doctrine to a skeptical generation, yet doing so in love, respect, and true concern with more than simply "being right." We can win the doctrinal argument and lose the soul for want of compassion, and we can also win people over to fluffy kindness and lose the soul for want of true doctrine.
As part of our duty to "make a defense" of the faith and reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ, please consider attending this weekend's Salem Retreat that will focus on the Genesis account of creation, as well as our ongoing Saturday evening reading and discussion of the Book of Concord, the collection of confessional documents that define the Lutheran tradition within the Christian faith.
HT: Kelly's blog.
I find that there are a lot of people who want answers. I think a lot of people challenge the Church and Christians to step up to the plate and heed St. Peter's exhortation in 1 Peter 3:15, that we "in [our] hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy" while at the same time "always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks [us] for a reason for the hope that is in [us]; yet do it with gentleness and respect."
This is a great balancing act of our age: to teach the Church's doctrine to a skeptical generation, yet doing so in love, respect, and true concern with more than simply "being right." We can win the doctrinal argument and lose the soul for want of compassion, and we can also win people over to fluffy kindness and lose the soul for want of true doctrine.
As part of our duty to "make a defense" of the faith and reach the world with the good news of Jesus Christ, please consider attending this weekend's Salem Retreat that will focus on the Genesis account of creation, as well as our ongoing Saturday evening reading and discussion of the Book of Concord, the collection of confessional documents that define the Lutheran tradition within the Christian faith.
HT: Kelly's blog.
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