Postkiwi

I spent Saturday morning at a seminar by Dean Drayton, author of the book, “Which Gospel?: Three New Testament Perspectives”, published by MediaCom, Adelaide.

Dean is President of the Uniting Church in Australia as well as lecturer in missiology and evangelism at United Theological College in Sydney.

After presenting some of his own story of faith and ministry Dean introduced us to translations and distortions of the gospel, starting with two minutes of manipulation. After a suitable warning, Dean launched into classic evangelist mode.

We had thirty seconds of exhortations about the need to be born again. Thirty seconds on being baptized in the Spirit. And thirty seconds of being challenged to ‘do the will of God’.

“I’ve been born again. Have you? The Bible says we must be born again. If you haven’t been, then why not? What’s to stop you from being born again”. And so on.

Dean pointed out that such tactics do help some people experience the Lordship of Jesus. However many people only experience a manipulative sales pitch focusing on the “I am, Are You” line. In contrast, Dean gave us the example of Paul who in 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 invites people into partnership with Jesus.

As a whole writers in the New Testament don’t talk about God being ‘just for me’. Dean referred to the recent Virgin Blue advertising campaign encouraging people to check themselves in so they can have more time for themselves. The good news in the New Testament is not just for individuals - it’s for communities.

So why do we have the gospel heritage we now hold? Dean suggested that the gospel message changes every fifty years in line with major swings in society and with the successful methodology of significant evangelists. The last fifty years of the twentieth century were marked by the focus on the Holy Spirit introduced through the charismatic movements. The first fifty years were marked by a concern for individual standing before God - being born again.

In the nineteenth century we had the holiness movement, and the drive towards commitment led by Charles Finney. Wesley’s influence was found in the focus on prevenient grace, the experience of assurance, and long term discipleship.

The puritans brought their own focus on simplicity of faith. We looked at the impact of the debate over predestination with its anxiety over the state of individuals rather than communities. The Westminster confession reflected an approach to gospel in which grace followed repentance.

Somehow we seem to have inherited all of these movements without awareness of the historical contexts in which they were developed.

Dean introduced us to the three New Testament approaches to the Christian gospel covered in his book. John’s gospel doesn’t have the key words of faith and repentance. Instead John focuses on light, belief, seeing, perception. The Synoptic gospels focus on Jesus’ teaching and action related to the reign of God. Most of our evangelistic sermons are Pauline.

There were some vivid moments in the morning. Like the the use of a Volkswagen Kombi van to illustrate the distinction between apocalypse and revelation. Dean talked about driving in a Kombi through the fog, knowing that somewhere ahead was a T intersection. Revelation was when the driver sees the stop sign and stops. Apocalypse is when the first time the drivers sees the sign is when it has broken through the front window of the van.

In response to a question on the Christian gospel and other faiths Dean referred to the abusivbe use of John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. Seeing the light of God embedded in the whole of creation would open up more dialogue. This need not be in conflict with seeing Jesus as the visible face of the invisible God.

Geoff Thompson, lecturer in theology at Trinity Theological College, raised his concern about the low level of Biblical literacy and theological understanding in the church. “How do we regenerate Biblical imagination so that people can hear?” Geoff went on to outline his concern that we have so bought into individualism, reinforced by a low view of church, that the church has become a convenient sideline to salvation for many. “How do we help people re-engage with the community of grace as central to what God is doing?”

This seminar, organised by Trinity Theological College and Vision Books, an activity of Broadwater Road Uniting Church, was certainly one way of doing something about Geoff’s questions.