tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post3327145666632604227..comments2023-12-27T11:23:38.346-05:00Comments on Vanguard Church - Bob Robinson: Gospel Proclamation or Social Justice? Why Not Both?Bob Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-67890509803705744682007-03-29T11:20:00.000-04:002007-03-29T11:20:00.000-04:00Simon,YES! YES! YES!We are now calling it the "mis...Simon,<BR/><BR/>YES! YES! YES!<BR/><BR/>We are now calling it the "missional church," that sees our duty as the body of Christ to incarnate Jesus to the world around us. This "mission," therefore, encapsulates the whole thing - being Jesus to people, doing what he would do to compassionately love them, sharing with them the "good news of the Kingdom of God."<BR/><BR/>See the helpful blog on this: <A HREF="http://www.friendofmissional.org/" REL="nofollow">Friend of Missional</A>.Bob Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-75468722786244262082007-03-29T11:13:00.000-04:002007-03-29T11:13:00.000-04:00David,Good question. I guess I wasn't clear.I'm no...David,<BR/><BR/>Good question. I guess I wasn't clear.<BR/><BR/>I'm not saying that "doing the work of Christ (without using words) is the work of 'our sinful nature'." I am also not saying that verbal skill is a necessary indicator of our commitment to Christ. Indeed the Good Samaratin is the example of what it means to love our neighbor.<BR/><BR/>What I'm saying is simply this: Individual loving action for the needy and systemic Christian activity in social justice issues are so important to the holistic gospel message. We cannot think that simply preaching at people or verbally evangelizing or handing out tracts are the only "real" gospel work. We need to get this right. We need to change our disposition about what is gospel.<BR/><BR/>However, in our zeal to "not be that anymore," I've seen people and whole ministries swing the pendulum so far that they no longer value the preaching or verbally sharing an articulation of the story of Jesus. They <I><B>so value</I></B> social justice that they <I><B>de</B></I>value evangelism in the classic sense. And then they quote Francis as a way to cop-out of that aspect of the evangelistic endeavor.<BR/><BR/>I'm trying to strike the proper balance here--a holistic evangelistic life that cares for the needy "in the name of Christ."Bob Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08576734261775426385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-54890909690013507212007-03-29T01:24:00.000-04:002007-03-29T01:24:00.000-04:00Another term to refer to "kingdom living" is "miss...Another term to refer to "kingdom living" is "mission". I like the way that David Bosch in his book "Transforming Mission" speaks of evangelism as being an essential component of mission, but only a component. Evangelical culture tends to make evangelism synonymous with mission, which results in a Church that is divided, with each "half" neglecting a whole section of it's kingdom mandate (evangelism as verbal witness on the one hand, and care for the poor on the other). This discussion has been around for so long, but I still don't think we've got it. Posts like this are really helpful in the discussion. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-33929790883462982872007-03-29T00:23:00.000-04:002007-03-29T00:23:00.000-04:00Great thoughts, Bob. One question: You state tha...Great thoughts, Bob. One question: You state that "Of course, our sinful nature will tend to push us toward thinking that “if all I do is help people, I’m doing gospel work,” and then quote Francis of Assisi (“Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words”) to rationalize our point." <BR/><BR/>I'm not sure I understand how doing the work of Christ (without using words) is the work of "our sinful nature". Is our verbal skill a necessary indicator of our commitment to Jesus Christ? Was the Good Samaritan not a good Christian because he did not talk about Jesus Christ to the innkeeper?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110103.post-24597592662038476612007-03-28T14:51:00.000-04:002007-03-28T14:51:00.000-04:00Indeed! Helpful post. Thanks. I especially liked "...Indeed! Helpful post. Thanks. I especially liked "a bigger view of Kingdom living." Seems like there are even more both/and's around if we look carefully.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07950211661651836525noreply@blogger.com