Thursday, March 20, 2008
Perspectives, 702 Assignment
Please read and respond to the article, "What it Means to be a World Christian," by David Bryant, beginning on page 702 in your Perspectives on the World Christian Movement book. You will be required to respond to at least one other student's comments to successfully complete this assignment. Please ensure that you put your name in parenthesis if you post anonymously.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
It has been said that we can not do that until we actually see how lost we were and how lost the lost person is. We need to see Hell for what it really is. Burning and burning and never dying, wishing for death but never getting it. I am afraid some people see Hell as a camp fire and we burn our hand. Hell is skin burning continually… (For the sake of decency you get the picture, although there is nothing decent about it.)
Only when we see Hell for what it really is and see heaven for what it really is, will we ever think enough to be a world Christian. A pastor once said that soul winning is like knowing our friend has a terminal disease (Aids, leprosy, or the worst thing we can think of) we have the cure and can spare the suffering…will we do it, or let our friend suffer because they might not like us.
I was fortunate; when I get saved I was told witnessing is the normal next step and was taken out. So I thought it was normal and now I can not think of anyone being saved and not witnessing. Instead many churches today say to visit and ask God to bless our visiting “over a cup of coffee”. I know it is an over dramatizing, but not by much.
Unfortunately, the story of the fishing club, and people talking about fishing is all too real. I am just as bad. It has been weeks since I shared the gospel outside of the church. It is easy to witness at church, in a class, or a counseling session, but not one block away from the church. I used to think being to busy was just an excuse now I am not sure.
Mark
Dr. Bryant sure has changed. I think I like him better with hair.
Are we standing in the gap? According to Bryant we are all in the gap, whether we are standing in it or just existing in it is the question. I think he did a fair job of describing the different kinds of Christians. I like those that “are willing to be broken and remolded to fit in the Gap.” I want to be part of this group. This is a “World Christian.” I have to take up one small issue with what Bryant said about this though. On page 703 he is explaining the term and makes it clear that he is not meaning worldly Christian. He says that “if you are one, you can’t be the other,” meaning one can’t be worldly and be a Christian. I know this is totally off topic, but I have to disagree with him on this. I have met and known some very worldly Christians. Needless to say they are not standing in the gap. Quite the contrary, they are hindering the cause, by declaring to be Christians and not living it.
The three steps to becoming a World Christian are great. Though I believe there is a prerequisite. If we are focused on glorifying God first then these things will become a part of us naturally. No I am not saying that we all need to be missionaries on the foreign field, but as Bryant said “every Christian is to be a World Christian.” We all have a job to do and that is to glorify God and in doing so we will shine forth The Light to the world in darkness. (Meisha Deane)
Mark,
Being to busy is an excuse we all use. It is very sad that Christians are to busy to do the work we are called to do. We make ourselves to busy, because we are afraid. Are we afraid of what man may say or think? Why are we not more afriad of what they will say when we see them before they are cast into the Lake of Fire asking us why we never told? This should arouse all of us out of our comfort zones and busy lives, but we don't let it shake us. We have lost our compassion for the lost. I am one of the guiltiest. I introduce myself as a missionary to Ukraine, but what about the lost soul living in my own appartment complex? Am I not a missionary to her as well? This is truly a challenge to myself. It is time to wake up.
(Meisha Deane)
Meisha,
Yes, I know. Sometimes the busyness isn’t always put on by ourselves, sometimes it is, for example, just wasting time. A lot of times it is outside factors. Spouses, supervisors, teachers or friends, they think “if you have time for …then you have time for what I want.”
I think, part of the problem is we need to say no more often, when we can. However, again sometimes we can not, we cannot tell wife/husband no, supervisor, or teachers no. Friends, we can but we don’t want to.
It is like I said before, if we had a proper view of Heaven, and a proper view of Hell. It is a vicious circle.
Mark
Meisha,
You crack me up :)
I totally agree with your response. We all should be world Christians whether foreign or local. So true...thanks for pointing it out! (Bethany)
Bryant states about a world Christian, " By God's grace, he has made a discovery so important that life can never be the same again...by faith he has chosen to stand in the Gap as a result. " What an awesome statement! it is not an issue of seeing how terrible hell is and how wonderful heaven is...it is so much MORE than that! It is the issue that Piper brings up about showing the world what Christ has given us and what He desires for them and their lives. What an awesome reality! What an imcredible task!(Bethany)
David Bryant has writtena phenomenal article on what I believe is dearest to Christ's heart. I'm not big on step by step procedures or processes, but wow, it works! Catch, keep, and obey are some of the most profound discoveries of a world christian. For me, I'm not that brilliant to discover something like that, so when I read this I felt so intrigued and really pushed to become a better world christian. I'm very excited that, even though it was written thirty some odd years ago, it's still applicable today. God wants us to stand in the gap, and we must not be unwilling, but should stand with honor. (John Hyman)
Bethany
I really enjoyed how you tied it back with Piper's book. I believe that our class, as a whole, is standing in, or is walking to the gap in order to fill it. I am excited to see what God is going to do at the end of this semester and after college with the students in our class. I pray that He does something awesome in your life and in the lives of others.
(John Hyman)
Overall this was a very encouraging article. I had to read over it for a second time because I didn’t really get a clear understanding of what the author’s concept, “the Gap” was and required. The second time I read it I picked up on what the author was trying to convey. The Gap is described as the unfulfilled global purpose of God. We are to love God and love others. If you love others, serve them and tell them the Good News. I also really appreciated his comment about those who cautiously obey and reserve their love for those who are close and easiest to care for. This thought stirred my heart in different way. Reading this I realized that I should be so grateful that Christ loves me unconditionally. (Trey Hyman)
Meisha,
That was a great analysis concerning the prerequisite. It goes along with Piper’s concept of missions is; Missions exist because worship doesn’t. I like the discussion that Prof. McDaniels gave in class about Missions being the by-product of true worship to God. If our aim is to please the One who has called us then we will be good soldiers or “world Christians”.
Meisha,
That was a great analysis concerning the prerequisite. It goes along with Piper’s concept of missions is; Missions exist because worship doesn’t. I like the discussion that Prof. McDaniels gave in class about Missions being the by-product of true worship to God. If our aim is to please the One who has called us then we will be good soldiers or “world Christians”. (Trey Hyman) Sorry about the error.
I like the descriptions of the diffrent types of Christians that David Bryant gives. My first impresion was the look on his face. As I was reading I kept on getting distracted by it =P Now saying that He had an interesting concept called a "World Christian"
At first I thought that it was a new concept, however as I read further I found out that it is an idea preached in our circles. Everyone is to be supportive weather they stay home or go over seas.
Jonathon Paul Ryback
Post a Comment