David had fun today teaching church-planting couples that are working in unreached people groups about:
1. How to Live with Conflict with Other Christians:
using the text in Acts 15 where Paul and Barnabas have a falling out over John Mark accompanying them on a 2nd missionary journey.
Many of our conflicts come from other Christians within the church... often the result of personality differences and different calling. Some of our historical heroes just did not see eye-to-eye, but left incredible legacies.
Reading Acts 15, Paul looks like the bad guy who doesn't want to give the young fellow a second chance, but history is kind to him, while Barnabas (who most of us would side with) drops out of the story.
Life is messy... get used to it! Keep focused on the goal, not on how well you're liked.
2. Finding Christ in a pagan society:
using Acts 17 where Paul uses what he finds in the culture already as a segue for the Gospel. We looked at how he begins where his audience is at on their spiritual journey, identifying tell-tale marks of the God-search. In Athens he uses the altar to the "Unknown God" as his springboard, also quoting from their own poets, to make his case for a LIVING God as opposed to the pantheon of idols created by human imagination and craftsmanship. He appeals brilliantly to their philosophical reasoning and logic.
Some approach mission (perhaps unintentionally) from the standpoint that culturally the 'West is Best' (ironic given that Judeo-Christianity is much more Eastern in origin and cultural values). Surely if God is the creator of all cultures, there will be indicators of that within them, which provides us with the "language" to communicate authentically and logically within their context.
Comments
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Susan