A Charismatic Approach To Evangelism
This post is part of my continuing series which showcases the strengths of other great bloggers. You can view other “Blogs I Wish I Wrote” by clicking here.
In today’s installment of BIWIW I’m featuring Lex Loizides’ Blog, which almost daily features a short story from the history of the church. Currently Lex is blogging through the figures that influenced the First Great Awakening here in America: Jonathan Edwards, John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and others.
The BIWIW comes from Lex’s retelling of a several day period in the life of John Wesley where Wesley approaches evangelism only when he felt moved by the Spirit, much like present day Charismatics. I appreciate people who are moved by the Spirit to evangelize and have seen amazing fruit from the process. But if the truth be told, I think many Charismatics miss something in this approach. To find out how John Wesley faired, continue reading Lex’s post here.
Thoughts on “Stuff I’m Reading”
It became really obvious to me last week when I was writing “Stuff I’m Reading…Err…Listening To” that my little breakdowns of the books I’m reading are becoming more like reviews and less like short run downs on the books I’m reading. And, while reviews are great, I’m thinking that in the interest of me actually writing one of these more than once a year (which has about been my track record) I’m going to write shorter, more promo-style blurbs for my “Stuff I’m Reading” page in an effort to keep things short, interesting, and more timely.
With that said, I’m moving my behemoth of a blurb to the “Stuff I’m Reading” Page to take its place in the pantheon of books that I’ve read. I’m also kicking around the idea of sponsoring a communal reading of a certain book over a certain period of time and posting thoughts and comments about content here and on my Twitter account. A good example is I just started reading Watchman Nee‘s “The Glorious Church” and I think it would be really interesting to either here or on Twitter discuss things we’re reading as we’re finding them in a common book. Let me know in the comment section or by tweet if you’re interested.
Until then, that’s all for tonight, folks!
Hoping For A Response…
I just finished reading a really good article by Alan Hirsch that describes seven practices (or disciplines, as they are traditionally known) that cause a church to thrive in the midst of chaos. Alan loves “living systems theory” and believes the church will thrive best when she is constantly operating in a crisis mode. This crisis mode causes her to trust Jesus and not be encumbered by distractions that easily shift our gaze from Him. But obviously, to survive in the midst of crisis continually is difficult and so he suggests the following practices for a church trying to live near the edge of chaos:
1. Infuse an intricate understanding of what drives organizational success.
2. Insist on uncompromising straight talk.
3. Manage from the future.
4. Reward inventive accountability.
5. Harness adversity by learning from prior mistakes.
6. Foster relentless discomfort.
7. Cultivate reciprocity between the individual and the organization.
Alan is also very clear that these disciplines must integrated. To have one without the other six or even six without the other one leads to problems. But here’s my question: What does this look like practically in the life of the church? How have you seen these sort of practices fleshed out between human beings in the church to which you belong? I think the answer would be helpful for us all.
I was going to ask Alan on his blog, but you can’t leave comments there. So now, I’m asking you, my faithful readers, what you’ve experienced. And if Alan should happen to stop by, he could leave a comment as well. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 