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The Celtic Way of Evangelism – A Review

April 10, 2013 — 2 Comments

George G. Hunter, III. The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West…Again. 10th rev. ed. (Nashville: Abingdon, 2010). 130pp.

A single question is central to the mission of the local congregation: how can we translate the gospel message for our context? The answer to this question will have implications for every part of our life together. It will influence our discipleship, and it will shape our engagement with our city.

The last sixty years have witnessed significant change in American society. In 1953 few would have anticipated an African American President, the legalization of same sex marriage in several state, or the church being moved to the margins of society. Yet, these are the days we have been given and our commission is to faithfully and effectively communicate the gospel in this new milieu.

George Hunter’s book, The Celtic Way of Evangelism offers insight into how the Christian community can engage these new realities. To do so he draws on the Irish mission work of Saint Patrick, a British Christian who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland. He escaped and years later returned to engage in a highly effective apostolic mission to the land of his captivity.

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Hunter provides a significant amount of historical background that helps the reader come to know Patrick as well as the key distinctions between the Celtic and the Roman expressions of the Christian faith.

This book does not contain a strategy so much as express a vision of what the Christian community can be, and must be, in order to do effective mission in our post-Christendom culture. Hunter identifies ten characteristics of Celtic Christianity the translate to characteristics of effective missional communities today. I will highlight four: contact, community, contextualization, and conversation.

Conversion almost always happens in the context of a relationship (i.e., contact) with both an individual Christian and a community of Christians. Authentic, trusting friendship with a Christian is often a key avenue through which the Holy Spirit draws a not-yet Christian into the kingdom. Relationships–with all that is entailed with sustaining them–were central to the Celtic way of evangelism. Are you intentionally nurturing an authentic friendship with a not-yet Christian?

A unique understanding of community marked the Celtic approach to mission–belonging preceded believing. Celtic communities were hospitable to people, encouraging them to become a part of the community without the expectation that they change in order to be welcome. This is an echo of the gospel–God doesn’t require us to change before he welcomes us. Instead, he welcomes us in order to change us. As a church, are we welcoming strangers and people who aren’t like us? Or, do we inwardly expect people to change (learn “Christian etiquette) before they become part of our community?

Christian missiologist David Bosch informs us, “the Christian faith never exists except as ‘translated’ into a culture.” The job of the church is to work to effectively and faithfully ‘translate’ the message so that it can be heard by the members of our culture, one in which the Christian worldview is no longer ascendent. At the very least the work of contextualization requires taking seriously the changes in assumptions that are now evident in culture. For one, there is no longer an assumption that everyone ought to at least publicly give lip service to the Judeo-Christian ethics. If we start by assuming traditional ethics, our witness to the gospel will go nowhere fast.

Celtic Christianity placed a high value on conversation as opposed to presentation. Conversation is bilateral; presentation is unilateral. The ministry of conversation is central to becoming a new creation in Christ since we encounter the gospel most fully through relationships. Conversation is also significant for discipleship. Celtic Christianity emphasized the role of “spiritual friends” as companions as we follow the way of Christ–people who help us to live out the message in the midst of the realities of life in a broken world.

The Celtic Way of Evangelism is a helpful book that offers much to prayerfully consider as we collectively try to discern what it means both to love God ourselves and to lead our city to God as well.

In Campus Ministry, Culture, Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Fellowship of Presbyterians, gospel & culture, Jesus, Ministry, missional theology, Practical Theology, reformed spirituality, Society, Theology and Philosophy, Vocation , , , , ,
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Why young adults are leaving the church

Posted on April 3, 2013 In Campus Ministry, Culture, Discipleship, Evangelicalism, Fellowship of Presbyterians, gospel & culture, Higher Education, Leadership, Ministry, missional theology, PCUSA, Practical Theology, reformed spirituality, Society, Spiritual Formation, Theology and Philosophy , , ,
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Too much to do and not enough time?

August 7, 2012 — 2 Comments

For the last two years I have had the privilege of walking with InterVarsity staff as they carry out the calling God has placed on their lives–to serve as missionaries to faculty and students at premiere universities. Over the course of my eight years on staff with InterVarsity, I have come to the conclusion that being a campus staff is a job that requires brutal focus, significant discipline, and persistence in discerning prayer.

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There are an almost unlimited number of opportunities to ‘spend’ time and energy in something that is related to an element of your job description. Sometimes the thing that seems like the most inefficient use of time will be thing that God is inviting you to do–like, leaving a couple of hours free to prayerfully wander the campus and engage in conversation with staff, students, visitors, anyone who comes into your path. At other times, doing that may not be a wise and faithful use of your time.

One of the persistent realities that I have encountered, as have other staff, is that it seems almost impossible to plan a realistic amount of time to tackle an important project. Stress ensues as well as a sense of guilt at the thought of the missing the deadline. Not a fun way to live.

It turns out that this is an almost universal problem–it even has a name, Hofstadter’s law. The law simply states: “any task that you are planning to complete will take longer than you plan, even when factoring in Hofstadter’s law.” Read a piece in the Guardian on Hofstadter’s law.

So what’s the solution? It seems that there’s something about our brains that almost necessitate that we miscalculate the amount of time it will take to complete a task. There seems to be no way around it. The best way to account for this is to avoid trying to plan using estimates of time. Instead, try to keep a casual record of how long it took you to do a project like in the past. When you come around to a similar project, don’t plan it out step-by-step as a way to budget time. Simply appeal to past projects that you have actually successfully completed.

An example from my own ministry…

Ministry newsletter.

Initially I insisted that I could write, edit, and send a ministry newsletter in one day. After all, there’s not too much copy in a newsletter. In reality, the limitations of space and the desire to communicate effectively in a small number of words means that I need to budget two days. I figured that out after several years of always being annoyed at how long it took to get my newsletters out. If the letter is one of the two hard copy versions I send out then I add an extra day. Note: on newsletter days I am still accessible phone and may have meetings scheduled–the main project I’m working on, however, is the newsletter.

In your work, how do you get around Hofstadter’s law?

In Discipleship, Management, Ministry, Spiritual Formation , , ,
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Reformed spirituality is missional spirituality

July 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

In yesterday’s post I said that Reformed spirituality can make a unique contribution to missional discipleship. Missional discipleship is a way of being apprenticed to Jesus that manifests a healthy rhythm of contemplation and action–inward and outward engagement–in service of the mission of God in the world. After all, as I mentioned yesterday, John Calvin didn’t so much denounce the spirituality of the monastics as he sought to democratize it by bringing it to all Christians.

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Reformed spirituality can make some unique contributions to missional discipleship in several ways:

-It’s emphasis on the priesthood of all believers. Each believer is, through the mediating work of Jesus, able to approach God. Each believer is gifted with the Holy Spirit in order to both convict of sin and empower for ministry. As a result each believer is a minister, a missionary sent to do the work of the kingdom in all of life. By this I mean that all Christians are able to participate in the mission of God in the world–the advancing of the kingdom of God and the restoration of fallen created order. We minister in different ways, but we all minister–we are all agents of reconciliation bearing witness to the Gospel of the Kingdom.

-It’s emphasis on the Pastor-Teacher as practical theologian. Reformed churches value the role of the pastor as a theological guide who both shapes the mind and connects that which is learned to the heart through practices–lived theology. The Reformed pastors is not simply a therapist who practices unconditional positive regard, he is a coach who points parishioners to the Gospel repeatedly but uses different words and different approaches at different time. She is not simply a lecturer in theology, but a shepherd who helps Christians to follow Christ faithfully in every season of life as guided by the Scriptures.

-It’s emphasis on exodus as a theological theme that undergirds the church’s identity.
For Calvinists, the church is an elect community who is abroad in the world for the purpose of following God and bearing witness to the reality that God’s grace and God’s love is more powerful than our sin we than our will. If missional is about being present in the culture rather than withdrawing from culture, the Reformed churches have a sense of being called into (and subsequently out of) a strange land that worships foreign Gods.

In Discipleship, Fellowship of Presbyterians, Ministry, Practical Theology, Spiritual Formation
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How to handle public criticism

July 6, 2012 — 1 Comment

If you’re a leader you will receive criticism. The only people who are immune from criticism are people who fail to take action, express an opinion, make an argument, or create something. In many ways, receiving criticism is a sign that you’re making a contribution to your organization, your church, or to society. Criticism is not necessarily the mark of a dysfunction organizational culture, although it can be. In many ways, the absence of criticism (disagreement) can be more symptomatic of organizational dysfunction.

The ability to effectively deal with criticism is a critical competency for leaders, especially for leaders of public organizations (like churches) that include people from a variety of backgrounds and fundamental beliefs. Not handling criticism well often leads to very public flameouts.

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I’ve had my fair share of criticism over the years from more than one source and in more than one context. Dealing with criticism can be very difficult, especially it is about something that matters deeply to you. It can be tempting to throw in the towel. However, the places where we are most vulnerable to criticism, the places we care about most deeply, are also the places where we are most needed to invest ourselves.

In light of that I offer five ways to handle public criticism:

1. Do your due diligence. Think about what criticism may arise around your decision. Are they merited? Is the cost of the criticism greater than the value of the decision? Think about this before you place yourself out there so it will be settled in your mind.

2. Get the advice of trusted counselors. There is wisdom in a multitude of counsellors so make sure that you run your idea by several friends who can help you think through your decision.

3. Filter the voices. You need to think, in advance, about who are the voices you will listen to. If you have settled 1 and 2 it will be easier to deal with number 3. Don’t listen to any old Tom, Dick, and Harry as the English say. There will be online chatter. Some of it will be criticism that is helpful and constructive and offered in a generous spirit. Some will simply be snarky. You cannot defend your decision against all voices–choose well the voices you will engage.

4. Take action or make changes when appropriate. Sometimes you will have to change your decision based on the reality in the organization in which you lead. Don’t rush to do this and do not make your default a willingness to change as soon as there is push back. Do, however, have an idea of what or who will influence you to rethink a decision. When necessary, be willing to make a course alteration.

5. Own your decision. Nothing is more counterproductive than failing to own a decision. Often this comes in the form of blaming others for a change of course (#4) that you feel coerced into. If you change your mind, backtrack, or otherwise alter your course, admit that. If you’re not wrong, don’t back down. If you do back down, don’t play the victim. Simply state that given reality on the ground, you’ve decided to pursue a different direction.

In Discipleship, Leadership, Management, Ministry
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