Posts Tagged ‘urban mission’

29
Jun

Q

   Posted by: Doug    in Church, mission-missions, Theology - Church/Ecclesiology, Video

I received information from Dennis Tuuri about “Q”, a group founded by a fella named Gabe Lyons to “reintroduce Christians to what had seemed missing in recent decades from an American expression of Christian faithfulness; valuing both personal and cultural renewal, not one over the other.”

The Mission of Q:

“Q” educates church and cultural leaders on their role and opportunity to embody the Gospel in public life.

We believe that exposure to old and new ideas is the best way to stimulate imagination for ways the Gospel can be expressed within our cultural context.

Q has annual conferences in major cities throughout the United States to promote Christian Cultural Awareness and to encourage Christians to effectively serve in their cities. Q 2011 will be in Portland, Oregon. A promotional video, Getting the Portland Vibe, can be viewed on their website. According to these guys, “Portland is Jesus’ favorite city!”

By making this post I am not endorsing this organization or event. Rather, I’m hoping to stimulate conversation about what it means for us to minister to cities. These guys are interested in creatively engaging with the culture of our cities in non-threatening ways. This may, indeed, be something we need to learn. However, it may also be, as one person I know said of it, “It’s just good old fashioned social gospel liberalism in a new dress. Gasp!”

We need to be wise to understand our times and preach the gospel into the culture God has placed us AND we need to be sure that we are actually confronting and renewing the culture for Christ. A good question to always be asking in enterprises like this is: Who is converting who?

I plan to spend some time reading some of their blog posts, essays, watching some of the videos to not only learn what they are about, but also to see if they have any creative ideas that we should be considering. Not only so, I’m interested in some of their styles, methods and approaches to things.

Maybe you would care to comment on some of the content of the site?

Tags: , , , ,

No Comments
14
May

Video: Muslim Demographics

   Posted by: Doug    in Books, Church, Social Issues, Theology - Evangelism, Video

This is an interesting and informative video that I wanted to make available as a way to stir up creative thinking about how we can reach out to Muslims.  Obedience to and fulfillment of the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus to disciple the nations means learning to minister to the Muslims in our communities and around the world.

I have been reading and thinking about what God has been doing throughout the world in the recent decades, and about urban missions.

One book I can recommend is Muslims and Christians at the Table: Promoting Biblical Understanding Among North American Muslims.  I found it a useful resource for a Muslim history, doctrine, and worldview – And a biblical response.  It also provides very helpful and practical ways to reach out to Muslims.

bkcvr-muslim-christians

Another very helpful book is The Next Christendom, by Philip Jenkins. Jenkins provides convincing evidence that the center of Christian influence in the world is shifting from the West and North to the East and South.  The implications of this and other demographic trends are profoundly important for the Great Commission.

bkcvr-next-christendom

Tags: , , , , ,

No Comments
Back to top