Gospel Witness by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

GOSPEL WITNESS

Gospel Witness Evangelism in Word and Deed

David M. Gustafson

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand Rapids, Michigan

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 4035 Park East Court SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 www.eerdmans.com © 2019 David M. Gustafson All rights reserved Published 2019 Printed in the United States of America 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ISBN 978-0-8028-7680-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

To Sharon, my wife and colaborer in the gospel

Contents

Foreword by Robert E. Coleman

Preface

1. Introduction to Gospel Witness

2. God’s Mission and Evangelism

3. Gospel Clarity

4. Always Ready

5. Engaging Relationships

6. Witness in Word and Deed

103

7. Conversion to Christ-Follower

124

8. Gospel Praxis in a Pluralistic Society

149

9. Witness through Community

173

10. Baptism and Discipleship

197

11. Shaping a Gospel-Sharing Church

217

12. Sending Disciples on Mission

238

Epilogue: Faithful Presence and Urgency

260

Appendix: God’s Human Drama Illustrated

271

Bibliography

275

Index

293

vii

Foreword

Giving priority to reaching spiritually lost people does not mean that the church has no other ministry. Jesus saw himself as an evangelist, announcing the coming of the kingdom of God. However, he proclaimed this message in the context of demonstrated compassion for the bruised and forgotten people of the world. Clearly, both sharing the gospel and seeking to offer care and to rectify injustices are both necessary. One without the other leaves a distorted impression of the good news. If Jesus had not borne the sorrows of people and performed deeds of mercy among them, we might question his concern. On the other hand, if he had not made the gospel clear, we would not have known why he came to earth or how we could be saved from our spiritually lost condition. To bind up the wounds of a dying man while withholding the message that could bring deliverance to his soul would leave him still in bondage. Without evangelism, there would be no church. Jesus announced, “The kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). When spiritually lost people believe the gospel and are “born again” (John 3:3, NIV), they enter the “kingdom of God” (John 3:5). As the community of the King living under his lordship, the church is custodian of the gospel and holds the keys to the kingdom (Matt. 16:19). Every member of the church is part of this “royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). This is rightly called “the priesthood of believers.” The Protestant Reformation brought this submerged doctrine back into focus. Unfortunately, by and large, only half of the church’s priesthood has received much attention—the vertical dimension by which, in Christ, every believer can go directly to God; no human intermediary is needed to facilitate access to the throne of God. But in the other dimension of our priesthood— the horizontal outreach to our fellow humans—the church has a long way still to go. In most congregations, gospel witness is still consigned largely to duly ordained clergy or especially gifted leaders. Nonetheless, clergy and gifted ix

Foreword leaders are in a unique position to prepare their congregations for the work of ministry that we all share together. It is not the leaders’ place to do all this work themselves but to “equip the saints” for the work entrusted by Christ to his whole body (Eph. 4:11–12). Thus service becomes part of the daily life of mothers, factory workers, clerks, soldiers, farmers, and students. Every Christian becomes the voice, hands, and feet of gospel witness; telling the good news is the call of every Christian. Moreover, many congregations have substituted institutional programs for the priesthood of individual believers representing God to others. This situation calls us to return to the apostolic norm of ministry and to mobilize the whole body of Christ for service and gospel witness. Building upon this understanding and conviction, David M. Gustafson, my former student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and now chair of the department that I once directed, has written Gospel Witness: Evangelism in Word and Deed to guide the church in its witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. Clearly, the church in the West is in trouble. Not only has it lost influence, but by and large, it has also lost direction. Dr. Gustafson speaks not simply as a theoretician but also as a practitioner of the principles that provide renewed direction for the whole church to return to its call of gospel witness in the twenty-first century. Robert E. Coleman Author of The Master Plan of Evangelism

Preface

How do we communicate the good news of Jesus Christ in the twenty-first century in ways that are clear and compelling to others? I believe that we must engage in gospel praxis by speaking the good news in words and demonstrating it with deeds. We must engage people who are far from God with the life-changing truths of the gospel. Now more than ever, we must think like missionaries as we seek to bring the good news to others. The church stands at a critical moment in history. Unless we reorient our church life toward the biblical tasks of announcing the good news and making disciples, we will miss our opportunity to engage people who are spiritually far from God. We must renew our commitment to disciple-making—gospeling and discipling— personally and in communities of Christ-followers. I teach at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and because of my concern for the church at this critical moment, I desire to equip students for ministry and mission in the twenty-first century. I hope to prepare them for disciple- making that begins with gospel-sharing. I am also burdened for churches that are stuck in inherited patterns of church life (and perhaps a Christendom- bound ecclesiology) and need missional renewal. Therefore, I have written this book from a framework of missional ecclesiology that is applied to our increasingly post-Christian contexts in the West. I sincerely hope that this will be a resource for seminary students, Christian leaders, pastors, and church staffs as they engage in gospel witness. The book draws from my years of ministry with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) and two local churches. I identify with the master gardener who once was asked, “Who taught you to garden?” The gardener replied, “I have read books and learned from others, but in the end I have learned from the plants. I watch them. They too have taught me how to garden.” Similarly, I have studied under experts of mission and evangelism such as Robert E. Coleman, C. Peter Wagner, and Charles Van Engen, but I have also shared the gospel with thousands of people. I have listened to their responses and questions. I have learned from them. xi

Preface I wish to mention several people who have helped me along the way. I begin with my sister Ann Elmore who led me to faith in Jesus Christ after sharing the gospel with me when I was sixteen years old. Then at Western Illinois University she introduced me to the staff of Cru. I was discipled during these years by Paul Barger, who showed me how to share the gospel. After my years on staff with Cru, I attended Trinity. Then I served as pastor at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and pastor of evangelism and discipleship at Homewood Evangelical Free Church in Moline, Illinois. I thank these churches for giving me opportunities not only to preach the gospel but to equip disciples in disciple-making. My experiences, especially in leading relief teams to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, shaped my understanding of gospel witness. Working with Mark Lewis, director of Crisis Response of the Evangelical Free Church of America, I discovered how serving alongside homeowners of flooded homes not only showed love for neighbor but also opened doors to communicate the love of God and his gospel. My studies in church history with Kjell O. Lejon gave me the opportunity to write a dissertation about the evangelist D. L. Moody. This work prepared me to teach at the University of Houston and Houston Graduate School of Theology. While at Houston, I became immersed in missional ecclesiology by co-teaching a course on missional church with James H. Furr, as well as collaborating with Jim Herrington and others of Mission Houston. Coming full circle to my alma mater, Trinity, I continue to receive encouragement from my department colleagues Craig Ott, Alice Ott, Harold A. Netland, and Tite TiĂŠnou. I wish to thank my students who read the draft, raised questions, offered suggestions, and have put the principles into practice. I would like to thank my graduate assistant Theresa White, who proofread the manuscript, as well as colleagues Harold A. Netland, Phillip W. Sell, Craig Ott, and Taylor Worley, who read sections of the manuscript. Much of the source material of this book comes from textbooks that I have assigned in courses. I make generous use of footnotes not simply to give the authors proper credit but to direct readers to additional resources. I am grateful to the editors at Eerdmans for their expertise during the publishing process. I trust that this book will help all who read it to engage in gospel witness in word and deed. David M. Gustafson Deerfield, Illinois

xii

1 Introduction to Gospel Witness

y Gospel witness is about more than sharing the gospel with others. It is about whom we worship, who we are, what we receive, what we say, and what we do. Books about gospel proclamation run risks of imbalance. This is particularly true when gospel proclamation is separated from the whole life of a Christ-follower, as well as the life of a local congregation. The act of sharing the gospel with others is not an isolated part of the Christian life but one of multiple, interconnected activities.1 Worship of the triune God, hospitality, reconciliation, service, study of the Scriptures, forgiveness, prayer, compassion, sharing resources, justice, and friendship all come together to inform and shape this practice. Only through such integral practices of Christian faith and life does gospel proclamation or “gospeling” retain its integrity in praxis.2 God calls every Christian to witness to the gospel, to speak of his saving acts in redemptive history, and to love one’s neighbor.3 Christ sends the church, corporately, to engage others with this message in word and to demonstrate it in deed.4 The Spirit enables us to live out our baptismal identity, our union with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection, and to follow as members of his body and servants of his community in the world. 1. William J. Abraham, The Logic of Evangelism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 104. 2. The term gospeling used here is synonymous with evangelizing. Cf. Scot McKnight, The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 132. The word praxis is used to emphasize not simply proclamation of propositions but the practice of the gospel in both verbal and demonstrable ways, in embodied action. The gospel is lived out; we practice what we preach. See Kevin J. Vanhoozer, The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical- Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2005), 59. 3. Acts 1:8; 4:23–31; 5:42; 8:1, 4; 11:19–21; 13:26–32. 4. Bill Kynes and Greg Strand, Evangelical Convictions: A Theological Exposition of the Statement of the Evangelical Free Church of America (Minneapolis: Free Church Publications, 2011), 185–209.

Gospel Witness Nevertheless, we find ourselves today in a world fundamentally different from that of previous generations. This raises the question, How can we be faithful witnesses in our contemporary context?

Gospel Praxis in Western Contexts For Christians in the West, our context is increasingly secular. Christianity has been displaced from its earlier place of prominence and influence, which it held during Christendom as a majority, if not an official state-sponsored religion.5 For centuries, state and church worked closely together whether in government or society. However, secularism has led hundreds of millions of people in Europe—Christianity’s heartland for more than a thousand years— to its present spiritual condition where only a small percentage are practicing Christians.6 Less than 5 percent attend church every Sunday in Denmark, Germany, France, and Sweden.7 In the second half of the twentieth century, missiologist Lesslie Newbigin (1909–1998) observed as he returned to his native England, having served as a missionary in India, that the West had become “post-Christian.”8 Thus, he issued a clarion call to the church in the West to reengage its context as a mission field.9 In today’s late- or post-Christendom world, one can 5. Ed Stetzer, “An Evangelical Kingdom Community Approach,” in The Mission of the Church: Five Views in Conversation, ed. Craig Ott (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), 95. Cf. Steve Hollinghurst, Mission-Shaped Evangelism: The Gospel in Contemporary Culture (Norwich, UK: Canterbury, 2010), 9–23. 6. Darrell L. Guder, Called to Witness: Doing Missional Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015), 29. 7. Gene Veith, “Why Do So Few Europeans Go to Church?,” October 15, 2015, http:// www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2015/10/why-do-so-few-europeans-go-to-church. Cf. Harriet Sherwood, “Church of England Weekly Attendance Falls below 1m for First Time,” Guardian, January 12, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/12/church -of-england-attendance-falls-below-million-first-time. 8. Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 2–5, 10; Alan J. Roxburgh, Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011), 35–48. 9. For an introduction to Newbigin, see Lesslie Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986); Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989); Mark T. B. Laing and Paul Weston, Theology in Missionary Perspective: Lesslie Newbigin’s Legacy (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2012); Scott W. Sunquist and Amos Young, The Gospel and Pluralism Today: Reassessing Lesslie Newbigin in the 21st Century (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015).

Introduction to Gospel Witness neither assume nor expect people in the broader society to have any sense of obligation to attend worship services as was the case during the heights of political and cultural Christendom.10 With the shift toward post-Christendom, the West is again a mission field.11 While the United States has boasted of separation of church and state since the founding of the new republic, Christianity has been treated generally as the de facto faith of Americans.12 However, this cultural Christendom is collapsing.13 A growing percentage of Americans no longer share a Christian worldview, hold to Christian beliefs and values, or identify with America’s Christian heritage. The Christian faith no longer has the cultural clout of previous decades, nor can one assume that people are familiar with Christian theological concepts like sin, faith, prayer, repentance, and a personal God. Instead, these are (mis)understood as bad deeds, wishful thinking, meditation, moral expectations, and a moldable deity.14 Theologian and missiologist Darrell L. Guder states: Of all the Western developed nations, the United States is probably the most religiously active: higher church attendance than in other Western nations, public attention to religion especially in politics, obvious practices of “civil religion” (prayers at public events, the singing of “God Bless America”), and enormous interest in diverse forms of religiosity as evidenced in the publication and sale of books on all 10. See Timothy Keller, Center Church (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 182–85, 257; Benjamin T. Conner, Practicing Witness: A Missional Vision of Christian Practices (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011), 18, 45–46. 11. Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2014), 173. 12. Guder, Called to Witness, 78. 13. William J. Abraham, “A Theology of Evangelism: The Heart of the Matter,” in The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul W. Chilcote and Laceye C. Warner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 22. 14. Elizabeth Drescher, Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America’s Nones (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), 81–82, 189, 207. Smith and Denton hold that “a significant part of Christianity in the United States is actually only tenuously Christian in any sense that is seriously connected to the actual historical Christian tradition, but has rather substantially morphed into Christianity’s misbegotten step-cousin, Christian Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 171. Jonathan K. Dodson, The Unbelievable Gospel: Say Something Worth Believing (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 136–37; George G. Hunter III, How to Reach Secular People (Nashville: Abingdon, 1992), 37, 107.

Gospel Witness kinds of religion. At the same time, mainline denominations are, across the board, losing members and income. The cultural and legal privileging of churches is rapidly disappearing (e.g. repeal of blue laws, increasingly restrictive zoning regulation of churches, loss of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;protected Sunday morningâ&#x20AC;?). The interpretation of the Christendom history and legacy in public educational institutions is, when addressed at all, allegedly neutral but often negative. Biblical illiteracy is rampant inside the churches and endemic in the society at large. The separation of facts (scientific truth) and values (including religious convictions) has become dogma, with the public marketplace and the public conversation largely devoid of religious interaction, while religious activity in congregations is viewed as private, voluntaristic, and thus insular, inward, and member-oriented. The proportion of the population that is truly non-Christian, not just post-Christian, is rapidly growing, although with regional variations.15

In this setting, Christian teachings are questioned by many. Previously held assumptions such as absolute truth and the existence of heaven and hell have been jettisoned and may be considered politically incorrect. Whereas the church was once at the center of Western civilization and had a voice in society, it now finds itself on the margins with a culturally disenfranchised and sometimes politically disestablished status. This is post-Christendom. One cannot assume that the church and its leaders have adjusted to the new situation. Some leaders continue to operate according to the bygone era. They hold assumptions of political or cultural Christendom, expecting people to attend worship services out of a sense of personal, social, or civil obligation.16 For churches long established in Western Christendom, the readjustment is difficult. Attitudes of ecclesial and cultural hegemony, along with entitlement to some claim of definitive Christianity, die hard.17 As some congregations and denominations find themselves in survival mode, they redouble their efforts to grow, yet do so with little or no results to show for it. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s post-Christendom context resembles in some ways the pre-Christendom of the first centuries of the early Christian communities: marginalized as a minority and confronted with religious pluralism. 15. Guder, Called to Witness, 30. 16. John Finney, Recovering the Past: Celtic and Roman Mission (London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1996), 66. 17. Guder, Called to Witness, 21.

Introduction to Gospel Witness The Roman Empire consisted of a blend of religions and worldviews in a political system that gave them more or less equal status. Similarly, Western societies today are pluralistic, characterized by acceptance of diversity and moral alternatives.18 Communications technology makes accessible multiple choices of political and religious views. People hold to a plurality of sexual expressions, identities, and experiences. Our culture promotes a social code of permissiveness and a politically correct tolerance—or, as professor D. A. Carson describes it, a “new tolerance” that is selective.19 In the current context, absolute truth has been replaced by “local narratives” in which people claim, “Only those within our community or tribe have the right to comment or criticize our truth,” and “If you want to believe this stuff about Jesus, that’s okay for you, but don’t try to foist your beliefs on us.”20 Organized religion has lost its relevance in society, and in some instances is blamed for social ills and oppression that violates the contemporary social code. Such post-Christian perceptions cast doubt on the relevance and place of the church in the West. In some ways, as Newbigin observed, the post-Christian West seems more like a foreign mission field. However, the West is not the same as a cultural context that has never encountered the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those living in post-Christendom contexts may know very little of the Christian faith but assume they know more than they do. Their limited perceptions inoculate them against biblical Christianity.21 While some people still self-identify as Christians as a statement of cultural or national identity, others reject Christian faith because of negative associations, hearing, for example, what Christians stand against rather than what we stand for. In the end, many see the Christian faith, or a caricature of it, as something they already know and to be rejected. 18. D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 18–21, 491–95. 19. D. A. Carson argues that there is an old tolerance and a new tolerance. The old or classical type holds the belief that other opinions have a right to exist, allowing for diverse viewpoints to flourish, united around the common good. The new tolerance is the belief that all opinions (and religions) are equally valid or true. Of course, the logic of the new tolerance leads to contradictions. D. A. Carson, The Intolerance of Tolerance (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 97–98. 20. John W. Nyquist, “The Gospel Paradox,” in Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 169. Also see Carl F. H. Henry, “Postmodernism: The New Spectre?,” in The Challenge of Postmodernism: An Evangelical Engagement, ed. David S. Dockery (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 38–41. 21. Hollinghurst, Mission-Shaped Evangelism, 190.

Gospel Witness Nevertheless, people in the West retain spiritual interest, and Christians have the biblical warrant to proclaim the gospel and to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19–20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:45–49; John 20:21–23; Acts 1:8).22 This requires that Christian leaders in the West relearn and implement means that lead to missional or missionary-like engagement in their contexts.23 Such engagement requires rethinking paradigms that previously shaped the church’s gospel proclamation and practice. Since the West is a mission field, we must adopt a missionary stance and approach that takes seriously the shifting cultural context.24 This means that Christ-followers must consider what it means to think and live within a mission field. Christian leaders need to rediscover redemptive analogies and identify ways to communicate the gospel in their local contexts.25 The church must consider how to engage society from the margins and how to announce the good news of Jesus Christ to the world from a position of political weakness and social humility.26 Such a disenfranchised status like early Christians experienced may lead us to rely equally on the Holy Spirit to proclaim and practice the gospel in our day. To engage in witness, local churches must equip Christ-followers to live as disciples sent by God to their neighborhoods, workplaces, and broader communities. God’s purpose in history is not simply to redeem people from sin and offer them heavenly life but to create a new humanity that exists in the world as a sign, witness, and foretaste of God’s kingdom, participating in his mission in the world.27 22. George R. Hunsberger, “Is There Biblical Warrant for Evangelism?,” in The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul W. Chilcote and Laceye C. Warner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 59. 23. Craig Ott and Stephen J. Strauss, Encountering Theology of Mission: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Contemporary Issues (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014), xxvii–xxviii. 24. Samuel Escobar, The New Global Mission: For the Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 79. 25. For examples of redemptive analogies, see George G. Hunter III, The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West Again (Nashville: Abingdon, 2000), 72–73; Don Richardson, Peace Child (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1974), 288. For Richardson, the message of God giving his Son was connected with the Sawi experience of peacemaking through the exchange of a child between warring parties. Richardson held that the communicator must look for such analogies present in the culture which serve as bridges to the meaning of the gospel. 26. Russell Moore, Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel (Nashville: B&H, 2015), 97, 120. 27. Lesslie Newbigin, “Evangelism in the Context of Secularization,” in The Study of

Introduction to Gospel Witness The church lives its identity through participation in the sending activity of the triune God.28 The church’s nature is rooted in the theology of the missio Dei, the mission of God.29 God sends us as believers in and followers of Jesus Christ to proclaim, serve, and witness to God’s revelation and work in Christ, inviting others into relationship with him and one another.30

Metaphors of Disciples The Scriptures provide several metaphors that describe our identity as Christian disciples in God’s mission.31 Each of these metaphors illustrates the role that God has given to us as his people. It is important to remember that it is not what we do as Christ-followers that determines who we are, but it is who we are in Christ that determines what we do.32

Priests of God’s Kingdom The mission of God’s people includes being his priesthood in the world (1 Pet. 2:9–10; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; cf. Exod. 19:5–6). As priests of God’s kingdom, we stand between him and those who are far from him. While Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest and the “one mediator between God and mankind,” we represent God to others and seek to bring them to acknowledge him (Heb. 4:14; 1 Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul W. Chilcote and Laceye C. Warner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 51. 28. Craig Ott, ed., The Mission of the Church: Five Views in Conversation (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), xix. 29. David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1991), 380. 30. David M. Gustafson, “Missionality of Apostolicity,” Theofilos 9, no. 1 (2017): 83–104. 31. The word mathētēs, “disciple,” is the primary term in the Gospels, used at least 230 times, as well as twenty-eight times in Acts of the Apostles, to refer to Jesus’s followers. It is the common referent for those in the early church known as believers, brothers and sisters, Christians, those on the way, or saints. Bill Hull, The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006), 32. 32. Neil T. Anderson, Victory over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1990), 43. Karl Barth concluded that “the goal of vocation is not a special Christian existence but the existence of the Christian as such, and that the existence of the Christian is either grounded in his vocation or not at all.” Karl Barth, The Doctrine of Reconciliation, vol. IV/3.2 of Church Dogmatics, ed. G. W. Bromiley and T. F. Torrance (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1962), 524, cited in Conner, Practicing Witness, 37.

Gospel Witness Tim. 2:5).33 Thus, gospel witness in word and deed is a priestly task in which we live as “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” so that we may “declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. Rom. 15:15–16). Jesus Christ, who is present in us, manifests his presence through us (1 John 4:17).34 As priests of his kingdom, we represent God to others by speaking about him and doing good (Matt. 5:16; Heb. 13:15–16). We represent people to God by intercessory prayer, speaking to him on their behalf (1 Tim. 2:1–7; cf. Joel 2:17).

Witnesses to God’s Saving Power Jesus has commissioned his disciples to be witnesses (Luke 24:46–48). Each of the four Gospels of the New Testament was written as a testimony from the lips of witnesses, collected by the four evangelists, and arranged to show that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah and Son of God, in order to persuade readers and listeners to believe in and follow after him.35 Therefore, we speak of Jesus’s identity as the Messianic King, the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures in him, his suffering and death, and his resurrection, and we proclaim repentance and faith in his name.36 Our witness is not simply verbal, however, but a living demonstration of faithfulness to him (Heb. 12:1).

Storytellers of God’s Big Story The story of God’s redemptive work in the Scriptures reorients others’ stories.37 Our lives and the questions and events that fill them take meaning

33. Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 120–22. 34. Jerry Root and Stan Guthrie, The Sacrament of Evangelism (Chicago: Moody, 2011), 127. 35. Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), 229–30. Bill Hull notes how many evangelical churches pose a subtle danger by departing from the gospel that calls on all believers to be disciples and follow Christ in obedience. Hull, Complete Book of Discipleship, 16. 36. Green, Evangelism in the Early Church, 71. 37. John 9:25; Acts 26:4–29; 1 Cor. 15:1–11.

Introduction to Gospel Witness from this larger story.38 Lesslie Newbigin wrote, “The way we understand human life depends on what conception we have of the human story. What is the real story of which my life story is a part?”39 Evangelism is telling the Christian story that begins with creation, is followed by human rebellion and betrayal, continues with God’s people called Israel, and climaxes with the coming of the Messiah Jesus as the one who redeems the world. As storytellers, we listen to others’ stories, share our stories, tell God’s big story that includes the gospel, and invite them to enter into this story (Acts 2:14–41; 10:36–43).

Coworkers in God’s Field Agriculture involves cultivating, planting, watering, and reaping (Mark 4:13– 20). As Christian disciples, we are God’s field-workers sent into his harvest field (Matt. 9:37–38; 1 Cor. 3:6–8; cf. Gen. 2:15). While some of us plant seed and others water, God causes the growth (1 Cor. 3:7; cf. John 6:44). Thus, we are coworkers with God in his harvest field (1 Cor. 3:9).40 We engage in planting, cultivating, and watering the seed of God’s Word in people’s souls, a process that requires time and patience during which seeds germinate, take root, and grow (John 4:34–38). Nevertheless, we are only servants in this activity by which people come to believe in and follow after Jesus, as the triune God assigns to each one of us our tasks (1 Cor. 3:5).

Messengers of God’s Reconciling Work As part of the new creation in Christ, we are not only reconciled by God to himself, but he has given us the ministry of reconciliation and committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17–19). “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Cor. 5:20). In essence, we who are reconciled become reconcilers. We function as God’s agents to proclaim what has been accomplished in Jesus Christ. We take this message of reconciliation to others and even experi38. Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, The True Story of the Whole World: Finding Your Place in the Biblical Drama (Grand Rapids: Faith Alive, 2009), 11. 39. Newbigin, Gospel in a Pluralist Society, 15. 40. Some passages emphasize God’s role in the task of evangelism (2 Tim. 2:10; Mark 9:37–38), and others emphasize the disciple’s role (Rom. 10:14–15; 2 Tim. 4:5).

Gospel Witness ence reconciliation with them, whether Jew or gentile, for God’s purpose is “to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross” (Eph. 2:15–16).

“Sent Ones” on God’s Mission God calls and sends the church to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18– 20). Therefore, we are sent ones.41 Jesus, whom the Father sent into the world, sent his disciples and now sends us.42 Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (John 17:17–18). And he said to his disciples, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21 ESV). We too are sent, whether to neighbors across the street or to people of a different tribe or language across an ocean. Because we are sent, we are an apostolic community.43

Members That Embody God’s Presence Christ-followers are a tangible presence of Christ in the local context.44 We are the communion of the Holy Spirit, a foretaste of the fullness of God’s kingdom (Eph. 1:13–23; 2 Pet. 1:4).45 As a work of the Holy Spirit, the church comprises physical form, language, and practices by which we are drawn 41. David J. Bosch, “The Structure of Mission: An Exposition of Matthew 28:16–20,” in The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul W. Chilcote and Laceye C. Warner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 76–77. Because Matt. 28:19 literally says, “Therefore, having gone (aorist participle passive, πορευθέντες, poreuthentes) make disciples of all nations,” one may assume they have gone already. However, this construction is an attendant circumstantial participle dependent on the imperative “make disciples” (μαθητεύσατε, mathēteusate) and thus takes on the force of the imperative. See Constantine R. Campbell, Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 126. 42. John 3:34; 4:34; 5:36–38; 6:57; 7:28–29; 20:21. 43. Darrell Guder, ed., Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 11–12; Ross Hastings, Missional God, Missional Church: Hope for Re-evangelizing the West (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2012), 143. 44. Matt. 5:14–16; John 13:35; 2 Cor. 2:15–16. 45. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV/3 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1956), 562.

Introduction to Gospel Witness into life with the triune God and sent into the world to participate in the mission of God.46 Together, we are the body of Christ.47 This does not imply that we are equal to Christ or a literal extension of his incarnation of Godmade-flesh. Jesus Christ is the head who gives to his body of followers life and direction (Eph. 1:22–23; Col. 1:18, 24).48 As his people, we are members of his body who participate in his mission by embodying as well as proclaiming the good news (Col. 1:24–29).

Foundation, Theology, and Praxis Given an understanding of our contemporary post-Christendom context and our identity as people sent by God, we have the opportunity to reimagine gospel witness today. Since the environment in which gospel proclamation is practiced is dynamic and not static, rethinking the way we engage in mission and evangelism is not an option but necessary for every generation.49 As we consider gospel proclamation and seek to formulate its practice, we develop means and methods that are informed by the Scriptures and theological understanding, and shaped by various disciplines of human inquiry that lead to sound evangelistic practices.

Foundation of Scripture First, we recognize that the church’s witness to the gospel is built on the foundation of the Bible, the final rule of Christian faith and practice.50 46. Bryan P. Stone, Evangelism after Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2007), 240. Cf. Lesslie Newbigin, The Household of God: Lectures on the Nature of the Church (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2008), 143–47. 47. 1 Cor. 12:12–31; Rom. 12:5; Eph. 4:4–12. 48. The metaphor of the body and head teaches about the mutual relations of members and their relationship to the head. Nevertheless, there are implications for the church’s activities in relation to nonbelievers in the world, such as a physical presence that speaks and demonstrates the gospel in ways that can be heard and understood. 49. Karl Barth said, “[The church] is on a way which is surrounded by a continually changing landscape and in which it is itself continually subject to change—but in which it can never become anything other than itself, in which it is obliged and summoned always to be the same and continually to maintain itself as the same in forms which are always new.” Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV/1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1956), 704. 50. D. A. Carson, ed., The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures (Grand Rapids:

Gospel Witness From the study of pertinent texts of the Scriptures, a theology of gospel proclamation emerges. • The church is a community that devotes itself “to the apostles’ The Scriptures both inform the teaching and to fellowship, to the content of the church’s witness, breaking of bread and to prayers” the gospel (Luke 24:46–49), (Acts 2:42). • The church gathers for worship and provide instruction for the in a place where the triune God means and manners of witness; manifests his presence and believwe proclaim Christ in Christ’s ers are built up for mission (Acts way (1 Pet. 3:15).51 15:30–35). The authority of the Bible is Church Scattered vitally important to gospel wit• The church is a community of beness. When the foundation is lievers who, like the apostles, are eroded, so is its practice.52 There sent into the world as witnesses are few or no good reasons for the (Acts 1:8; 3:6–7; 8:4–8). • Throughout the book of Acts, church to obey the Great Comthe Spirit sent by Jesus guided mandment (Matt. 22:34–40) and Christ-followers to specific cities, Great Commission (Matt. 28:19– peoples, or nations to proclaim the gospel there. 20) if the veracity and integrity of the Scriptures are in doubt or denied. If we are not sure if Jesus is truly God-in-human-flesh as the Scriptures describe, if we are not sure if he is the only Mediator, then gospel witness becomes less urgent and even irrelevant. When gospel praxis loses its importance, the church loses its edge to reach out to others, is weakened in mission and evangelism, and more often than not declines in number.53 In contrast, heartfelt conviction for gospel praxis flows from a high view of the Scriptures. Indeed, no other source yields the same vision and passion to reach those who stand apart from a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Church Gathered

Eerdmans, 2016); David S. Dockery, Christian Scripture: An Evangelical Perspective on Inspiration, Authority and Interpretation (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1995). 51. Vinay Samuel and Albrecht Hauser, eds., Proclaiming Christ in Christ’s Way: Studies in Integral Evangelism (Oxford: Regnum Books, 1989). 52. J. I. Packer and Thomas C. Oden, One Faith: The Evangelical Consensus (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 39–40, 42, 56. 53. Kelly posited thirty years ago that conservative churches are characterized by a seriousness for their message. Churches that are lenient about their message historically decline in number. Dean M. Kelly, Why Conservative Churches Are Growing (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1986), 82.

Introduction to Gospel Witness With the Scriptures as normative, the church’s historic interpretation as found in the creeds and confessions provides a tradition of theological understanding.54 Nevertheless, we engage these in our own work of theology in our particular time and location, “seeking, speaking, and showing understanding of what the triune God is doing in and through Jesus Christ for the sake of the whole world.”55 In this work we draw on our understanding of the triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), the kingdom of God, humanity, sin, salvation, and the church, as well as our theologies of prayer, servanthood, listening, and hospitality. This biblical and theological foundation informs our witness in the world.56

Framework of Theory Second, building on the foundation of the Scriptures, we erect a theoretical framework that draws on the knowledge of people, human cultures, and local contexts, taking into consideration influences of social location and the larger sociocultural context. Since all truth is God’s truth, theory draws on various disciplines, integrating knowledge with wisdom gained from such fields as church history, education theory, cultural anthropology, and communication theory. The use of theoretical perspectives from the social sciences, as well as insights from common sense, provide a theoretically informed understanding.57 In this task, gospel witness draws from various forms of human discovery such as the Socratic method of questions, Hiebert’s bounded-set and centered-set theory, and Oldenburg’s description of third places, all of which will be examined in subsequent chapters. Such knowledge fills out the framework of theory. Although theories of gospel witness integrate what is useful and contrib54. This involves both historical studies of the texts and development of particular confessional traditions within the historic orthodox faith. Craig Van Gelder, The Ministry of the Missional Church: A Community Led by the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007), 109. 55. Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “The Pastor Theologian as Public Theologian,” in Becoming a Pastor Theologian: New Possibilities for Church Leadership, ed. Todd Wilson and Gerald Hiestand (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016), 41. 56. D. A. Carson, “Church and Mission: Reflections on Contextualization and the Third Horizon,” in The Church in the Bible and the World, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 253–55; David S. Dockery, “A Theological Foundation for Evangelism,” in Evangelism in the Twenty-First Century: The Critical Issues, ed. Thom S. Rainer (Wheaton, IL: Shaw, 1989), 87. 57. Van Gelder, Ministry of the Missional Church, 105, 112–13.

Gospel Witness utive from these fields of study, neither the content of our proclamation nor the mission of God should be compromised. Such knowledge fills out the framework of theory.

Form in Praxis Third, from the biblical and theological foundation and theoretical framework, we practice gospel proclamation in specific contexts.58 This is important because theology and theory do not make disciples; action does.59 Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt. 7:24). Once, when evangelist D. L. Moody (1837–1899) was speaking with a critic who told him that he did not like his method of evangelism, Moody replied, “What’s yours?” The man answered that he did not have one. Moody paused and then said, “Then I like my way better than yours.”60 Gospel praxis is something we do, not something we consider.61 Such action reflects a normative understanding of the Scriptures and insights acquired from the social sciences applied in a particular context. Praxis allows for assessment, which in turn leads to deeper theological reflection and reshaping of praxis.62 Missiologist Donald A. McGavran (1897–1990) stated, “Theology, theory and practice never exist in isolation. Theology informs theory. Theory guides practice. Practice colors theology and theory.”63 58. Tite Tiénou and Paul G. Hiebert, “Missional Theology,” in The Gospel in Human Contexts: Anthropological Explorations for Contemporary Missions (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 38; Walter Klaiber, Call and Response: Biblical Foundations of a Theology of Evangelism, trans. Howard Perry-Trauthig and James A. Dwyer (Nashville: Abingdon, 1997), 198. 59. Bill Hull, Jesus Christ Disciple-Maker (Minneapolis: Free Church Publications, 1984), 77. 60. Herb Miller, Evangelism’s Open Secrets (St. Louis: Bethany, 1977), 12, cited in Bill J. Leonard, “Evangelism and Contemporary American Life,” in The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul W. Chilcote and Laceye C. Warner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 102. Cf. David M. Gustafson, D. L. Moody and Swedes: Shaping Evangelical Identity among Swedish Mission Friends, 1867–1899 (Linköping: Linköpings Universitet, 2008), 275–78. 61. Mark R. Teasdale, Evangelism for Non-evangelists: Sharing the Gospel Authentically (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016), 27. 62. Ray S. Anderson, The Praxis of Pentecost: Revisioning the Church’s Life and Mission (Pasadena, CA: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1992), 136. 63. Donald A. McGavran, Understanding Church Growth, 3rd ed., rev. and ed. C. Peter Wagner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), xvii.

Introduction to Gospel Witness Through evaluation of methods and theological reflection, one’s practice, theory, and even theology may be reinforced or reworked. This is a cycle of learning in which theories and practices are sharpened, and shallow theology is deepened.64 In addition to McGravran, others have provided insights about theology, theory, and practice. Theologian Walter Hollenweger (1927–2016) observed, “The real evangelist cannot help but take the risk that in the course of his evangelism his understanding of Christ will get corrected.”65 Professor Michael Green states, “Much evangelism today is brash and unthinking; the intellectuals do not usually engage in it. . . . The practitioners do not know any theology and the theologians do not do any evangelism. In the early Church it was not so.”66 Theologian William J. Abraham says, “We need an analysis of evangelism that will be at once historically grounded, theologically credible, and practically apt.”67 In this cycle of learning, we never stop reflecting on the gospel, learning to relate to our context, and communicating good news in creative praxis.68 Praxis yields valuable insights that help us reimagine, reshape, and recast our gospel witness. This cycle of learning requires critical thinking about ways to communicate the good news. I have written this book from the perspective that there is no substitute for serious theological, cultural, and contextual inquiry regarding the church’s mission of gospel proclamation and practice. As Christ-followers, we must pursue such study to be faithful in gospel witness.

64. Grant R. Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 14. 65. Walter Hollenweger, The Meaning of Mission (Belfast: Christian Journals, 1976), 17, cited in David J. Bosch, “Evangelism: Theological Currents and Cross-Currents Today,” in The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, ed. Paul W. Chilcote and Laceye C. Warner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 14. 66. Green, Evangelism in the Early Church, 88. 67. Abraham, “Theology of Evangelism,” 18. Cf. Robert E. Coleman, The Heart of the Gospel: The Theology Behind the Master Plan of Evangelism (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011), 9. 68. David M. Gustafson, “Creating and Critiquing Evangelism Strategies,” Journal of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education 12 (1996–97): 69–76.

Gospel Witness DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is the practice of gospel proclamation (what we do) dependent on our identity (who we are in Christ)? 2. Of the biblical metaphors that describe our identity as Christian disciples in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission, which one gives you the clearest perspective of your role and the most confidence to live as a missional disciple in your neighborhood, workplace, and broader community? Why? 3. How do these seven metaphors challenge your previous perception of sharing the good news with those who are far from God? 4. Do you agree that the West is an increasingly late- or post-Christendom society? What evidence do you have for this conclusion? 5. How can Christ-followers strengthen their identity in gospel proclamation, especially at a time when this is needed and cultural Christendom is diminishing? 6. Why is a commitment to the authority of the Scriptures important to engage in gospel witness?