Pop Justice:

1. Pop Justice: Is social action the latest church trend?

2. Bono has helped the evangelical church in America become more sensitive to those in need around the world and awakened our marginalized, or in some places forgotten, call to see justice. But, is the new focus on social justice just another pop-Christian trend? http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2006/09/pop_justice_is.html

3. What if social justice and compassion projects are simply the latest trend? • In recent years, many church have become involve in social justice issues, or at least talking about it. • Will it last or will it fade like every other trend?

4. Trends in the Church • Small groups • Seeker sensitive • Vineyard worship music • Cell churches • Baseball diamond for assimilation • Holy laughter • Radio preaching

5. Routine of Trends • Excitement • Adoption by early innovators • With time, most churches participate • Eventually, it passes and we wait for the “new” thing.

6. Will all the attention the church at large is now rightfully and biblically giving to social justice fade with time? • It is horribly sad if this rising interest in justice is only short-term. • Hopefully it won’t fade away, but come to be seen as central to what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

7. www.johnstott.org/the-impact/?id=1f6a337f2972298226695eb2b1d28d82www.johnstott.org/the-impact/?id=1f6a337f2972298226695eb2b1d28d82

8. Evangelism • The Lousanne Covenant (1974) defined evangelization as “the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world.”

9. Use the Whole Bible • Holistic theology and practice of mission requires a holistic understanding and use of the Bible. • The Bible shows us God’s priorities and passions.

10. The Bible shows us God’s heart: • For the last and the least (socially, culturally, and economically) as well as the lost (spiritually). • For those dying of hunger, AIDS, and war, as well as those who are dying in their sins. • For the landless, homeless, family-less and stateless as well as for those who are without Christ, without God and without hope in the world.

11. Old Testament Prophets • OT prophets confronted Israel and demanded that they change their ways, if they were to have any hope of fulfilling their mission of being a light to the nations and a blessing on earth. • The dominant prophetic call was to repentance among God’s people, so that God could get on with the job of blessing the world.

12. Scandals and Abuses in the World-wide Community • Mega leaders wielding vast wealth, power and control—unaccountable, unattractive and unChristlike. • Scandalous biblical ignorance—multitudes of ordinary Christians in so-called evangelical churches never hear the Bible preached or taught.

13. Prosperity gospel—a 21st century form of indulgences, except you pay your money not for release from pains after death, but for receipt of material blessings here and now. • Ungodly alliances with secular power—political, economic and military—identifying themselves with agendas and ideologies that reflect human empire not the kingdom of God.

14. Criticism of 16th Century Reformation • Was criticized because it lacked missionary awareness and energy.. • They were so obsessed with tackling abuses in the church that they neglected world mission. • How ironic and tragic will it be if 21st century evangelicals are so obsessed with world missions that we neglect abuses in the church and remain willfully blind to our own idolatries and syncretism?

15. If reformation without mission was defective, then mission without reformation will be deluded, self-defeating and even dangerous.

16. Course CorrectionsAjith Fernando • At the end of the 19th century, theological liberals began emphasizing the humanness of Christ while evangelicals reacted by emphasizing the atoning work of Christ. • Liberals concentrated on good deeds while evangelicals focused on saving souls. www.christianvisionproject.com/2007/11/getting_back_on_course-print.html

17. By the middle of the 20th century, evangelicals realized their mistake! • C. F. H. Henry’s work, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism (1947), and the Lausanne Covenant of 1974 were landmark documents leading the church to see social concern as an element of the church’s mission.

18. Regardless of political allegiances, Christians were encouraged to engage the culture and seek to daily demonstrate the Christian ethic.

19. The old “evangelism versus social action” war was over—or so I believed. • Serving in Sri Lanka, I was devoted to raising up a “post war” generation for whom social involvement and evangelism were natural outgrowths of commitment to Christ.

20. Neglecting Evangelism? • I hear evangelicals talking a lot about justice and kingdom values but not proclaiming the gospel to those of other faiths and winning them for Christ.

21. Proclamation or Presence? • Evangelicals emphasized proclamation • Liberals emphasized presence—living out our Christianity before the people. • I believe the “presence versus proclamation” battle has come back to the church.

22. Many nations are outlawing conversion through coercion. • Severe persecution is the result. • We face several obstacles that could stop our evangelistic momentum and replace it with more palatable agendas.

23. Questions to Challenge Our Shortsightedness • Do we talk about the coming judgment? • If not, the next generation won’t believe it. • One generation neglects the belief, the next generation rejects it.

24. Jesus said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” • The context indicates that the Lord is talking about eternal destruction which can only be averted by accepting his grace, denying self, taking up the cross, and following him. • Does his perspective color the way we look at people who do not follow Jesus?

25. Why did the Holy Spirit ensure that there are seven statements of Christ’s Great Commission in the New Testament? • Is it not because Jesus believed that before he left, it was important to drill into his disciples’ minds the priority of the work of saving souls for eternity?

26. Does Evangelism Have Priority Over Social Concern? • Reluctant to use the language of priority. • Such talk comes out of the Western desire to have things nicely lined up in logical progression. • I prefer, that our calling is to be obedient to God totally. If God is in control of our lives, he will lead us so that we will give the proper place to the whole will of God for us.

27. Holistic Thinking • We are called to be holistic. • But part of holistic Christianity is the statement of Christ that all earthly gain is worthless if a person loses his life to eternal destruction. • The stark fact of lostness places before us the urgency of evangelism. • I will encourage people to live the Christian life in society, but I will also follow Christ’s example in placing before Christians the fact of eternal damnation and the glory of eternal salvation.

28. I am reluctant to reinsert the priority argument. But we need clarity. Some will rightly say that because of calling or circumstances in some parts of the world, faithful Christians cannot always preach. They are called instead to social work, and government regulations prohibit combining social work with evangelism. Fair enough.

29. Some parts of the body of Christ may be called to do things other than proclaiming the gospel of eternal salvation, though they would verbally advocate other aspects of the kingdom agenda—such as justice, fair play, and righteous values. Indeed, every Christian needs to be committed to the whole gospel, seeking to be a personal witness through life and word.

30. To that end, Christian social-service organizations must ensure that their workers are not only committed to their social work, but also to Christ as the Lord of their lives. So even though verbal witness may not be part of their job descriptions, they need to be committed to it in their person lives.

31. Practical realities will dictate that not every segment of the church will be involved in all forms of proactive evangelism and all forms of social engagement.

32. Taken together, the whole body of Christ will be engaged in the whole mission of the church. • As the Lausanne movement puts it, “The whole church must take the whole gospel to the whole world.”

33. Brussels Statement Commentary

34. A long history of reaching, planting, training, and touching people. • Touching is what we do. • Our actions in compassionate ministries should be clearly enunciated as part of an intentional theology and strategy.

35. Kingdom of God is key term to formulate biblical principles of church missions that seeks to obey all Christ's commands • Signs of the Kingdom are seen clearly in Jesus’ ministry • Jesus’ exemplary ministry and sacrifice on the cross is a summons to service for all His followers.

36. Though the Kingdom of God plants signposts of the future in the present: • There remains an eschatological fulfillment when the messianic salvation will be perfectly accomplished in the age to come.

37. To enter the Kingdom requires a radical transformation in one’s life through repentance and faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. • The blessings of life in the Kingdom come by God’s gift of grace alone.

38. The Pentecostal narrative in Acts connects the Kingdom of God and mission of Jesus. • The empowerment of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 and the eschatological hope in the return of Jesus energized the early church. • The Spirit empowered disciples to do all that Jesus began to do and teach.

39. Acts demonstrates the rule of God pushes followers to: • Continue miracles, signs, wonders • To continue compassionate responses to human need • To break down humanly constructed social barriers • Continue to proclaim the Gospel to all nations

40. To enter the Kingdom is to come under God’s rule and be incorporated into the new order of life where love is normative. • Moral imperatives such as love, mercy, peace, justice, respect of person are not prescriptions of law, but what life looks like under God’s rule.

41. The local church is called to be God’s visible and corporate entity bearing witness to his Kingdom in mission and reconciliation between people. • The ministry of the church is to all people because all people have been made in the image of God.

42. Jesus’ earthly ministry demonstrated a deep concern for every aspect of human existence. • To follow Jesus’ example, the church must do the same.

43. The church models Jesus’ lead: • Ministry to children provides dignity • To the marginalized, it provides self-worth and justice • To the sick, it provides healing

44. The hope of the return of the Lord makes demands on our life and service in the present. • We long for Jesus’ return, but we are not passive.

45. The promise of Christ’s return compels us to continue to proclaim the good news, engage powers of darkness and show compassion of Jesus to suffering people. • This is the gospel preached and demonstrated to all nations until the end.