Following up on my previous post, here's Driscoll's more measured exhortation to the Church in the UK:
'Here are some of my unedited thoughts for British evangelicals, whom I love and desire to see be exceedingly fruitful as they contend for the gospel of Jesus in their country.
1. You are in a cultural context that is more non-Christian, and even anti-Christian, than even the most liberal cities in the United States. I’ve taught across Scotland, Ireland, and England. Each one is more difficult to reach than my hometown of Seattle, which is one of the historically least-churched and most secular-minded cities in America. I’ve said for years that Britain and Canada are more secular and difficult than the United States. So, for those pastors (especially church planters) working in some tough soil, thank you!
2. You have great pressure from the media and even some legal liability that can cause preachers and teachers to whisper their beliefs rather than proclaim them. This is unfortunate, but it's reality, not unlike the early church preaching the gospel in the face of the Roman Empire. More than ever, humble courage is required!
3. Please do not compromise on essential doctrinal issues. Please do not back down from the perfection, authority, and sufficiency of Scripture as the very Word of God. Please do not shy away from talking about sin and allowing your preaching and teaching to devolve into vaguely spiritual self-help principles. Please do not be ashamed of the foolishness of the cross, where Jesus died in our place for our sins enduring the wrath of God we deserve. Please do not be timid to call people to repent of sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, as apart from him there is no forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God. And please do not deny the reality of a literal, conscious, eternal torment in hell, because people are going there and lying to them is not loving them!
4. Please ask yourself if your churches are doing all you can to reach younger generations so that the churches do not become museums telling of the days when people used to love Jesus, but rather remain missions where people continue to meet him as Lord, God, Savior, friend, King, and Christ!
5. Please earnestly ask if enough is being done to reach, train, and deploy godly, gifted men, especially young men, into the marketplace and ministry. As you look around your church this Sunday, ask if you see enough substantive Christian men to lead your church for the next few generations, and if not, sound the alarm that there is a crisis!
6. Please ask why there is a lack of courageous young Christian preachers heralding the word of God across Britain and beyond and why, when there are big events for evangelicals, a speaker often has to be brought in from another country to preach. Please pray for the next Spurgeon, and if you are a Christian leader, do all you can to, by the grace of God, provide opportunities to see those kind of preachers and leaders raised up to lead the cause of the gospel in your country!'
Sounds good, though personally I'd have had something in there about apologetics seeing as how "there's no evidence for it" or "that's nonsense!" features in many apostates' stories. But that's just me :)
ReplyDeleteYeah that's helpful Jamie. I think proclamation is primary but apologetics probably help the preacher to remember to speak into the objections people may have as they listen. Keller models this well in his preaching, MLJ did too.
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