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It’s a great question to ask at any time, “How to reach any generation with the gospel?” But the answer is equally if not more important for Christian churches (people) and pastors. The answer leads in various directions, and we will either be going God’s direction or not. There’s a lot of resources to answer and clarify to ensure we are going in the right direction, as this one video below of Francis Chan in August 2019 — highlighting again the critical importance to God and his word as the central answer. Instead of looking beyond God and his word, rather, we narrowly dig deep which then (in God’s design) affects the wide world.
By this, Francis Chan provides the profoundly simple, historical, and biblical way to reach any generation with the gospel while also challenging the consistent and ever-changing tactics seemingly “needed” in each generation. Every generation has its issues and challenges, and the temptation becomes following culture issues vs. sound, long-lasting command exemplified in Jesus and the Bible’s New Testament. Chan also provides examples of difficulties in life and ministry, mentioning some friends and personal issues, that show the shortness of life and the importance of God’s word for every generation. Either we become burdened or learn from God and the past to address the current culture the right way — with Jesus.
There’s a few lines in particular that we have consistently shared that Chan highlights:
Just be so careful you can get caught up in just the way things are done right now well everyone does this so we're gonna do it and and you're old you don't know how to reach this generation and that that's the way we all thought even back then like you know like like this is the way we're gonna get the people in and we're gonna get this celebrity to talk and we're gonna get this person because he has so many followers and he's gonna speak and that's really gonna grab people as hard if we get someone famous or we get someone brilliant at this this is this and let's do Church this way because this will grab more people and get more people here and and we just didn't we didn't I didn't take the time to really look deeply in the word and not be tainted by the world and go how did Jesus do it what did he care about what was most important to him and to speak directly to people …
Why didn’t I say something? … Why didn’t you shoot them straight?
Read through the Book of Jeremiah man where he's just saying they're going in everywhere literally everyone hates me [Jeremiah] yet even the church we value people by the number of followers … he could have very easily been loved if he wasn't truthful …
We affirm that God loves the world and that God does want ‘numbers’ of people, however, he wants them by his way. What is his way? It is himself.
Hence why “Telos Center is a training resources to train people in truth and love” and “Telos Church(es) are people inspired by truth and love to make life, disciples, and churches all about Jesus.” God’s plan was and is for people to trust in Jesus with the entirety of their life, which then connects them to God the Father and that’s where God the Spirit is at work in the world and hearts. He is the ultimate truth and love to learn.
If we use earthly examples of this, like in a wedding ceremony context, then we don’t see a man coming to the wedding ceremony altar to marry a dress, makeup, flowers, the bridesmaids, her family, pretty hair, communication skills, etc. We witness a groom entering the wedding altar to lovingly and truthfully marry his bride — the woman, person, her, she, etc. because of who she is and not what she has or comes with. Therefore, the people of the world are to look upon God for who he is as well as what he wants and commands all of us to believe and do. Therefore, we “shoot people straight” with God’s word because he inspires us in truth and love.
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