Welcome to the first post of 21st Century Wineskins.
If the author of Ecclesiastes were writing today he would probably say something like, “Of the posting of blogs there is no end . . .” Well, like the author of Ecclesiastes, I feel the Lord has given me a message to share. I want to help those who desire to share the story of Jesus’ impact on their lives with others, but are not sure how to do it, or who have been trying without much fruit, or who are looking for something more than the latest canned presentation in a long line of evangelistic tools.
Much of what the church teaches about the “how-to” of sharing our faith focuses on presenting a certain set of propositions (e.g. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life), trying to convince your audience to believe those propositions and say a prayer of assent when you get to the end of the booklet. Those tools have their place, and had a degree of success in helping people share their faith. However, the world has changed in the 40+ years since the creation of the most commonly used gospel presentations. Basic assumptions of the nature of truth are different, people are not merely looking for a spiritual belief system to ascribe to, and Christianity is not the default choice for the spiritually curious anymore.
One definition of insanity is to keep doing something the same way, while expecting different results. If those we desire to share the story of Jesus with no longer respond to the methods we’ve always used, doesn’t it seem a little crazy for us to keep using those methods believing they will still bear fruit? When Jesus came to teach us how we could have a right relationship with God, his methods were a break from those of the religious leaders of the day. Yes, he taught propositions (e.g. – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16), but he also hung out with sinners, the kind of people that were not welcome in the polite circles of the religious elite. He spoke truth, but did so with love and kindness – without forcing himself on people. He was patient with people, listening to and answering their questions. He connected relationally with those he ministered to, they were people to him, not projects.
When questioned about his counter-intuitive ministry methods Jesus replied in Luke 5:37, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.” The way Jesus interacted with people in order to share his message was so new and active that it could not be contained in an inflexible, this-is-the-way-we’ve-always-done-it container. Theologian Walter Liefeld in his commentary on Luke’s gospel says, “Jesus’ teaching is like fermenting wine that seems to almost have an inherent vigor and cannot be contained within an old rigid system.”
21st Century Wineskins is a place where we can examine the sometimes stiff wineskin of the modern, institutional church and the methods of outreach we use, and to explore different ways to more effectively communicate the good news of Christ’s love.
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