Tim Keller | How The Gospel Changes Our Apologetics

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How do we do apologetics? Tim Keller weighs in...

Apologetics is an answer to the “why” question after you’ve already given people an answer to the “what” question. The what question, of course, is “What is the gospel?” But when you call people to believe in the gospel and they ask, “Why should I believe that?” —then you need apologetics.

I’ve heard plenty of Christians try to answer the why question by going back to the what. “You have to believe because Jesus is the Son of God.” But that’s answering the why with more what. Increasingly we live in a time in which you can’t avoid the why question. Just giving the what (for example, a vivid gospel presentation) worked in the days when the cultural institutions created an environment in which Christianity just felt true or at least honorable. But in a post-Christendom society, in the marketplace of ideas, you have to explain why this is true, or people will just dismiss it.

Go read Dr. Keller's entire post and visit my Tim Keller Resources page for much more from Tim Keller.

Music Monday 7.9.12

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MUSIC WEBSITES (you might wanna check out)

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J.D. McPherson: Signs & Signifiers ($4.99)

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From the earlier mentioned Dead Rat Orchestra, you probably haven't seen something quite like this. So cool.

Tim Keller: Dealing With Evil

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Tim Keller on how liberals and conservatives deal with the reality of evil in his sermon on Spiritual Warfare...

The Gospel is the only approach that truly is not simplistic, that looks at the messed up families, looks at messed up hearts, looks at messed up neighborhoods and says, "There's biological problems, there's sociological problems, there's psychological problems, there's moral problems, there's spiritual problems, there's demonological problems...we're going to look at all of those things, we're going to deal with all of them. All of them!" ... Until you embrace the Christian understanding of evil, you are reductionistic, you are simplistic. You'll either make the liberal mistake of underestimating cosmic evil, or the conservative mistake, frankly sometimes of just saying we can't do a thing.

David Murray On Evangelistic Preaching

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David Murray begins some posts on evangelistic preaching. A blurb...

What do I mean, then, by evangelistic preaching? Let me put it positively:Evangelistic preaching expounds God’s Word (it is expository) with the primary aim of the salvation of lost souls (rather than the instruction of God’s people). Stuart Olyott says it is to “preach from the Bible with the immediate aim of the immediate conversion of every soul in front of us.”

So, what really distinguishes evangelistic preaching from all other kinds of preaching is its obvious and unmistakable aim – conversion. Its target is unconverted hearers. And its conscious and deliberate aim is to call, invite, and command needy souls to repent and believe the Gospel.

Why has this kind of preaching become increasingly rare in many Reformed Churches? I’ll give you my answer next week, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on it first.

Go read the whole post and comment.

July 2012 $5 Albums

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Headphones460Some great $5 albums...

$2.99 Albums | 6.28.12

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6a00d83451e0d569e200e54f9e17928834-800wiSome great albums for $2.99...

Fireside Chat: Tim Keller & Eric Metaxas

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If you missed it, you should check out this interesting discussion for the New Canaan Society between Eric Metaxas (twitter) and Tim Keller. The discussion is in large part about science, creation, evolution, hell, and Rob Bell.

Eric Metaxas and Tim Keller "Fireside Chat" from Brian McGee on Vimeo.

Introverted Church Moves On

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Adam McHugh, author of Introverts in the Church (my review), says this over at his Introverted Church blog...

I leave this blog today, not because my convictions have faded, but because I know that the message is out there now. Believe it or not, last month tallied the highest number of visitors in Introverted Church history, coming in at almost 25,000 people. Some people will think I am crazy to step off this platform now, but in my mind, last month gave me the permission that I needed to stop. People are talking about introverts and church, and I have accomplished what I set out to do.  It was never my intention to become The Voice for introverts. It was always my intention to help my fellow introverts find their voices.

Read the entire post "A Moment of Silence". I'm thankful for Adam's book, blog, and ministry. Looking forward to his new book, The Listening Life, coming out next year.

Beirut | "The Rip Tide" Video

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Most of my readers would know my love for the band Beirut. It's current, yet aged. It's creative, yet often stunningly simple. It's beautiful, often powerful, and always wonderful. One of the best bands working, in my opinion. Match that with what is probably their most stunning video to date for "The Rip Tide." The simplicity of the first 2 1/2 minutes turns into a rush of colors. Love the concept. Very impressed with this video. I hope you will enjoy it and pick up their great albums: The Rip Tide | Gulag Orkestar ($5.49 right now) | Lon Gisland EP | The Flying Club Cup | March of the Zapotec.

Tim Keller Evangelism Tips

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The salternlite blog transcribes 10 "evangelism tips" from Tim Keller. I believe these come from this talk. By the way, for some reason blog trolls love commenting on how "preach the gospel" isn't on the list. If you assume Tim Keller isn't talking about preaching the gospel in and through these things, you are dense and your comments will not be appreciated. For those of us who are thinking about how we can bring the gospel to our neighbors, these suggestions should be simple and helpful. A bit more context is given at the end.

  1. Let people around you know you are a Christian (in a natural, unforced way)
  2. Ask friends about their faith – and just listen!
  3. Listen to your friends problems – maybe offer to pray for them
  4. Share your problems with others – testify to how your faith helps you
  5. Give them a book to read
  6. Share your story
  7. Answer objections and questions
  8. Invite them to a church event
  9. Offer to read the Bible with them
  10. Take them to an explore course

Keller suggests, according to salternlite, to start with 1-4, move to 5-7, and then 8-10. Too often we start at the bottom.

Music Monday 6.18.12

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