Pragmatism
may be the dominant philosophy of the twenty-first century but it is not a new
mentality. In fact it is at least three thousand years old:
According to the psalmist, “Many are asking, ‘Who can show us any good?’” (Psalm 4:6). That is, most people want to know who will help them get the things of this world and give them peace of mind. But the psalmist says, “Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when grain and new wine abound” (Psalm 4:6-7). Nothing in this world can compare with seeing the light of God’s glory in the face of the eternal God-man. (Lundgaard, Through the Looking Glass, pp. 35-36)
Harrison,
team leader of iServe Africa, has long warned us that pragmatism is one of the most insidious
threats to the Kenyan church. It is more subtle than a blatant prosperity
gospel that promises perfect health and wealth if you ‘sow a seed’ (i.e. ‘give
to my ministry’). Even where we
explicitly teach against the prosperity gospel we can end up making church a place
where we come to get a ‘blessing’ and resolution to immediate problems –
financial, relational, health. Very
easily man is at the centre and Christ only turns up for the altar call.
In the
forthcoming Utumishi wa Injili course
we want to think through what gospel ministry really means. What exactly is the
gospel? Is it a message that, Yesu ata ku-sort, or is it about ‘seeing the light of God’s glory in the face of the
eternal God-man’? What would it mean if we really grasped this gospel for
ourselves, as churches? What would it mean for ministry to be gospel-driven and
gospel-shaped?
Comments
Post a Comment