Dozens of surveys reveal that most non-Christians are
interested in Jesus, but not in Church or Christianity. Most agree that the
reason for this growing trend is due to the perception that Christians are all
anti-Gay, pro-Republican, and dogmatic about their particular brand of faith.
In light of this, I have been feeling that it might be
interesting to create a Meet Up group for unbelievers who are curious about
Jesus and interested in learning more about him; what he taught, what his
message was, what the Gospel is all about, what the Sermon on the Mount means,
and other questions – without having to be coerced into a decision to join a
church, or being sold a certain political ideology.
So, in about a week, on July 15, I’ll be hosting “Jesus
Without Religion (Or Politics)” for anyone and everyone who wants Jesus without
all the usual baggage.
Assuming anyone even shows up to this meeting – and I’m
praying at least one person will respond – the basic outline we’ll cover looks
like this:
*Are the New Testament documents reliable? [Historical
evidence for Jesus].
*Who was/is Jesus? [His birth, early life, family members, enemies,
disciples, etc.]
*His Message [The Gospel revealed] and his Parables
explained
*The Sermon on the Mount [His Manifesto]
*His influence on the culture; impact on History and the
World
*Prophecies fulfilled [What Jesus prophesied and what was
prophesied about him]
*His arrest, trial, crucifixion, and did the Resurrection
happen?
Now, one unforeseen byproduct of this group has been that I’ve
had more Christians sign up for this on MeetUp.com than non-Christians. Since I
really, really do NOT want our sessions interrupted with arguments about
doctrine, I decided to create a second group called “For Christians Who Want
Jesus Without Religion Or Politics” which will start meeting the following week on a
different night.
Honestly, I really have no big plans for this group. My
guess is that it will be a wildly divergent group of Christians with varying
definitions of what our group should be all about.
For example, one person who signed up to the “Jesus Without
Religion (Or Politics)” group made a comment to me about how his previous church
wouldn’t allow him to teach his pet doctrines, which is not quite what I meant
by “Jesus Without Religion”.
I’m very tempted to start off the Christian version of the
meeting by declaring that Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat, or a Baptist
or a Lutheran, or a Calvinist or an Arminian, or even a “Christian” and see who’s
still left after I’m done talking.
To be frank, I was tempted to cancel the Christian meeting all
together, but my wonderful wife encouraged me by pointing out that a lot of
Christians still don’t understand the Gospel of the Kingdom, or what the Sermon
on the Mount is about, or what the Parables mean, or even if the New Testament
documents are reliable.
So, I took a step back off the ledge and decided to at least
attempt to teach this same material to the Christian group and see what
happens.
Please, if you would, pray for me and for both of these
meetings. Please pray especially that non-Christians who are interested in
learning about Jesus would find the group and show up. Please also pray that
the Christians will agree not to come to the first group but stay in the second
group. And please also pray that the Christian group won’t turn into a massive
argument about doctrine, politics or religion.
I’ll be sure to provide updates as things progress.
Thanks,
Keith
11 comments:
Keith, what God has you doing here is fantastic. You certainly have my prayers and I look forward to reading your updates. It is my prayer that many are exposed to the Gospel by your work in this regard. Much love to you brother.
This is a great idea and I'm not surprised of all the interest. There are a lot of "church" people who are probably just as interested but afraid to show their interest. I certainly will be praying for good results from these groups.
I can see why even Christians would be interested, Keith. Most churches I've been in have been negligent in teaching the very issues you want to deal with. But, then again, discipleship seems to be a "lost art" in most assemblies. I do have one question. How are you letting people know about the meetings you are holding, especially for the non-Christians? Will be keeping you in prayer.
Hi Keith
I live in Tasmania, Australia. I run a small not for profit with a group of friends and we work outside or on the margins of the church. We seek to reach exactly the people you speak of- the unchurched who are drawn to Jesus and disenfranchised Christians. I would be most interested in access to your curriculum for this group. Any chance of sharing it? You could even write a book...
Cheryl D.
God bless you in this endeavor, Keith!
By the way, I'm finally working on the dissertation on worship in Ukrainian simple churches, and your interview with Frank Viola and Neil Cole found its way into my literature review--a really helpful piece for making the connections and distinctions between those two.
I remember the Sunday I got to experience with your church (back in - I think March 2012?) fondly!
-Julie
To bad I'm in the Netherlands, would love to follow your study.
Cheryl, Taco, et al. - I'll be sure to post feedback and updates on these sessions, and I'll also share my notes and curriculum here on the blog. If you'd like me to provide more, please be sure to message me as we go along and I'll be glad to share everything I can.
Peace,
Keith
Do you email when you write new posts? I could not find a sing up button on your blog.
Yes, if you view the "Web Version" [not the mobile version] of the blog, there's a sign up on the right-hand side to subscribe to the blog.
Have you considered putting it on YouTube? If you were to do it make sure your Q&A time is on mic.
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