We face two serious challenges in communicating the Gospel. The first challenge is the cynicism of the unchurched. This is a formidable barrier. These people have a "zero" expectation about anything said by the church or by christians. It is irresponsible and uncharitable to attribute this solely to rebellion or ignorance. The majority of these people professes belief in God but have no use for an institution which does not reflect what it only occasionally proclaims. The second is the ideological paralysis of the church and its inability or unwillingness to actually imagine the "Gospel" as anything other than its systematic, historical formulation which is influenced more by philosophy, politics and morality than theology. The horrific infighting within denominations and between them makes even adherents run for cover and gives these institutions no credibility with those outside. We are called serve these people. We cannot dismiss them because we have made the task more difficult.
A.I.
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