The Dick Staub Interview: Trusting in a Culturally Relevant Gospel
"Os Guinness says that evangelicals have never strived for relevance in society as much as they do now. Ironically, he says, they have never been more irrelevant"
posted 8/01/2003 12:00AM
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If somebody says, "I want to live with that kind of prophetic untimeliness" what can they do?
There are three antidotes. The first is an awareness of the unfashionable. Be true to the parts of the gospel that just don't fit today. Have the guts to speak on truth, in a day of relativism, on hell and open inclusivism. When we're really true to the unfashionable parts of the gospel, then the power of the gospel will be on us.
The second important thing is to really appreciate history. Instead of this fascination with the future and this carelessness about the past, there's a whole stretch of verses in Deuteronomy that remind us to remember history. As C.S. Lewis says, it is "the clean sea breeze that blows through our thinking."
By focusing on history we don't become captive to our local culture and captive to our generation. We really have the independence because we're lifted above America, the West, and the 21st century. We see things with God's perspective. And that's the third thing: Really being in touch with the Lord, the eternal.
The only thing we really contribute to reformation and revival is need. When we get to a certain stage of need we turn to the Lord because we know we simply can't do it—even with all the mission statements, the re-inventing, and the punditry.
We've got to see that much of this stuff is not only bankrupt but it's totally worldly. When we get beyond that, the need will drive a huge number of people back to their knees.
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Visit DickStaub.com for audio and video of his radio program (4-7 p.m. PST), media reviews, and news on "where belief meets real life."
Dick Staub interviewed Os Guinness last summer about faith journeys.
Recent Dick Staub Interviews include:
The Long War About Science | Larry Witham, the author of Where Darwin Meets the Bible and By Design, talks about faith, science, and how the battle has evolved. (August 19, 2003)
Kevin Leman Talks About Sex, Baby | The author of The Birth Order Book looks at the private lives of Christian couples in Sheet Music: Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage. (August 12, 2003)
Why God is like Jazz | Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz, talks about why Christians need writers who honestly deal with their faults and why penguin sex is an apt metaphor for believing in Christ. (August 5, 2003)
A Gerontologist Gets Older | David Petty, author of Aging Gracefully, has long taught about the process of aging. Now, he is personally learning that one of the most important aspects is the spiritual side. (July 29, 2003)
Carmen Renee Berry's Unabashedly Consumerist Handbook to Ecclesiology | The author of The Unauthorized Guide to Choosing a Church helps seekers find their best congregational fit. (July 22, 2003)
Are Darwinists Immoral? | Benjamin Wiker says Darwinism isn't science per se: it's just a reiteration of a 2,300-year-old philosophy (July 1, 2003)
J. Budziszewski Knows That You Know What You Know | Even though you may not know it yourself. (June 24, 2003)
How Dan Allender Broke on Through (to the Other Side) | A former drug dealer who evangelized before he was a Christian talks about his efforts to bring healing from sexual abuse (June 10, 2003)
Paul Elie on 'the Holy Ghost School' | The author of The Life You Save May Be Your Own talks about the personal journeys of Flannery O'Connor, Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, and Walker Percy and what we learn from them today (June 3, 2003)
Why We Are Drawn to The Matrix | Chris Seay, coauthor of The Gospel Reloaded, says the first movie was about finding belief and the second looks at walking that path. (May 27, 2003)
Remembering Francis of Assisi, the Crazy Genius | CT managing editor Mark Galli finds someone who lived the Sermon on the Mount. (May 20, 2003)
John Ortberg's Freak Show | Churchgoers' attempts to be average are killing them, says the Willow Creek pastor. (May 13, 2003)
Winning People, Not Arguments | John Stackhouse discusses the evangelistic need for humble apologetics (May 6, 2003)
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