The Gospel to the Poor, Part 1

by Timothy Keller at The Worldview Church

The original question I was asked to address was “How does our commitment to the primacy of the gospel tie into our obligation to do good to all, especially those of the household of faith, to serve as salt and light in the world, to do good to the city?” I will divide this question into two parts: (1) If we are committed to the primacy of the gospel, does the gospel itself serve as the basis and motivation for ministry to the poor? (2) If so, how then does that ministry relate to the proclamation of the gospel?

Click here to read the whole article.

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Dominionism

The good folks at Worldview Church have addressed the latest brouhaha regarding recent attacks on several political candidates, charging them with having been influenced by “dominionists” at best and being “dominionists” at worst. Well, you may be asking, “What in the world is a “dominionist” in the first place? I’m glad you asked.

In their most recent newsletter, the folks at Worldview Church answer that question,  show us what is and is not really going on here, and also guide us in our thinking about how we should understand  our King’s dominion (i.e., his kingdom – his rule and reign)  in this world with its various powers and principalities. Here’s the introduction to the latest newsletter…

Dominionism Hype
Media Distortion Push Back

High profile, evangelical aspirers to public office, that is those who embrace a Christian Worldview, open themselves to being castigated for their views, whether accurately understood or not. As a prelude to this next (presidential election) political season, the national news media’s sharp-shooters have sighted in a few candidates who are identified as “extremists,” even those who would threaten individual liberty through coercive legislation. This week’s article collection equips pastors and Christian leaders to rebut recent media insinuations with background material. See Groothuis’s and Aman’s on the recent “Dominionism” controversy and T.M. Moore’s piece for a biblical perspective.

Here are the links to the articles in the  newsletter. All very helpful…

• Michele Bachmann and Dominionism Paranoia by Douglas Groothuis
• The Fall of Empires by Michael Craven
• The Disciple as Kingdom Ambassador by T.M. Moore
• Dominion Anyone? by T.M. Moore
• “Dominionism”: Sham Charge Reserved for Christian Social Conservatives by John Aman
• The Undisciplined Nature of Political Liberalism and the American Church, Part 1 by Don Sweeting

I enjoy every issue of The Colson’s Center’s, Worldview Church’s newsletter, Ekklesia. I heartily encourage you to subscribe.

*Extra – Just read this piece by Ross Douthat at The New York Times on “American Theocracy.”

Truth and Joy,
Dale

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Tedder’s Top Ten: Worldview Websites

I have ranked only the first website below in order of my favorites because I regard it as the best website for worldview thinking and living. The others are in no particular order since trying to rank them would have given me a headache.

1.) The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview - Very good and helpful website. It is regularly updated, has great writing, and some good use of YouTube as well. You can also get connected via Facebook and Twitter. (I’m also placing Colson’s BreakPoint here because it’s also very good and it touches on many of the same elements.)

Here’s a description of The Colson Center…

The Colson Center presents a research, study, and networking center for growing in a Christian worldview. The Center provides opportunities for searching a wide range of documents and other materials, joining a learning community, acquiring materials for training others, networking with likeminded Christians, and staying abreast of the latest in Christian worldview thinking.

The Colson Center links with a wide range of worldview ministries whose resources and materials are available by searching this site. In addition, opportunities for personal mentoring, ongoing and customized study and training, and daily email newsletters and devotionals are also available. A comprehensive bookstore of Christian worldview resources serves the needs of readers and students from all walks of life.

Using the writings, speeches, and other materials of Chuck Colson as the “first floor” of its resources, The Colson Center builds upon that to erect an edifice of worldview information, resources, and training from every age and sector of the Christian heritage. Following a Framework of Truth based on the Christian worldview, The Colson Center exists to equip others for the realization of transformed lives, churches, communities, cultures, societies, and times.

2.) American Vision - Gary DeMar and company are making much of YouTube as well providing some great articles on a wide assortment of topics. Not afraid to take on the hard issues.

3.) Catholic Education Resource Center - As a Protestant, I can’t go along with everything on this site, however, on the whole, it’s a fantastic presentation of the Christian world and life view. Lots of great articles.

4.) Leadership University - I debated whether or not to include this one. On the one hand, it has a bazillion great articles covering everything under the sun. On the other hand, it’s website format is from the stone age and thus, not very helpful. But, the good outweighs the bad in this case, so I’m including it.

5.) The McKenzie Study Center - I’ve been following these good folks for a long time now. Their content is always good and they’ve done a great job keeping their site sharp and user-friendly. The only thing on my wish list for them is to do more with social media.

6.) Orthodoxy Today - Just as I included my caveat for my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters above, I should say once again that, as a Protestant, I don’t agree with everything here either. But their commitment to the historic Christian faith and the impact that it ought to have for every sphere of life is unquestionable. Always good things to read.

7.) Probe Ministries - I think Probe has an article for every topic imaginable. From secular humanism to science to art they have an article for you. They are also in the business of training students to think biblically. (Check out their Mind Games conferences and seminars.)

8.) Center for Parent/Youth Understanding - I couldn’t possibly keep up with all the things that my kids might run into in a given week… even if I wanted to. Fortunately, I don’t have to watch every show, listen to every song, or check out every website since they folks at CPYU do that for me. Good information here.

9.) byFaith Online - This is an e-zine for the Presbyterian Church in America… which I don’t belong to. However, it’s more than a denominational magazine, it’s a great resource that expounds the “every sphere of life” nature of the Christian faith. It also has a strong ministry emphasis of living such a life as an ordinary part of who we are as Christians.

10.) Summit Ministries - God willing, my children will all attend the Summit Ministries worldview training retreats during the summers of their college years. They are the pioneers of this. Summit Ministries is doing a fantastic job providing a variety of curricula, as well as making the most of social media. A great site to check out.

** To be sure there are other very fine sites out there. If there is one in particular that I didn’t mention that you think is worth knowing about, please let me know in the comments section. Maybe I’ll come up with an “honorable mention” category. In the mean time, click here to check out the ones that I didn’t mention.

Honorable Mention

• Center for Christ & Culture (Michael Craven)

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Check out The Worldview Church

I’ve been studying and writing about the Christian worldview for many years now. I believe it’s one of the ways the Lord brought me to faith. The topic gets me excited as not many things do (I even once had a website entitled, “The Baxter Institute for Worldview Discipleship”). I really love this subject and all of its implications… not just in its philosophical sense, but the way that a proper understanding of the Christian worldview relates our faith to “every sphere of life.” There’s a real “Kingdom of God” connection in the way I understand my faith and the topic of the Christian worldview.

That’s why I was so excited a few years ago to see that folks like David Naugle, Chuck Colson, and T.M. Moore were putting out a newsletter that they called, “The Worldview Church.” It had several good issues loaded with great and helpful articles. But after a while it was sent out only every now and then. That saddened me because it was so valuable to me.

So it’s with that as a backdrop that I’m so delighted that The Worldview Church is up and running once again… and looks even better than ever. Here’s an excerpt from the most recent issue…

The Worldview Church—as a companion to the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview—exists to serve you, local church and para-church leaders, through providing tools to interpret the times in which we live and equip God’s people to serve purposeful, as the “light and salt” of the world.  Effective discipleship  proclaims that faith in Jesus Christ as Savior be received in every human heart (evangelism) and His Lordship be extended over every sphere of life (Kingdom). The Worldview Church website is a resource for you to draw upon in this equipping endeavor.

It’s no exaggeration to say that I could have written that paragraph myself. As I said at the beginning of this post, the ideas of “every sphere of life” and “Kingdom of God” have been permeating my thoughts and ministry for quite some time now.  I wholeheartedly recommend that you stop by their website and check it out. They’re doing some really fine things to educate, equip, and encourage followers of Christ to extend the Kingdom of God into every sphere of life.

Blessings,
Dale

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