Lee Strobel, author of The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for the Creator, addresses the problem of man-centered approaches to the Gospel in this article from Outreach Magazine. Unfortunately, the emphasis on repentance seems to have evaporated in many churches these days. Instead, some churches attract people by simply telling
He was born in Italy but came to the United States as a young man. He studied juggling and became famous throughout the whole world.
Finally he decided to retire. He longed to return to his home country and settle down. He took all his worldly possessions, booked a passage on a ship to Italy and invested all the rest of the money in a single diamond. He hid the diamond in his stateroom.
While aboard ship, he was showing a boy how he could juggle a bunch of apples. Soon a crowd had gathered. The pride of the moment went to his head. He ran to his stateroom and got the diamond. He explained to the crowd that it represented his entire life’s savings. He started juggling the diamond. Soon he was taking more and more chances.
William Lobdell, a Times staff writer, responded to a false Gospel presentation by asking Jesus into his heart at a weekend mountain retreat. Here’s what he wrote: At the climactic service Sunday, Mike Barris, a pastor-to-be, delivered an old-fashioned altar call. He said we needed to let Jesus into our hearts. With my eyes closed
Joe Average doesn’t think about creation, let alone the Creator. If you asked him if God had ever done anything for him, he probably couldn’t think of one thing. He gets out of bed early in the morning in his beachfront home, makes some toast, and without much thought spreads on some butter and honey.
This is nothing new, but it is a great reminder about why we need to preach… “There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the Gospel to you