Bullhorn evangelism
Bosco Peters in New Zealand offers new models of evangelism he calls "permission marketing" or "participation marketing."
Old style marketing parallels evangelism as the street-corner, bible-bashing approach, which interrupts people, hands them a tract, uses a “one size fits all” approach. It first hopes to create the sense of need which can then be fulfilled by the rest of the message. In our post-modern, multi-faith environment, of course, like old style marketing, the potential convert’s attention is ultimately numbed and tunes out.
Contemporary (post-modern) “permission evangelism” or “participation evangelism” is much more about a relationship in which a person’s real need is discovered and the gospel is found to be “Good News” for their real need.Churches, it seems to me, are so often empty of a whole section of society, or a whole band of age-groups, because no one is actually finding out what their real needs are. They certainly have real values, meaning, spiritual needs. Let’s go out and find out what they actually are - rather than assuming what they are and telling them what they are. Do we not trust that the gospel addresses the needs that they will present us with?
I was totally with him, until he said (para.) "This doesn't mean we can't have a backbone, or oppose things we think are wrong."
At that point, I HAD to ask, "Will you permit me to marry the person I love? Will you permit me to control my OWN uterus?"
If not, do NOT talk to me about LOVE.
I hope Rev. Bell realizes the burden of proof is ON CHRISTIANS. They have to PROVE the "love" they claim to exhibit. They can't just bandy about the word, like it means anything, apart from the definition by the one they claim to love.
Otherwise, they're just an "Emergent" version of Bullhorn Guy.
JC Fisher
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June 4, 2009 9:10 PM