stament, religious texts to buttress his arguments one could say Paul failed.
- If one objects to authoritative proclamation due to the fact that it might be found to be offensive to the ears of other religionists, then one could say Paul failed.
- If one determines success by keeping peace at all costs in a community by being culturally sensitive at all costs, then again causing an uproar and getting ousted from the city this would indicate Paul failed.
Perhaps the answer was that Paul failed to find common ground with his audience: but not so fast. I would like to suggest that the fact that Paul was in union with Christ, gave him common ground with his Master and that is what was important. The indicators of this union were as follows:
- Paul followed the footsteps of Jesus: “as was his custom” even if it led to suffering.
- A willingness to patiently and thoroughly open the Scriptures to the person of Jesus.
- A knowledge that it was not his techniques, his incarnational witness, nor his bridge-building ability that brought the message home. He knew that God had appointed people to eternal life, and it was his job to open his mouth. Thus later in Corinth he would be comforted by the words of the Lord (Acts 18:9-10) that “”Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”
- A willingness to be labeled a subversive and one who challenged the majority religion of the day, namely the worship of Caesar and all that went with it, as well as Graeco-Roman polytheism. As well, his willingness to challenge Jewish religion was the cause of the mob disturbance in Thessalonica.
As much as the example of Paul the Apostle will be used in some conferences to try to tell the audience that he was the model bridge builder; that he showed that he valued the texts of other religions; that he had an incarnational ministry by being all things to all people; along with affirming that they should “remain where they are”; the picture of the Apostle Paul’s ministry is being mis-represented by selective, and often twisted readings of the text. This author would challenge the reader to examine Paul’s strategy in Thessalonica as only one example of many others where he, at a cost to his physical comfort, was willing to challenge the local religion. Think of stonings at Lystra where he challenged the local worship, getting jailed at Phillipi as well as being scoffed at and denigrated at Athens, not to mention Corinth and Ephesus. Paul had a Biblical view of other religions and knew his calling as a fearless ambassador for Jesus. Will this be true of the teaching of upcoming conferences? As always: Caveat emptor–’buyer beware.’
For further reading and other views on some of the material that will be presented at the upcoming Little Rock, Arkansas; Snellville, Georgia; and the Minneapolis, Minnesota Common Ground Conferences, [sample invitation here] please take the time to be a good Berean Christian to study the Word of God to see if the teachings are in line with the whole counsel of God.
Further material is available on request to the editor of Biblical Missiology.
- Incarnational witness— “Questioning the incarnation as a model for mission” by Tim Chester
- Kingdom Circles—John Span, THE CRITICAL KINGDOM QUESTION:CAN ONE BE IDENTIFIED WITH THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND WITH ISLAM AT THE SAME TIME? (PART 1 OF 2) —St. Francis Magazine, 6.2 (April 2010) 296-326
- For a YouTube video see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu3Lnaj7M_k
- Acts 15— Salaam Corniche, “Acts 15: The Jerusalem Council Revisited” St. Francis Magazine 6.5 (October 2010) 837-869.
- Acts 17– John Span, “The Areopagus: A Study in Continuity and Discontinuity” St. Francis Magazine 6.3 (June 2010) 517-582.
- 1 Corinthians 9–”That By All Means I Might Win Some” by D.A. Carson | Apr 23, 2009 | 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
- The ekklesia– Salaam Corniche, “Corporate Identity Formation: The Ekklesia in Ephesians” St. Francis Magazine 7.1 (February 2011) 157-214.
- Oikos– John Span, “Towa