Changeless God and Changing Culture

Day Two at Iron Sharpens Iron. The morning Plenary session was Larry Dixon, discussing how to deal with a changing culture. The answer, as we know, is to stay on top of it. Be uncomfortably familiar with it. His text was one of Elle's favorites; Acts 17:16-34. He did an excellant job of pointing out what Paul did in not forsaking the gospel, yet complimenting their religiosity. His confrontation was not an attack on what they believed, but taking what they knew that was true and moving them toward the Gospel. He also said that despite Pauls later commitment to the Gospel only (discussed in Basic Christian Leadership) he was in no way altering his approach. The Gospel remains the same, forever and always. The media through which it is communicated remains flexible. Thus, Marshall Mcluhan was wrong

The 1st seminar I attended was Jeff Riley, discusing Training Student Leaders. He provided a lot of helpful pointers, not only for students, but for all believers. He highlighted hospitality as something that everyone can do and makes everyone feel more welcome, yet is so often forgotten in churches and youth groups.

The 2nd seminar I went to was Using Multimedia in the Church by Mark Woodhouse. Honestly, I felt he was asking the wrong questions. Instead of discussing how we can best use this tool, he was answering the question of whether this tool is appropriate for church. Mark, if you still need to answer that question, maybe we should spend more time in Acts 17.

Finally, the evening Plenary session was Alex Strauch on Making Disciples. He focused on the Great Commision: Why it was great (the Giver had All Authority), the three main parts of it (Go and make disciples, Baptize them, and Teach them to observe all I have commanded) and the promise that accompanies it (Jesus is always with us).