More on belonging and believing...

I wrote on this some time ago, but I think it is a theme worth revisiting. Probably because I ran across this quote by Lewis in “Miracles” p. 144: “The materials for correcting our abstract conception of God cannot be supplied by Reason: she will be the first to tell you to go and try experience—‘Oh, taste and see!’.”

I’ve never really been comfortable with the logic behind Romans Road. Not that I don’t believe people are converted on the sheer power of the gospel, but more often then not I think the step or steps towards Jesus by and large follow some experience. My friend John recently took a trip with his old youth group to Panama City, Florida with the purpose of offering rides to those too drunk to drive home and then to subsequently share the gospel with them. He shared the anecdote about a West Point cadet who proceeded in step-by-step fashion. The group picked up a Hindu student. The cadet ploped the Bible on his lap pointed to Romans 3:23 and asked, “What does that say?” The Hindu replied that it wasn’t even a proper sentence. That’s at least worth chuckling at.

I wonder what the cadet would have done if in response the Hindu would have plopped the Koran or the Upanishads on his lap. When I was in my own youth group some years ago, I remember when a domestic missionary who worked in the French Quarter of New Orleans came and spoke to us. The point of his talk was, “what if the world doesn’t privilege the Bible as an authoritative source.” I guess that seems pretty obvious to most of you, but at the time a bright light bulb was lit inside my head.

Kyle preached a sermon, actually a pair of sermons, last fall on re-evangelism. I think they were probably my favorite. The main point I took away from the sermons was that people need a sense of belonging before they can have a sense of believing. People need to experience the vibrant community God before they can commit to this Jesus character. More simply, the proof must be in the pudding.

The one thing I’m dogmatic about is Christology. I do think Jesus is the power to save and change people. But for better or worse he’s chosen to use the church. So most often, if people are going to come to Jesus, they are going to do so through the church. So as Lewis points out, reasons tells people to go taste and see. I pray that our church continues to recognize this and be a place of good experience so that those who don’t know this Christ can grow comfortable before asking, “Who is this Jesus?”