{"id":741,"date":"2009-04-22T04:01:05","date_gmt":"2009-04-22T04:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/04\/unfashionable-by-tullian-tchividjian-part-3.html"},"modified":"2009-04-22T04:01:05","modified_gmt":"2009-04-22T04:01:05","slug":"unfashionable-by-tullian-tchividjian-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/04\/unfashionable-by-tullian-tchividjian-part-3.html","title":{"rendered":"Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Today I’m finishing my review the book Unfashionable<\/a><\/em> by Tullian Tchividjian. As I did yesterday, I will quote portions of the book and then add my comments.
\n“God’s ultimate purpose for Christians is not to bring them out of this world and into heaven, but to use them to bring heaven into this world. As we hallow God’s name and do God’s will in how we think, feel, and act \u2013 even when it means being unfashionable \u2013 the power of Christ’s resurrection flows through us, and as a result we bring heaven’s culture to earth; we give people a foretaste of what’s to come. In this manner we continue the work Christ began and will one day complete” (p. 61).<\/p>\n

This statement will surely raise some eyebrows, perhaps even some critical voices. Billy Graham’s grandson and the heir of D. James Kennedy’s pastorate is saying that getting people into heaven isn’t the main point of Christian mission??!! In fact, Tullian is sounding a whole lot like\u00a0 N.T. Wright here, in Simply Christian and Surprised by Hope as well as his many other writings. More to the point, Tullian is sounding a lot like the New Testament and its eschatological vision. But is he denying the soul-saving mission of the church? See the next excerpt for his answer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Therefore, the mission of the church is spiritual and physical, individual and cultural. God wants us to involve ourselves on the rehabilitation of hearts and houses, souls and society. We’re to care about the renewal of both people and the environment. This requires word and deed, proclamation and demonstration. God is renewing human hearts and recreating all things through his church. This is our mission to the world” (p. 62).<\/p>\n

This is a powerful statement. I’m reminded of something my mentor Lloyd Ogilvie used to say when people wanted to focus the ministries of Hollywood Presbyterian Church too narrowly: “We must not submit to the tyranny of the either-or.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“For a long time now, I’ve been convinced that what happens on New York (finance), Hollywood (entertainment), Silicon Valley (technology), and Miami (fashion) has a far greater impact on how our culture thinks about reality than what happens on Washington DC (politics)” (p. 65).<\/p>\n

Here Tullian plainly distinguishes himself from the Religious Right, including his predecessor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, D. James Kennedy. Though not denying the value of Christian political involvement, Tullian puts far less hope in its potential for social transformation. I think he’s right here, though we mustn’t forget the political efforts of people like William Wilberforce, whom Tullian notes as well (pp. 63-64).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“In becoming Christians we don’t need to retreat from the vocational calling we already have. Nor do we need to justify that calling, whatever it is, in terms of its spiritual value or evangelistic usefulness. We simply exercise whatever our calling is with new God-glorifying motives, goals, and standards \u00ac and with a renewed commitment to performing our calling with greater excellence and higher objectives” (p. 85).<\/p>\n

As you might well imagine, I cheered when I read this paragraph. Tullian’s vision of vocation is right down the line of Laity Lodge. Of course doing our work according to God’s standards is often mich more easily said than done. That’s one reason why we have an entire website devoted to The High Calling of Our Daily Work<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Therefore, every day and in every circumstance, we need to be consciously and rigorously translating our faith into the language of the culture we’re trying to reach.
\nThis is the challenge: If you don’t contextualize enough, no one’s life will be transformed, because they wpn’t understand you. But (and this is whatvwe’ll look at next) if you contextualize too much, no one’s life will be transformed, because you won’t be challenging their deepest assumptions and calling them to change” (pp. 89-90).<\/p>\n

This is the sort of nuance I was hoping for.\u00a0 Contextualizing the Gospel is essential for mission, and this involves adapting to a culture, at least to an extent. In the latter chapters of Unfashionable<\/em>, Tullian spells out in more detail what this means for us. Using Ephesians 4:22-24 as a guide, he addresses specific issues of Christian living. One of his major emphases is that we must be a community in which the Good News is proclaimed and lived.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Conclusion: Of course there’s much more in Unfashionable<\/a><\/em> that I have been able to deal with here. If you’re intrigued, I encourage you to purchase the book for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I’m finishing my review the book Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian. As I did yesterday, I will quote portions of the book and then add my comments. “God’s ultimate purpose for Christians is not to bring them out of this world and into heaven, but to use them to bring heaven into this world. As…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holy-week-easter"],"yoast_head":"\nUnfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian, Part 3 - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}