* I added an interview link and and some words from N.T. Wright who feels we should weep over those who will experience "hell" when they die. Thanks Treven!
Yesterday in all 3 worship gatherings at Vintage Faith Church in our "Enter Hope" series, we focused on teaching how followers of Jesus need to understand a holistic gospel. We have formalized the formation of a ministry team who is developing and overseeing our local involvement in compassion and oppression projects and relationships in the community. We already have a global team established and we just went on a trip to Uganda to support an orphanage and local ministry there, we have supported Living Water International and have taken several trips to Mexico (another one is happening in June) where we help an orphanage there.
The teaching was shared by myself, and the two point leaders of the local team, Jon Havens and Joann Collier. Jon is 25 years old and Joann is 21 years old and one of my greatest joys as a leader is listening to the passion and ideas of those like Jon and Joann and seeing them dream and create new possibilities for us as a church. Jon walked through the biblical narrative and pulled out the consistent teaching of how God cares for the oppressed - throughout the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. The whole Bible is loaded with the concern God has for those experiencing injustice, those whom are poor, those in need etc.
Jon mentioned how there are over 300 verses dealing with this alone. Joann then shared the various ways we will be directing our efforts as a local church in our community. We will be partnering with Elm Street Mission where we will be starting a new weekly ministry in serving low-income and poor elderly and families. We also will be helping out with their homeless efforts, but this will be a distinct new branch of focus that we will be starting. 
Some other things too will be developed as a befriending ministry to the mentally ill in our town and training about this and partnering with local organizations in this.
Danielle Fox was creating artwork during the sermon which was matching the message that was being given. We have been painting large 6 foot tall letters each week of "H-O-P-E" that will be hang somewhere in the church building to remind us of this series.
I shared in the teaching how as we talk about this, we don't see this as a "program" of the church but instead see it is part of the DNA of who we are and who we desire to be as a church. There is a big difference between the two. I told how if you asked me 8 or 9 years ago what is Christianity all about and the gospel, I would have answered "it is about putting faith in Jesus and His work on the cross so we can go to heaven when we die." I wrote about my change of understanding about this in The Emerging Church (2003) on page 282-283 where I wrote about the importance of "living in the Kingdom now, not just when we get to heaven". I wrote about the difference of focusing the gospel entirely about going to heaven in the next life when it is more than that the focus is also on the Kingdom now on earth and our roles as followers of Jesus in it.
I spoke Sunday about we need to repent if we have simply bought into the "going to heaven when we die" mindset and not taken our role in this life and on this earth seriously now. God seems to be moving amongst the church as the many churches who did not take this seriously have seemed to awaken to this false dichotomy. So it is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful to see this happen. I have nothing but thrill to see and hear this happening and I can only imagine the delight of God as He sees this happening. We only have just begin too as there is so much work to be done, the marginalized, the oppressed, even the way we steward caring for the earth and environment really all plays into this. But it is just incredible seeing the work that is now beginning and happening with those of us who did not understand the impact the gospel holistically makes.
But, I as I listen, watch, read, observe.... I have a sort of nagging in the back of my mind/heart concern......questions.... trying to project things out 10 years, 20 years...... I did speak about this Sunday at Vintage Faith Church as part of the message. I also raised it up at Willow Creek Community Church when I was there 2 weeks ago which you can read about and see a video clip here and also it was written about here by someone who covered the event.
What I am wondering about, is how do we avoid patterns of the past when the church jumps strongly in the realm of focusing on the gospel's impact for this earth and in this life - but slowly neglects teaching and reminding people of the gospel's impact about the reality of eternal heaven and eternal hell in the life to come after we die?
Ron Sider wrote a book called "Good News and Good Works: A Theology for the Whole Gospel" which impacted my thinking on this. I read that at exactly the time I was beginning to realize how much I was personally focusing on "the gospel is all about going to heaven when we die". So the timing was great. He raises how the pattern seems to be where churches will focus on what he calls a "one-sided gospel". What he means by that, is that he has seen churches who only focus on evangelism with little or no passion for the poor and liberation for the oppressed. But then he makes the important point that it also goes the other way. That he also sees churches who focus on peace and justice, but do not have any focus on evangelism. He goes on to say how we can "put so much emphasis on social action that they almost entirely forget to tell dying sinners about our wonderful Savior" (page 17). He even called that "ghastly."
Coming from Ron, this is important to listen to. Ron's life and ministry is all about social justice. He leads the Evangelicals for Social Action network. But here we have someone voicing the need to never forget the need for personal evangelism in the midst of focusing on social action.
As I have blogged about hell before, I do believe in hell. Yes, there is hell being experienced on this earth. But I am talking about the biblical teaching of there still being eternal separation from God when we die. I wish it wasn't there. I sometimes wish I could rip those pages from the Bible that talk about eternal punishment. I don't like talking about it. I don't even like mentioning it. It is quite easy not to mention hell and avoid talking about it. But my conscience doesn't seem to allow me to not mention in appropriate ways and in balance. But it is real, whatever it will be like. Sin is ugly. Sin is real. Sin is the actual cause of why there is is social injustice and why there is the poor and oppressed. We can't forget that at the root of injustice and the oppressed, is not just human failure to pay attention to this, but the fact that humans are sinners, selfish by nature. Thanks be to God, that we do have the Spirit to convict us and move us towards what God would want and make hopeful change in this life on this earth.
The increasing talk about social justice is incredibly, wonderfully, amazingly,THRILLING to see this is happening. It is sin not to talk about it a lot and take action and repent if we have neglected doing so. But, I am also listening to see in all this where we all address the root problem. I listen to see where we are also talking about the gospel still being about "going to heaven when we die" (I read N.T. Wright's latest book "Surprised by Hope" and I fully agree about how we don't "go to heaven" etc. but heaven will one day be here).
As we take action on helping the lives and souls who do suffer in this life - I am listening to see where we don't forget the discussion also about the lives and souls who may suffer for all eternity. How the gospel does rescue us from that and rescued me from hell. I know I cannot stop talking about the reality of hell and the reality of heaven as I also talk about the reality of our need for social action here on this earth in this life. It is both, not one at the expense of the other. So, as I am looking at blogs, reading books, listening to messages etc. and seeing what is the gospel and how the Kingdom of God is being written or spoken about - is it one-sided or holistic?
As Ron Sider raises, there is an importance to not teach a "one-sided gospel" on either extreme.
I recently was in a meeting with someone who is in leadership in one of the largest Christian compassion organizations in the world. He said that they recently discovered with their young volunteers who travel all across the globe to help in relief efforts and help those suffering - that a very high percentage could not articulate the gospel in terms of how it saves us from sin, the role of the cross etc. He said they are rethinking their training, so this does not continue in their younger volunteers only learning a one-sided gospel.
I always try to think of the future and how we do "create the future" as my friend Erwin McManus says. So I hope that as leaders and as followers of Jesus, as we repent and change to make sure we are not ignoring the poor, oppressed, injustice and we throw our lives and churches into participating in the Kingdom here on earth - that we don't neglect teaching the root of this is sin. And that sin still is death. And that as we die, we will still face judgment. And that judgment will include the reality of some facing eternal life with God and the reality of some facing eternal life apart from God. I hope the future we create as church leaders will be passionate about social justice, but not forget about eternity in the life to come and the reality of heaven and hell. I know so much of how we think of hell is more from medieval imagery than what the Scriptures teach (I blogged about this here). But I hope as we teach about social justice in this life, we will also be teaching about the next life and eternity and the reality of the horror of hell. I don't hear it talked about too much. I am not suggesting talking about it to be manipulative or in inappropriate ways. But it seems an injustice if we are not talking about the reality of eternal hell in addition to the "hell" many experience on this earth.
N.T. Wright addresses this in his book "Surprised By Hope" where he admits we have based so much of our concepts of hell incorrectly. But he still states how he believes in a future judgment and speculates that hell will be where people in this life who "give up their heartfelt allegiance to and worship that which is not God, they progressively cease to reflect the image of God" (page 182). He then says that hell could be where "after death they become at last, by their own effective choice, beings that once were human but now are not, creatures that have ceased to bear the divine image." He paints a horrific portrait of this "hell", different than medieval imagery, but horrific none the less.
In an interview N.T. Wright even says we should weep over those who will experience this hell when they die:
"So my way of describing it is that once this life is over, people who have decided not to worship God cease to bear God’s image. The thought of an ex-human being is something that some people find shocking and horrifying. In a sense, it is shocking and horrifying. Think about people we know! I’m sure most people, unless we live in very enclosed worlds, must know some people (if we truly hold to a theology of hell) who are going there! That should give us pause. That should cause us to pray for them and to weep over them. So I don’t say this with any relish at all."
Most Christians who are taking action on social injustice, did at one point in their lives have someone tell them about the gospel which does save from eternal hell as well as the gospel which impacts this life. I am so incredibly, overwhelmingly, eternally glad someone told me about the gospel and about the reality of sin, repentance, heaven and hell and how Jesus rescues us from hell by His substitutionary atonement and the work of the cross. I just do wish someone would have also stressed the gospel and importance of the Kingdom of God on earth earlier. But I dread to think if they only stressed the gospel being about this life and didn't also stress the gospel being about life after death too.
If we focus on a one-sided gospel on either extreme, how will younger leaders and Christians define the gospel in 10 years? 15 years? When we focused on the gospel being only about "going to heaven when we die", sure enough that is what the average evangelical Christian repeated when asked about the gospel. But if we focus on a one-sided gospel the other way, in 10 or 15 years will the average Christian only be able to answer the question that the gospel is all about this life and not about the impact of it on eternal life to come/sin/judgment/hell etc.? We in leadership need to strive to teach a holistic gospel. Scot McKnight has a great book about the gospel "Embracing Grace" which is very worth reading if you haven't yet.
So, for us a church, it was a really encouraging Sunday as we stressed this and it was breathing fresh air and optimism for our direction as a new church, being 4 years old now. We don't want to be guilty anymore of not paying attention to social justice and the hell people experience on this earth. But we also don't want to ever be guilty of ignoring or not speaking of the reality of hell in the lieft to come. Our prayer for us as a local church is something which I will close this post with, a quote from Ron Sider (page 18):
"I long for the day when every village, town and city has congregations of Christians so in love with Jesus Christ that they lead scores of people to accept Him as personal Savior and Lord every year - and so sensitive to the cry of the poor and oppressed that they work vigorously for justice, peace and freedom."
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*If you have made it through reading all this lengthy (as usual) post, I would love to hear any thoughts on this. Whether you may consider me too much of a fundamentalist and non-progressive by not stopping thinking about the reality of eternal hell and heaven, or too much the other way by saying there is a "holistic gospel" or that we can develop as "two-sided gospel" as Ron Sider says. I am in process thinking and praying this through, but it is something I am becoming more and more reminded of. So your thoughts would help and where you may see this or not see this in your experiences.
