Re-Hearing the Gospel: Toward New Practices for Evangelism and Discipleship Todd Hunter George Fox University, [email protected]
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2006 Re-Hearing the Gospel: Toward New Practices for Evangelism and Discipleship Todd Hunter George Fox University, [email protected] This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Hunter, Todd, "Re-Hearing the Gospel: Toward New Practices for Evangelism and Discipleship" (2006). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 173. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/173 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY RE-HEARING THE GOSPEL: Toward New Practices for Evangelism and Discipleship A DISSERTATION SUBMITIED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY TODD HUNTER PORTLAND~ OREGON August 28~ 2006 All Scripture references are from New International Version unless noted otherwise. Copyright 2006 by Todd Hunter All Rights Reserved iii DISSERTATION ACCEPTANCE CERTIFICATE TODD HUNTER DATE: OCTOBER 17, 2006 TITLE: RE-HEARING THE GOSPEL: TOWARD NEW PRACTICES FOR EVANGELISM AND DISCIPLESHIP WE THE UNDERSIGNED CERTIFY THAT WE HAVE READ THIS PROJECT AND APPROVE IT AS ADEQUATE IN SCOPE AND QUALITY TO COMPLETE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY IN LEADERSHIP IN THE EMERGING CULTURE DEGREE DATE (i I· ()H.(; lc F ()X L '- .'\ "i G 1- I. I C A L S L ·"1 I "w A R ' ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On the most important level, the personal level, I want to thank my wife Debbie for her tireless encouragement to me while completing my Doctor of Ministry degree. Not given temperamentally to nagging, she never once complained about the time it took. Quite the opposite, she has always been my biggest fan and most ardent supporter. Thank you, also, to my son Jonathan and daughter Carol Ann. You have given your dad space to pursue my educational and spiritual growth through your undemanding attitudes. Both of you are joys and a delight far exceeding any advanced degree. On the academic level, I run the product-for the good that is-of my lifelong teachers. I happily declare indebtedness to my earliest teachers like Greg Laurie and Chuck Smith of the Calvary Chapel movement. They taught me to love the Bible and to connect with people who were reaching out for God. John Wimber and the Vineyard were, also, a huge influence on my early life in terms of developing as a leader, learning to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and to seek first the Kingdom of God. Later, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, and Elizabeth O'Connor taught me that there was an indispensable and beautiful, inner journey in the way of Jesus. They showed me that my ability to lead, to follow the Spirit, and connect in helpful and healing ways with others was directly tied to what was happening spiritually in me. iv Recently, I have benefited from the work of British missionary theologian Leslie Newbigin, the authors associated with the Gospel in our Culture Network, and another British theologian, N. T. (Tom) Wright. Lastly, no one has opened my eyes on as many topics as my professors for this course of study. Leonard Sweet's guided reading and discussions yielded a vast panorama of the postmodern landscape. Larry Shelton was a rock-solid theological guide,_ while stretching me to think with creativity about the Creator and Covenant-making God. Todd Hunter Eagle, ID August 28, 2006 v CONTENTS Dissertation Approval Sheet ............................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... i vv Contents ........................................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 2 The Problem ............................................................ ············ .......................................... 2 The Rise of Theological Reductionism and Its Effects on the Tasks of Evangelism ... 5 How Did We Get Here? ................................................................................................ 8 A Better Way . .. ... .. ... .. .. .. .. .. I 0 A Subversive View ..................................................................................................... 12 The Alpha Course: A Step in the Right Direction ...................................................... 16 The Alpha Course: A Disenstoryed Presentation ....................................................... 18 Talk One: Christianity: Boring, Untrue, and Irrelevant? ...................................... 19 Talk Two: Who is Jesus? ...................................................................................... 20 Talk Three: Why Did Jesus Die? .......................................................................... 21 Talk Four: How Can I Be Sure of My Faith? ....................................................... 21 Talk Five: Why and How Should I Read the Bible? ............................................ 22 Talk Six: Why and How Should I Pray? ............................................................... 22 Talk Seven: How Does God Guide Us? ............................................................... 23 Talk Eight: Who Is the Holy Spirit? ..................................................................... 24 Talk Nine: What Does the Holy Spirit Do? .......................................................... 24 Talk Ten: How Can I Be Filled with the Holy Spirit? .......................................... 25 Talk Eleven: How Can I Resist Evil? ................................................................... 26 Talk Twelve: Why and How Should We Tell Others? ......................................... 27 Talk Thirteen: Does God Heal Today? ................................................................. 28 Talk Fourteen: What About the Church? .............................................................. 29 Talk Fifteen: How Can I Make the Most of the Rest of my Life? ........................ 29 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 30 CHAPTER 2: THE GIFT OF A CHANGED LIFE: COVENANTAL-KINGDOM SOTERIOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 31 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 31 A Covenantal-Kingdom Story .................................................................................... 33 The Gospel According to Jesus and Paul. ................................................................... 38 The Gospel About Jesus ( 1 Corinthians 15.1-9) ......................................................... 40 Christ Died ............................................................................................................ 42 For Our Sins .......................................................................................................... 43 According to the Scriptures .................................................................................. 43 He Was Buried ...................................................................................................... 44 He Was Raised on the Third Day ......................................................................... 44 vi He Appeared to Many ........................................................................................... 45 The Gospel According To Jesus (Mark 1.14-15) ........................................................ 45 The Good News .................................................................................................... 48 Of God .................................................................................................................. 49 The Time Has Come ............................................................................................. 50 The Kingdom of God Is Near ............................................................................... 51 Repent ................................................................................................................... 53 Believe the Good News ........................................................................................ 54 The Effects of Separating Jesus and Paul ................................................................... 56 Excursus on the Holy Spirit ........................................................................................ 56 A Hat111ony of Jesus and Paul ..................................................................................... 57 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 61 CHAPTER 3: TOM WRIGHT: INFORMING EVANGELISM THROUGH THE BffiLICAL STORY ............................................................................. 63 Introduction ................................................................................................................