Means of our Christian Growth
Monday, 15 March 2010 08:59
I believe that with every pastor there is a desire to know Christ and to make Christ known to all. The greatest struggle is success demands that our society make on us. What is the balance of contextualization vs. conceptualization? In the last year I have struggled with what John Piper advocates concept-creation as the balance to over-contextualization that is seen in many ministries of our day. He states:
...we must also labor to bring about, in the minds of our listeners, conceptual categories that may be missing from their mental framework. If we only use the thought structures they already have, some crucial biblical truths will remain unintelligible, no matter how much contextualizing we do. This work of concept creation is harder than contextualization, but just as important. (http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2008/2717_Preaching_As_Concept_Creation_Not_Just_Contextualization/)
I read today and article by Ligon Duncan on "The Ordinary Means of Growth." I appreciated his exhortation about the importance of ordinary means of Christian growth. He compares this Biblical paradigm with others in stating:
In sum, there are basically three views of Gospel ministry. There are those who think that effective cultural engagement requires an updating of the message. There are those who think that effective ministry requires an updating of our methods. And there are those who think that effective ministry begins with a pre-commitment to God’s message and methods, set forth in His Word.... Ordinary means of grace-based ministry is ministry that focuses on doing the things God, in the Bible, says are central to the spiritual health and growth of His people, and which aims to see the qualities and priorities of the church reflect biblical norms. Ordinary means ministry is thus radically committed to biblical direction of the priorities of ministry.
The fundamental assumption underlying these new approaches is that “everything has changed,” and so our methods must change. I would want to dispute both parts of that equation. Whatever the entailments of our present cultural moment, constituent human nature has not changed...
While I certainly believe that contextualization is valid, much of what goes on a contextualization is over-contextualization in my opinion. This article is an excellent explanation and encouragement to pastors who want to keep from getting caught up in Christian ministry fads and pursue God's plan of building his kingdom.
