This past Wednesday morning I had the privilege of presenting my paper on ”Wasted Evangelism” at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. I consider that 17 people who ventured into my session at 9:20 am Wednesday morning was a great showing of interest. In a conference where there are at each session time many more possible choices and topics and way more famous writers and speakers than I, having 17 people, including my wife, join me was encouraging. Over the next few days, I will post a few observations from the sessions I joined, but for now, here are a few of my favorite lines from my paper, “Wasted Evangelism” (Mark 4): The Task of evaneglism and Social Action Outcomes” —which you can read backwards on this blog from this point --> Wasted Evangelism.
It was an honor and privilege that my paper was accepted to be read. Special thanks go out to Dr. Aída Besançon Spencer of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminiary (So. Hamilton, MA) for letting the one in charge of accepting paper proposals know that I can do the right stuff. Also thanks to Yale Divinity School’s library and staff for helping me out during my research for this paper. The people who joined my session were so grasious for listening patiently--some even asking a few questions. I walked away unharmed...and hopefully my material encouraged some to consider the poor and vulnerable just a little bit more. Over the next few weeks I will finalize my paper—clean up a few odds and ends—and post a pdf file for those interested in downloading the whole paper. I hope to, someday, turn this paper into a book on Mark, evangelism, and social action. Anyway, enjoy the quotes, read the blogged portions of the paper, and enjoy—and let me know what you think! Really, I can handle it.
“Any attempt to develop a coherent theory of evangelism must begin with the eschatological implications of the presence of the Kingdom, which is wholly constitutive of the gospel.”
_________________ “We accept that Mark has drawn into his Gospel the motifs of God’s dominion, exodus, exile, the Spirit, and idolatry. What is undervalued, overlooked, or even ignored is the same context that contains these obvious correspondences, likewise, includes direct references regarding socio-economic relationships and community responsibilities toward the poor and vulnerable.”
_________________ “The parable of the Sower who sows assists the readers/listeners to understand the nature of the Gospel and how they are to imagine what it means for the Gospel of the Kingdom to be present (1:14-15).”
_________________ “The lavished seed of the Kingdom (word and deed) sown by the Master Sower is wasted on some, yet still produces a good crop among the crowds and “outsiders,” a harvest of 30-, 60-, and 100-fold.”
_________________ “The parable presents the realities of the inaugurated Gospel of the Kingdom, not how hearts need to change.”
_________________ “Idolatry is associated with the dissonance between the function of worship and the nation’s community life and their social responsibilities (1:12ff; 1:17; cf. 1:21). Their idolatry created attitudes, as well as, religious and socio-economic structures (2:6-8; 2:20) and habits that discouraged or hindered them from their responsibilities toward the poor.”
_________________ “We are, however, to imagine that the seed is sown without regard to where it lands; nothing else is done. We are moved away from human intervention to manipulate a harvest to a picture of a Sower who sows despite the outward realities of the conditions where the seed lands. He sows indiscriminately, lavishly, almost carelessly. All the while, the listeners/readers become aware that some seed will be wasted and yet there will be a good harvest.”
_________________ “It is hard to escape the conclusion that Jesus deliberately links the rule of God to a weed” (D. Oakman).
_________________ “The Parable of the Mustard Bush expands our understanding of evangelism to include issues regarding the dominions of mankind (i.e., socio-economic and power structures) and the poor.”
_________________ “The field where Jesus immediately sows the Kingdom is beyond the borders of the sacred. The garden where the domesticated bush of God’s Kingdom extends its branches, immediately attracts the unwanted—the unholy, unclean, the sick, and the dead—to find the protection and sustenance of its shade. The Master-Sower wastes his seed, yet, there is harvest.”
_________________ “Social Action is a means to ensure that the blessings and benefits of living in society reach to the poor.”
Tomorrow, I will post some thoughts on “what social action is” for those wondering what I mean by the tern and concept.
Posted by Chip Anderson at 06:00 AM. Filed under: Wasted Evangelism • "Wasted Evangelism" (Mark 4) paper • Social Action •
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