In the early years of our marriage Starr and I would always take our vacations in the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. About 5 years into our marriage we tested ourselves to see if we could find our way to Jackson Hole, WY.
Since we had traveled those roads before it was an enjoyable adventure. We arrived safe & sound at our destination— no mishaps or detours.
The road we travel today, between the Christian and secular cultures, is not so easily navigated. The old roadmaps to guide us just do not apply anymore. New roads have been built over the old. The New England saying You can’t get there from here, is more appropriate that ever.
So this entry into our adventure will lay out some of the issues & obstacles we will encounter as we build bridges to connect ourselves with normal people.
Don’t panic, this is the menu on our plate. Some offerings will be more appealing than others. But it’s a BIG menu, like those roadside cafes you find all across New Jersey. 329 choices, No descriptors. Ask your waitress. So here we go.
Menu
THE WHISKEY CHRONICLES— what normal people think of Christians ©
A Normal Person’s View of Christians & Christianity.
Assumptions About Each Other.
No Point of Contact.
Common Grace.
“The Distance Between Us.”
The Christian Gospel Reimagined. Resident Aliens.
No Other Name.
Challenges Christians face.
1. No point of contact
2. Fear
3. Thinking in outlines instead of facets of faith (stories, experiences, functionable Truth)
4. Simple gospel— complex multicultural positioning [3D Gospel]
5. Learning to love
6. Learning to listen
7. No joy in life
8. Cloistering/cocooning
9. Deep prayer a mystery
10. No expectation that God will work his miracles
Challenges Normal People face
1. Do not know any genuine Christians
2. Fear/disgust
3. Foreign concepts
4. Inaccurate, inappropriate, or unintelligible information
5. Ships passing in the night mindset
6. No sense of need for religion, Christ, let alone salvation
7. Salvation from what? (C S Lewis quote)
8. Happy the way I am
9. I’m OK…, you’re out of your mind
10. Anger over Race
The Value of Single Malt Scotch
Giving God Room to Work
Looking for the Threads of God
Afterthoughts…, my best ideas always come to me in the shower
OK, long list. But all of these issues are tantamount to clear up any disparities in our encounters between our faith and the precepts that guide other peoples’ lives.
So let’s get on the road and find our way together.
Loving God; loving people…, & bringing the two together!
Gary
NEXT— Laying out our roadmap
Clueless Christianity 