I read recently of a gentleman who was trying out for a choir. The conductor would say, “Here is a chord of three, four or
five notes; you can hear it all together, but can you hear the notes
individually, and sing each in turn?”* Then the writer finished the chapter by
saying, “How can we strike fresh chords so that people will be teased into
picking out the notes, and perhaps even joining in the song?”
An extreme but fun
application of this idea is a video called He’s
My Rescuer, by the Rend Collective from Belfast. See
It starts with the group reclaiming an old weed-infested piano in a
field. Then it steps up the pace and we see the piano on a flat-bed wagon
behind a gleaming red tractor. The band has joined the pianist on the wagon and
the lead singer is driving. The song they sing as they go along is all about
Jesus. By doing this, the people see and hear the commotion and a motley group joins
in behind, even though they still have all sorts of baggage and props.
So, the really big
question is, how do we get the true story of Jesus out in front of the people?
If the local church invited all their friends to the Family Bible Hour or the
mid-week meeting, it would still be only a tiny percent of the city population.
[At four friends per person, that is only about 350 people, or about 0.2% of
the Burlington population.] If we advertise in newspapers or radio, the cost
quickly becomes prohibitive. Not to mention the fact that if we invite, we had better
have something powerful for them to hear or see.
It isn’t obvious how to
overcome these hindrances. If you’ve been following Colin Burnett’s
Newsletters, you will have seen at least two different attempts that he has
made in Ireland. He’s in this for real. One is a coffee morning for anyone who
cares to drop in—free coffee, informal chat, and 5-16 attendees [“opportunity
to share some spiritual truths”]. The other he calls “Café Church”—[Colin says,
“Last year we retrofitted our general purpose room to a café style. On the last
Sunday of the month we open the doors at 6:00 pm, folks come in and enjoy tea
& coffee along with something to eat. While this is happening there is
Christian music playing as well as scripture texts on the screen. At some point
we may have a song or two, or a quiz. Near the end of the night there will be a
short gospel message then time to sit around and chat. Of all the outreach
works we have tried at the meeting, this has been the most productive as far as
people coming along.”]
What precedent do we have
from Scripture? Are there any comparable situations? It seems, yes. Look at
Acts 19:9. When the Apostle Paul was driven out of the synagogue in Ephesus, he
rented the lecture hall of Tyrannus and met with all comers. He probably didn’t
have coffee, but I’m sure he had some soda and a Domino’s pizza available. But
he did have the advantage over us of doing “extraordinary miracles”. I don’t think he was lecturing all the time
either; I’m sure much of the time it was just one-on-one chats. This went on
for two years. If no one showed up, Paul could work on his tents for some cash,
or catch up on his correspondence or letter-writing (paper work). One way or
another, Paul took great advantage of that lecture hall.
*Mark for Everyone by N.T.Wright, p.48
He's My Rescuer
There is good news for the captive, good news for the shamed.
There is good news for the one who walked away.
There is good news for the doubter, the one religion failed.
Oh, the good Lord has come to seek and save---He's my Rescuer.
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