Breaking out of the Grid

Sundays were Sundays, with the rest of the week largely detached, operating

by a different set of rules.

Can these two worlds that seem so separate ever merge?

John Beckett

The Power of Truth to Transform NationsThe Power of Truth to Transform Nations

• In His Steps…Charles Sheldon• The Church of Irresistible Influence…

Pastor Robert Lewis• Holy Ambition…Chip Ingram• Discipling Nations…Darrow Miller• If Jesus Were Mayor…Bob Moffit• Total Truth…Nancy Pearcey

• The Mission of God…Chris Wright

Purpose

• The purpose of worldview studies is nothing less than to liberate Christianity from its cultural captivity, unleashing its power to transform the world.

• Christianity is not merely religious truth, it is total truth—truth about the whole of reality.

• REAL change has to start with the culture.“Total Truth” – Nancy Pearcy

The Missional Basis of the Bible

• The Bible renders to us the story of God’s mission through God’s people in their engagement with God’s world for the sake of the whole of God’s creation.

• The whole Bible is itself a “missional phenomenon”.

“The Mission of God” - Christopher Wright

The HEART – What we use for Religion

The BRAIN – What we use for Science

PUBLIC SPHERE - SecularScientific Knowledge - Brain( Academia, large corporations…)

PRIVATE SPHERE - SacredPersonal Preferences - Heart

(Family, church and personal relationships)

Many Christians have absorbed the public/private dichotomy, restricting

their faith to the religious sphere while adapting whatever views are

current in their professional or social circles. The aura of worship

dissipates after Sunday, unconsciously absorbing secular attitudes the rest of the week.

Most Christians are concerned about being a Christian in their work, but they don’t think in terms of having a biblical framework on the work itself. Being a Christian we often keep our faith and profession in separate, parallel tracks—running along side by side like train rails that never touch or intersect.

Antidote to the Secular/Sacred Divide…

• We must begin by being utterly convinced that there is a biblical perspective on everything—not just on spiritual matters.

• All truths must begin with God.• The only self-existent reality is God, and everything else

depends on Him for its origin and continued existence.• God is not only engaged in the work of salvation but also

in the work of preserving and maintaining His creation.• Nothing exists apart from his will; nothing falls outside

the scope of the central turning points in biblical history: Creation, Fall and Redemption.

GOD’S GRAND AGENDA

• Physical—the redemption of the creation.

• Social—the healing of the societal ills of our lands.

• Spiritual—the personal redemption of our spirits.

“ …and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things

in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross”. Col. 1:20

The problem is not only to win souls but to save minds. If you win the

whole world and lose the mind of the world, you will soon discover you

have not won the world. Charles Mali

Integral Mission

Integral Mission is based on the whole Gospel for our whole lives. It ministers to the whole person and the whole of God’s creation, based on the whole commission and God’s whole agenda. It reflects God’s desire for wholeness, the opposite of brokenness.

Once we discover the Christian worldview is really true, then living it out

means offering up to God our entire powers—practical, intellectual,

emotional, artistic—to live for him in every area of life. By God’s Grace, we

can make a significant difference within our sphere of influence—but only as we ‘crucify’ our craving for success, power

and public acclaim.

Living it Out…

Jim Phillips was watching a basketball game when it hit him. “My faith is a spectator sport; I watch it more than I live it.” A successful CPA, Jim was involved in his church and had a wonderful family, but he felt restless. The most important thing was missing. “PASSION”. He talked to his wife and together they agreed it was time to step off the sidelines and into the painful reality of the world.

“The most effective work is done by ordinary Christians fulfilling God’s calling to reform culture within their local spheres of influence—their families, churches, schools, neighbourhoods, workplaces, professional organizations, and civic institutions. In order to effect lasting change, we need to develop a Christian Worldview.”

Bridging the Great ChasmBridging the Great ChasmBridging the Great ChasmBridging the Great Chasm

Reconnecting the Church with the Reconnecting the Church with the Community in which it is found…Community in which it is found…

SUMMIT PRESENTER

Andrew Nikiforuk, Author/Journalist

“Pandemonium, Bird Flu, Mad Cow Disease and other Biological Plagues of the 21st Century

First Responders

are Ordinary People

CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITIES

Pandemics Do Happen!

The Early Church

• Was characterized by generosity and sacrifice. Christians were not afraid to die.

• There was an association of men and women called the ‘Parabolani’ the gamblers. It was their aim to visit the prisoners and the sick, especially those who were ill with dangerous and infectious diseases.

Social Scientist…Rodney Stark

Examined the link between social transformation and the early church. He found this small group of early Christians had introduced a new vision of humanity to the Roman World.

Stark Noted…

• The Christian population in Rome, prior to the plagues, was significantly lower than the non-Christian population.

• The survival rate among Christians was much higher than it was among non-Christians, due simply to the impact of Christian compassion expressed in very elementary forms of nursing.

• Many non-Christians fled when the afflictions came while a larger number Christians chose to stay, offering care to one another and even to those outside their circle-of-beliefs.

• When sick non-believers were cared for by Christians, a natural bond of gratitude was created and would continue to exist within loving Christian enclaves.

We have learned from previous influenza pandemics, there is

compelling evidence that preparation by governments is not enough to

completely lessen the impact of a future influenza pandemic without the support

of the private sector.

THE PROBLEM

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

SUMMIT SPEAKERDr. Danuta Skowronski

Lead EpidemiologistBC Centre for Disease Control

Be informed and inform

others!

“The Government cannot do this without the Faith Communities help!”

SUMMIT PRESENTERDr. Raj Sherman Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Wellness.

GRAND PURPOSE

God chose the local church for a grand purpose and equipped it with unique strengths. When it submits to God’s intentions, it becomes a model of God’s Agenda in its society. As it submits to God’s intentions, it increasingly reflects His image and character.

Jesus’ intention was that ‘Evangelism’ and ‘Social Concern’

be intimately related to one another, and many periods of

church history have reflected His intention. People following Jesus,

loved God and their neighbour, being ‘salt’ and ‘light’ in their

communities.

Each generation of the local church has a choice; to be an administrator of God’s Agenda for its community, or not. Social and cultural transformation should be an essential part of its task. Could a system be in place to be ‘On Mission with God’ to network, mobilize, and equip brothers and sisters in Christ to be ready with a response, to a Pandemic or any other Emergency which might occur?

A SOLUTION

“Minimizing the Impact on Society”Are there pieces of this puzzle that we haven’t figured out?

Studies show, “Simple Social Support (providing food,

regular medications, banking, legal, and emotional support,

etc) is as or MORE EFFECTIVE in saving lives than contact

tracing, school / work closures, mandatory self-isolation and

quarantine.”[1]

[1] Pandemic Influenza: Interventions to Reduce Morbidity…

Paper by Dr. Tim Foggin; March, 2008

SUMMIT PRESENTER, Brad AndresAlberta Emergency Management

“PRIOR to Pandemic, Churches can get to know their neighbours in their Community.”

SUMMIT SPEAKER

Dr. Rod Elford, Medical Director of HealthLink Alberta

Plausibility Structure

The church is meant to be the “plausibility structure” for the gospel. When people see a supernatural dimension of love, power and goodness in the way Christians live and treat one another, then our message of biblical truth becomes plausible. Our worldview message becomes authentic when it is validated by the quality of our lives.

Imagine the power of our lives if we could know with confidence that when others see us, they

would also see God; that would reveal Himself through an

ordinary human being; that those who today are blind to God would have their eyes opened by

the life each of us lives.Erwin McManus

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESSReaching Out With God’s LOVE