A Strategy For Reaching Secular People
The Intentional Church in a Post-Modern World
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Christ's Ministry
In the actual ministry of Christ we see the expanding nature of the Missio Dei. In His inaugural address of Luke 4:16 we are confronted with the sine qua non of the gospel=s centrifugal dimensions. Jesus made clear that the gospel was to be preached to the poor, the oppressed, the disenfranchised, the refugee, the homeless, the lame, the maimed, and the blind. This is not a special selection, provincialistic gospel. Jesus intends that the gospel be taken to the palace as well as to the hovel, the rich and the poor, the literate and the illiterate. It is universal in scope (Rom 8:15-21)[1] and is not to be stymied by walls and barriers, cultural, religious, or otherwise.
While carrying out His ministry on earth, Christ demonstrated in no uncertain terms that none of the barriers (cultural, political, social, or religious) that were in existence in His day were to impede in anyway the saving knowledge of His grace for sinners.
There are at least two examples in the ministry of Christ that are instructive of how He dealt with this:
1. His encounter with the Canaanite woman (hereafter also known as the Syrophonecian woman)
2. His encounter with the Woman of Samaria (hereafter also referred to as the woman at the well).
In Matt 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30 we have Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman who was a member of a despised race and who did not share in the advantages the Jews daily enjoyed. In His response to this woman (who was beseeching and imploring Him to heal her sick child), Jesus’ words could be considered rather harsh: “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” At her continued beseeching, Jesus added insult to injury when He said to her, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs.” Jesus was reflecting the attitude of the Jews of His day. Ironically, however, Jesus did the unthinkable by granting her request and commending her faith (Matt 15:28). Ellen White states that even though Jesus’ response to the Canaanite woman appeared to be in accordance with the attitude of the Jews, it actually veiled an implied rebuke intended for the benefit of the disciples. By reason of this incident, the disciples were to be later benefited with the understanding that “He came to the world to save all who would accept Him.”[2]
Ellen White mentions that Jesus wished to lead His disciples from their Jewish exclusiveness to be interested in working for others besides their own people.” This exclusiveness represented a wall of separation. In our day there are barriers that separate us from people. “Pride and prejudice have built strong walls of separation between different classes of men. Christ and His mission have been misrepresented, and multitudes feel that they are virtually shut away from the ministry of the gospel.”
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About the Book
Dr. Ernan A. Norman, D.Min. Has identified strategies to implement John 13:35 “All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.” An excellent source for the essential principles of discipleship in a postmodern world. This book is written in nontechnical language based on the experiences as a student, pastor, and professor.
I believe that the concepts presented are fundamental and are in harmony with the model demonstrated by Jesus during His ministry on earth. Meeting people at their level, putting their needs ahead of His own, treating people with respect, befriending the nonreligious and inviting them into a relationship with Himself are some of the concepts that are identified and supported as strategies for reaching secular people. This book is an outstanding and important piece of work, and easily readable. I would urge A Strategy for Reaching Secular People on members and leaders in every church – if they are willing to challenge basic assumptions and embrace change relative to reaching lost people. Strategies that remove the barriers that keep people from hearing about God’s love, and to create a warm, friendly, uncritical, and non-judgmental attitude of acceptance are clearly presented.
Full of practical how-to’s and watch-out’s this book by Ernan Norman is for individuals serious about sharing the love of God. As we interact with and minister to secular people, matters such as marriage and family, academics, employment, addictions, and human rights must be addressed. Normanclearly gives strategies for intentional efforts to reach secular-postmodern men and women in our day. The central concept is the example of Jesus that we should follow. A must read!
About the Author
Dr. ERNAN A. NORMAN has served as a minister of the gospel with the Seventh-day Adventist Church for more than 27 years, and during that time has been actively involved not only in the pastoring of churches, but also in the work of evangelism, of discipling and of nurturing those under his care. He has served as a pastor both within the Inter-American and North American Divisions of the of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Dr. Norman also holds the degrees M.Div., and D.Min. from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI. Currently Dr. Norman is serving as an assistant professor of Theology and Religion at Atlantic Union College, South Lancaster, Massachusettes, where he also teaches the class “Witnessing to the Secular Mind.”