Last night I caught a friend’s band, Wolf Nation, at The House. The House is where The Church in DeKalb is having their first worship gathering – this weekend! Pray for Jamie Page, the core group of TCD and those who will gather to hear the gospel of Christ. Here are a couple shots from last night. You can see the rest at Flickr.

Last night we held our first Theology Pub at a great, local Irish Pub (McNally’s). We’ve wanted to do this for a long time now, but things just seemed to get in the way. God’s timing and all. Well, we finally launched and it was a great time.

What is Theology Pub? For us it is a public dialog about matters of faith and culture. What we are doing is creating a context for and a culture of open discussion concerning the subjects that really matter – subjects that are inherently theological. These are often the issues that we should be talking about, but rarely do. So I really don’t teach here, but I introduce the subject, ask questions and facilitate the dialog. The exchange of opinions, even conflicting opinions, is good for everyone as it can help us all to evaluate our own convictions and gain a better understanding of each other. For many this is a time to begin thinking through ideas long neglected that merit our attention. For some it will amount to a kind of pre-evangelism where we discuss issues that do ultimately relate to Scripture and the gospel, but this is no bait and switch. You know, where we advertise a discussion on poverty, and then tell them that unless they are “poor in spirit” they will never see the Kingdom of God. We’re up front about what we’re talking about. The goal is to get people thinking and talking through the things that matter. This builds relationships between individuals, between the church and the community, and that provides more opportunities for the gospel to be seen and discussed.

The pub we meet in is one of my favorites. Great food, great people and the atmosphere is awesome. I don’t have any photos that show off the inside, but I hope to have some next time. We meet on the second floor of the pub where we can seat 50 or more for sure. At our first gathering we had 20 people, though we heard from many who wanted to come but couldn’t. We’re expecting a bigger turn out for our second Theology Pub.

This first gathering focused on “spirituality and religion in suburbia,” and it was a great mix of people who had many insightful things to share.

People have asked about the structure. We’re still figuring things out, but here’s how it went down.

7-7:15 people hanging out, ordered food, drinks, etc.
7:15-7:20 I introduce Theology Pub, and then the subject of the night.
7:20-8:30 Questions and answer, back and forth.
8:30-8:35 Wrap up – why this format and subject matters to me and our church.

As I continue to talk with non-Christians I find that many are ready to have these kinds of conversations – so long as they aren’t sitting down for a sales pitch. People are ready to talk theology! Just ask Rainn Wilson (you know him as “Dwight” from The Office).

I have been talking to Jonathan McIntosh (Hanley Road Campus Pastor at The Journey, he’s also the guy who developed “Theology at the Bottleworks”) for years about this, and even went down to Saint Louis to see how the people from The Journey do it (and they do this very, very well). Big thanks to Jonathan and the people at The Journey for all your encouragement and advice. I know a few others who do similar events and would love to have everyone sharing their experiences.

Ed Stetzer’s new book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them is out and I plan on reading it. I need to finish up a couple other books first, but it’s on my list. In the mean time Ed is speaking and writing on the subject and you should pay attention. Today Ed has an article up at Sermon Central titled, Preaching to the Younger Unchurched. It’s worth a read, especially for those of you who are preaching and teaching. Ed writes,

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “It is not length of life, but depth of life.” Interestingly enough, our research shows that young adults agree. The survey data confirms that the younger unchurched maintain a high level of interest in theology, apologetics, worldview, and other religions.

Many churches have chosen to lessen their emphasis on depth in order to complement their inaccurate stereotypes of this generation. This isn’t working now, and it certainly won’t in the future. In fact, most young adults are turned off by shallowness and are beginning to walk away from environments (including churches) that foster it.

The days of spiritual cliches and cuteness were never wise, but we can afford to engage in superficiality even less today. No matter your worship or preaching style, study the Word deeply and seek to communicate it thoughtfully. We know you’ve heard the common wisdom to “make it simple,” “make the application your points,” and “make it simple to apply” and these are not necessarily bad approaches, but many young adults are finding simplistic communication less helpful than their Baby Boomer counterparts.

What young adults are interested in, however, is preaching that engages on several levels, provokes deeper thoughts, and reveals complexity. This doesn’t mean watering down the truth; it means teaching the truth in all its challenging fullness. Preaching that engages the younger unchurched is deliberate preaching crafted with depth of thought and delivered with conviction. Think and rethink. Evaluate and reconsider.

I’ve never been a fan of dumbing things down, but am an advocate for raising people up. Ed’s words are encouraging and I certainly find what he says to be true in our context. If this is interesting to you pick up a copy of Ed’s book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them.

So last night our ministry assistant was sitting in her car in the grocery store parking lot when a man approached the driver’s side window, and knocked. She cautiously opened it a crack and the man threw in a letter and ran away. BOOM! – she just got evangelized! If poorly.

I think it’s fair to say that this guy stinks at evangelism. I mean, he does get the content right: loving and holy God; sinful and accountable man; the redemption that can only be found through the shed blood of Jesus; the need to repent and believe. Good stuff. And decent penmanship (I give him points for that). But the method is weak. I think an Evangeletter™ could work well (after all, much of the Bible is made up of “letters”), but it would presume some kind of relationship. So here we have a good message, but a flawed method and messenger. And to be honest, that sounds like me. Sure this guy stinks at evangelism, but you probably do too.

What I like about this guy is that he’s trying – which is a lot more than most Christians do. He took the time to write a letter explaining the gospel and he gave it to someone. Sure, I want him to start real-life conversations, and build relationships with people, but at least he’s making an attempt. And here’s the thing – God can use this guy’s screwed-up evangelism. Just like he used Wesley’s screwed up evangelism. And Whitefield’s. And mine. There has only ever been one perfect Evangelist who never misspoke, never used a bad illustration or never unintentionally left people confused about the Kngdom of God. Compared to Jesus, we all stink at evangelism.

And this doesn’t freak me out because I believe that it is God who brings a man from spiritual death to life. It is the sovereign grace of our Lord that opens the heart so that people will respond to the gospel. He is the one who causes us to be born again through the word – the Good News. So, on the one hand I know that God does not convert anyone apart from the hearing of the gospel, and yet I do not believe another’s salvation rests upon my ability to persuade him. Simply put, we share the gospel (in imperfect ways), God does the saving. And this gives me great hope.

So, Mr. Secret Evangeletter Guy – I am happy that you are working to make the gospel known, and I hope you will work hard to do it in biblically governed, culturally appropriate ways. But more than that I hope the rest of us will be encouraged by your willingness to try.

I’ve been listening to the score of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – a movie I am more than curious about myself. The music is beautiful and haunting. You can listen to it in its entirety for free at the Warner Brothers site promoting the film for BAFTA consideration.

The two-disc soundtrack will officially release on December 16th, 2008.