The Gospel Blimp? Or A Faith Worth Sharing?
By: Shafer Parker, FBB Contributor
I was recently reminded of a short Christian movie from the 1960s entitled The Gospel Blimp. (You can view it here.) And I’m old enough to remember when it was famous in church circles.
The crux of the story hinged upon a group of Christians who formed a non-profit organisation to evangelise their town by means of a blimp hired to tow Christian message banners — “All have sinned,” and so forth. The banner was never long enough for a complete verse, so it seems they never got around to speaking about “the gift of God is eternal life,” or anything else positive. They did, however, drop thousands of rolled up Scripture verses (called “fire bombs”) on the city. Bits of paper dropping from the sky prompted public merriment at first, but laughter turned to anger when the little rolls clogged the drains and covered the lawns like goose droppings. Still, the group soldiered on, convinced they were being persecuted for Jesus’ sake.
Meanwhile, one of the original couples in the project dropped out and started befriending the neighbours next door. When their faithful ministry led to the neighbours’ conversion, the blimp people congratulated themselves that their work had paid off, even after the newly converted couple told them to their faces that their fire bombs had only made them mad. They simply could not accept that the only provable conversions during their ministry came not because of, but in spite of what they were doing.
The Gospel Blimp came out in 1967, just about the time the Church Growth Movement captured the minds and hearts of an entire generation of evangelicals. Church growth was all about the method, not the person. To quote Christianity Today contributing editor Ed Stetzer, it aimed “to grow churches based on research, sociology, analysis, etc.”
I know from personal experience that people at the core of the movement sincerely sought to make disciples and fulfil the Great Commission. But flawed methods produce flawed results, and the Church Growth movement rapidly devolved into a hodgepodge of “methodologies,” all designed to reach communities and groups with “attractional models” and other marketing concepts imported from Madison Avenue, aka the world. And what was the result? Throughout the Church Growth era the cause of Christ went backwards. I’m not suggesting that the fault lay entirely with Church Growth. Far from it. But I am saying it didn’t perform as advertised. Even Willow Creek, in many ways the movement’s flagship church, finally had to admit that while they had filled buildings, they had failed to make disciples.
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How, you ask, could such good intentions go so wrong? It’s my conviction they forgot to check the Book to see how God intended His work to be done. There you find one inescapable truth, it takes a disciple to make a disciple.
For example, almost all the disciple making in the Book of Acts is done retail, not wholesale. When God wanted to save an Ethiopian, he sent Philip down to Gaza to sit in a chariot with him and give him the message (Acts 8:26-40), although the Ethiopian owned a copy of Isaiah and was able to read its gospel passages for himself. When God wanted to save Cornelius, he sent an angel, doubtless a better theologian than any human being, to tell him where to find an apostle named Peter who could then tell him the gospel (Acts 10:1-48). Mind you, getting Peter to Cornelius’ house was a four-day process, but from God’s point of view, that was the only way to do it. Even when God wanted to transform Saul the persecutor into Paul the apostle he took the trouble to awaken Ananias from a sound sleep to go and give him the gospel (Acts 9:1-19). Don’t forget, this midnight conversion came after Jesus had revealed himself to Saul in a blaze of glory on the road to Damascus. Jesus even spoke to Saul as he lay prostrate in the dust. But Jesus did not give him the gospel, and Saul did not become a disciple until he heard from Ananias.
The question is, are you willing, like Philip, Peter, and Ananias, to go any necessary distance to speak the gospel to those who need to hear it? If you are a Christian, then the answer must be “yes,” but if you are like most of us your answer is more likely “yes, but,” as in, “but I’m afraid of messing up the message,” or “I’m afraid of offending someone,” or “I simply don’t know how to get started.” If your problems run along those lines, then boy, does Faith Beyond Belief have something for you. This April 29-30 we are offering our annual Be Ready Conference, and the theme this year, “A Faith Worth Sharing,” could not be more timely.
You can go to www.bereadyalberta.ca for conference details, but let me mention some of the speakers and topics to help you see the relevance of this year’s conference. I genuinely believe this year’s offerings can help Christians create the kind of gospel communities that, like the first century, will be distinguished by life-transforming encounters with God.
First, we have Rebecca Manley Pippert, explaining how to, “Talk about Jesus Without Sounding Religious.” She will be followed by Andy Bannister, who will give tips on, “How to Talk About Jesus in the Workplace Without Getting Fired.” Logan Gates will address an apparent contradiction as he answers the question, “Why Would a Loving God Judge Me?”, and FBB founder Jojo Ruba will address the crucial question, “Can We Still Share Jesus With LGBTQ Canadians?” Our main speakers will present talks on related topics in our Saturday afternoon breakouts (you can go to the website for a complete list of breakout speakers and topics), but I must tell you about one very special surprise guest (ssshh, let this be our little secret). In the afternoon, author and social critic Os Guinness will present, “A Christian Response to Cultural Marxism,” in these days a very timely talk indeed.
I hope you will go to the website and prayerfully consider either registering to attend (live or online), or else prepare to host a Watch Party wherever you live. The gospel, as you know, is still the only message that brings salvation, and God is still using it to save souls and give new believers new hearts that are hungry for discipleship. Let us help you be part of the greatest work anyone can ever do in this world.