This book has many facets of it that are compelling and motivating. However, I can get this sort of thing outside of the Christian Church. The Mormons do these things recommended by this book and they do it very, very well. My main concern about a book like this is that it really doesn’t lend to us a focus on Christ but a focus on the world around us. This external focus of the church is just a distraction for the church as a whole and it is not found in the bible except if you were to stretch bible verses out of context.
The people of the church will do the things this book suggests when the church commits itself to preaching the Word of God pointing to Christ and Him Crucified. This is what motivates believers to love those outside of the church and to share what we believe and why we believe it.
This book is making the Gospel of Christ easier to swallow. If they like us maybe they’ll like our Jesus.
But, the Bible says:
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[a]
20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
So, we are called to preach Christ and Him crucified, and people will either reject this as foolishness or they will stumble over it. Or God’s Grace will penetrate their hearts and they will be humbled by this message and they will cry out to God… “Have mercy on me a sinner”
I believe that Rick Rusaw and those who read it are truly genuine in their pursuit of reaching out to those outside of the church and I commend them for their desire to reach out. I just think this is mis-guided and I don’t see this pattern in the Bible and I see it as a distraction for the Church from Christ and what Paul always said… I only preach Christ and Him crucified.
So if you want to go and intentionally reach out to those around you in your community, you can do that through many organizations as a citizen of your country. But, as a citizen of Heaven and the body of Christ reach out with love and share the Gospel message for all of us are sinners and fall short of the Glory of God.
Grace and Peace to you all.
