Assignment 6: All Things to All People

Comments:
Culture is one of the most challenging barriers to ministry—whether we consider "ministry" to mean proselytizing and bringing the multitudes to faith, or simply meeting the needs of people we see around us.

Culture, the set of beliefs about the world that give us our identity, is at once a line of demarcation between people and an absolute assignment from heaven. We are to cross cultural lines to perform ministry, like Jesus did, and like Paul did after Him.

We are called to put aside personal, political, and historical differences, especially with those who are brothers in Christ. Yet, we are not called to embrace cultures, values, and lifestyles in defiance of God's principles. We are called to take the ministry of Christ to them.

This is especially difficult today, in our diverse, often angry culture. Even within the Christian community, there are disagreements as to how to meet modern culture, whether and where to compromise, and what to hold tightly.

Some have begun to argue that we are in a post-church age in the West. They contend that the "church" as an institution has become ineffective and irrelevant. They argue that "ministry" will need to become much more personalized, much more flexible, much less rigid and authoritarian.

In effect, they are observing that ministry is becoming less about the institutions, organizations, and buildings we call "church" and more about the individuals that Jesus called His "church."

In this context, it is going to be even more important to learn to relate to people, which is one interpretation of the Apostle Paul's statement about becoming "all things to all people…"

Assignments:
Analysis: Who Are Today's "All People"?

It is sometimes easier to see "the broken" among us by looking at their circumstances. It is more difficult to see "all people" around us as "broken," especially when they look different, dress different, act different, and talk different than we do.

Consider Paul, Jesus, and the apostles. Then consider the modern church. Reflect on Brian McLaren's positions.

For this assignment, please analyze the Apostle Paul's idea of becoming "all things to all people," in order to see some saved. What did he mean by that? Did Jesus practice such a philosophy? How does the idea apply today?

Finally, can the church be "all things to all people" today? And, in view of opinions such as Sweet's or McLaren's, will the church become irrelevant if it does not learn to minister to "all people"?