A&D+summary

Summary: In //The Seven Faith Tribes//, Barna categorizes groups of people in terms of their religious, or non-religious, beliefs. The category in which I fall under is the captive Christian camp. The captive Christian is characterized by a steady passion to seek God and to love Him more deeply day by day. The title “captive Christian” means that we are voluntary slaves to Christ. Captive Christians believe, “…they have been called by God to live in this era of history to make a difference for His Kingdom, and that means loving other people” (Barna, 44). So in this respect, seeking to promote God’s Kingdom by loving others is one of the most practical ways in which I could ideally influence the world for Christ. If I am going to have any impact in influencing the world for Christ, I will need to be salt and light (Stott, 128). Stott explains that salt and light both characterize who a Christian is in the world, and it is what makes us drastically different from non-Christians. We are called to permeate non-Christian society through the use of our salt and light that is given to us through Christ. Just as salt is used to penetrate meat in order to preserve it, so must we as Christians go into the world and seek to hinder the decay of society. Furthermore, we must go into the dark world in order for our lights to have any effectiveness. So, in order to have an effective influence on the world for God, we must actively seek to permeate our secular society with Christ’s love. The //Evangelical Manifesto// is an open declaration of who Evangelicals are and what they stand for. The //Manifesto’s// purpose is to explain its own identity as an Evangelical community dedicated to reforming Evangelical behavior, as well as to influence people to become all God has called them to be for His glory. The group of Evangelicals behind the creation of the //Evangelical Manifesto// understood the urgency of importance of the need to influence the world for Christ. In the document, they state, “We are therefore a small part of a far greater worldwide movement that is both forward looking and outward reaching. Together…we are committed to being true to our faith and thoughtful about our calling in today’s world” (2). Christians in every walk of life are called to be Christ’s witnesses to others. I believe it is my responsibility as a Christian to influence society in order for the values and standards of God’s Kingdom to transform an entire culture. In a practical sense, this mean seeking to protect human rights, human life, the handicapped, the homeless, the unemployed, the impoverished, treatment of criminals, and anything else that seeks to promote justice. These are just some things that can be done to promote Christ’s Kingdom on earth. Certainly we are not limited to only these things in order to influence the world for Christ. God calls each of us to different areas of life, each having their own unique and special way for impacting the world for Christ. All we need to do is to follow Christ’s leading in order to ensure that we are influencing the world to its fullest.

Alex and Debbie Intro A&D connection Alex & Debbie Conclusion