The World Tilting Gospel - Diving In

A couple of weeks ago I finished reading The World Tilting Gospel by Dan Phillips on my Kindle (Android Kindle app, more precisely). I think I bookmarked and highlighted enough material to keep me busy blogging for months. It will probably serve as my go-to hopper of ideas when my thoughts on other things are running at low ebb. And don't let that comment fool you; this isn't second rate stuff to be used only in case of emergency.

And so I begin:

"People leap for an experience, fall short of truth, and wander off lost and aimless. A truncated 'half-spell' has been substituted for the biblical Gospel. The 'nice bits' have been snipped out, isolated, and dolled up as more marketable. Folks have signed on without any real grasp of the Gospel in all its fullness and power." ~ Dan Phillips, The World Tilting Gospel

Ask me, I'll tell you that there are sometimes too many circus antics going on in Sunday morning church (not ours, but they're out there). If you tease people with a bedazzled Jesus, they'll likely not find the real Jesus or even care to know Him. That's just not cool.

I am also of the opinion that those of us who are leaders in our churches must carefully guard against trying to lead people to heaven with hype and must reject the temptation to go beyond what is properly felt zeal (nothing wrong with zeal in preaching) in order to stir up a greater 'response' to make ourselves feel better. People should respond to Truth, not just over-the-top oratory.