4. The rhetoric of community.
Jesus, at the end of his life, tells the disciples that his desire is that they be one, as he is one with the father. He then goes on to urge them, saying that their unity would be the very mark of their being Christians.
Would that the church looked anything like Jesus’ picture today! Sociologist David Putnam remarks in his book Bowling Alone that the neighborhood as a community is sinking as individualism increases; there are less baseball teams, more individualized sports; less hospitality, more niche facebook groups.
The church, centered on Jesus Christ, is the only hope for creating a unified community—do we show that kind of kinship in our daily life?
5. The rhetoric of joy.
In a world that is bored and distracted, we are the people who can truly “live in the moment.” While everyone else is trying to suck the juice out of the Creation, we can be satisfied in our Creator—but do we come to him to fulfill our deepest needs? Do we have lives deep in prayer and the Word? Will we be joyful for the sake of the world?
6. The rhetoric of justice.
There is an increasingly common trend to talk about justice issues; but how many are actually spurred on to follow through on the talk?
Christians, as Keller points out in Generous Justice, are the lone group with true motivation to extend justice to the world, through the grace given us. Are we living lives of justice in a “meh” world?
7. The rhetoric of technology.
Like it or not, social media is the new printing press. If we’re unwilling to meet the world where it is, our doors will continue to remain closed.
Every church planting book I’ve read this year read something like: “Your church website is the new front door.” Unless churches are willing to meet people at the technological front door, they’ll never be effective in bringing in the lost.
8. The rhetoric of experience.
Whereas 50 years ago the mantra was, “Tell me about it; I’ll assess it and decide if I want to join,” today it’s, “Let me experience, then I’ll assess it and I might even hear you out!” We need to recognize that, in today’s society, the rhetoric of life is experience—we convince people to join our cause, then we convince them of its merits.
As backward as this seems to a generation earlier, churches must think in these terms if they’re to effectively communicate life to the dead.
