How does the church speak to the liberal?
In Acts 2, we find a model that a church in a diverse, liberal metropolis can emulate. All tribes, nations and tongues were present in Jerusalem for Pentecost. The church gathered in a house in the center of bustling Jerusalem. Perched from the upper room above, the disciples utter the unlearned tongues of those below—Medes, Parthians, Cretans and Arabs. Broadly, Scripture describes two varieties of tongue-speech: xenolalia (speaking in foreign tongues for missional purposes) and glossolalia (speaking in spiritual languages for edification)—the latter of which is widely practiced among Pentecostals and charismatics to this day. The former, however, is what Acts 2 portrays—tongue-speech for the express purpose of evangelizing the world. The event undoubtedly represents a mesmerizing, and critical, detail of a Pentecost church. Imbued with the Spirit, the church now emerges as a community of polyglots. Now, in view of the brute force of the Spirit’s power, Jesus’ church is provided the fresh capability to boldly, intelligibly and faithfully proclaim the good news in any and all languages to the global, diverse city below.
I’m sure the onlookers were caught off guard hearing the story of a dead carpenter in their own tongues while in a foreign city. What stands out is this: The Pentecost event takes place in the context of great diversity. Furthermore, this newly born polyglot church is empowered to speak every tongue for the spread of the gospel.
Talking points
Portland, where I pastor, is one of the most progressive cities in America. I’ve learned some good, hard lessons about being a Spirit-filled polyglot church that not only welcomes, but also shares the gospel to, liberal neighbors. Here are some thoughts about what the church of the 21st century must learn about learning the liberal tongues of the diverse city:
1. Care for things liberals care about—listen, listen, and then listen some more. Keep your ear to NPR, have a never-ending stream of Ted Talks at your fingertips, and read the newspaper. On one hand, the Spirit of God has, does and will speak through many progressives in our world and in the church. But more importantly, if we’re unwilling to lend some compassion toward the issues important to the progressive personality (the environment, racial justice, LGBT conversation), they won’t lend their ear to hear what is important to the church. I call this mutual compassion. If we expect others to care about our issues, we must begin by caring about theirs. Does this mean we agree with the conclusions? Certainly not. In fact, I often land in very different places than my liberal friends. But I care enough to enter the conversation. It’s hard to share the gospel if you never enter a conversation about something you know little or nothing about. Risk being an amateur. This is, of course, not to suggest that conservative Christianity doesn’t care about these issues. They certainly do. But a liberal has a certain take on them, and it is important that the church hear those issues from their angle.
2. Acknowledge injustices wherever they reside—injustice, oppression and abuse are the cardinal sins to the liberal mind. Wherever and whenever the church has done them, they must be judged, even if they have taken place in our own communities. It goes a long way to be wildly open about the sins of your communities; confess them, discuss them and repent of them. Humility is the most affective apologetic strategy to educated, progressive people. It speaks of openness, transparency and open-mindedness, the hallmarks of progressive virtue.
3. Share your story—a liberal will always hear your story, even if they think it’s silly. It is your story. And for a community that believes one’s story has the right to define someone’s identity, they will extend the same grace to a Christian. The truth is, I did not come to Christianity because of a fine-sounding argument or a story someone made up. I had a dramatic conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ in my car as I drove down the road. That is my story. And my story is my story. No one can really take away what I have experienced to be deeply true. And that story is my slice of the gospel for the world.
4. Ardently preach the exclusivity of Jesus —many, even conservatives, might question this claim. But, ultimately, I can’t find any model of orthodox Christianity either historically or experientially, which denies the exclusivity of the claims of Jesus regarding his divinity or His Kingdom. Jesus is God and Jesus is the only Son of God. The trick is, here, being humble and acknowledging that you, as a Christian, are still doing all you can to find Jesus. If Jesus is the only way, it means I’m not the only way. Christians aren’t the only way. The church isn’t the only way.
