Weekly Resources, Ideas and Articles from The Source for Youth Ministry
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Episode #19: A Conversation with Greg Stier: Why the Gospel Shouldn't be Eliminated by Social Justice (11/30/2008)

Listen to it now for free on iTunes! (CLICK HERE) Or, if you don't have iTunes already... jump on Apple's web page for a free download, then click on our podcast page.


Jonathan: So, basically, in a way, this is the seven ways that we do that "mistake." These seven sins are a little different than normal cause these are... in a way, the seven ways that we sometimes replace sharing the gospel with social justice.

Greg: Well, yeah. I think, the first sin is that it doesn't fulfill the last and lasting mandates of Jesus when Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations, you know, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I've commanded." And then, before He ascended into Heaven, Acts 1:8, you know, "You will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be My witnesses." And He arose into Heaven. So, he did not say, "Your primary job and primary mandate is to go out and feed the poor and build houses for Habitat for Humanity."

Jonathan: Sure.

Greg: He said your primary goal is to make disciples of all nations. Now, under the subset of that, yeah, part of that making discipleship process we're gonna be feeding the poor....

Jonathan: They did it. Right in those following verses in Acts.

Greg: You bet! They took care of the poor and that was part of what they did, but the punch line of what they did was to make disciples, the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, social justice in and of itself is important but it is not the last and lasting mandates of Jesus.

Jonathan: And so, you're talking about the Great Commission. How come you think that some people... It seems that when it comes to the Great Commission versus the Great Commandment, love one another... how come it always seems like an "either/or," we either gotta do the Great Commission or the Great Commandment? How come they don't seem to think, "Hey, these are both important?"

Greg: Because I think Satan distracts us. I honestly think Satan is distracting....

Jonathan: Boom! He brought it right back to Satan.

Andy: There we go.

Jonathan: Because of Satan!

Greg: No, I'm telling you dead serious, I think Satan is distracting the church.

Jonathan: How's he do it?

Greg: Because he's given us something good to replace the great.

Jonathan: Oohh. He's crafty.

Greg: He is crafty. And you know what? I think he's underestimated. He's so beautiful, he's so powerful that one third of the angels of Heaven thought that he could take out Jesus. So, that's pretty convincing. That's pretty powerful. And he is convincing and conniving today and I believe he is distracting the church from our primary mission and cause, and as a result, there's gonna be a lot of people that go to Hell on a full stomach. Cause their bodies have been fed, but their souls have not been. And I'm like, you know what? Don't stop with the body. Start with the body! Feed the body, but feed the soul, you know? I mean, I think we have a short term view and that leads us to the second sin....


In this episode, Jonathan and Andy sit with Greg Stier, the president of Dare 2 Share Ministries, and ask him to elaborate on the 7 Sins of replacing the gospel with social justice. This fast-paced podcast also includes the ever popular HELP ME section where the guys answer some questions that have been sent into ASK THE SOURCE.

Episode Highlights:

• Discover the real reason Greg doesn't like to work out.
  
  
• Learn some of the fundamental differences between social justice and biblical evangelism.
  
  
• Hear Andy elaborate on the three standards for hiring a great youth pastor...well, two at least.
  
  
• Get some help on planning out your youth ministry talks for a year.
  
  
• See why Jonathan thinks youth workers looking for "order and discipline" can take a lesson from The Terminator.

This is one of the coolest games we have added in a while! It's coming to you from our ANYWHERE GAMES page, so that means you can play this one practically anywhere.

No, this doesn't involve hamsters in boxing gloves... but this is a game that your kids might possibly remember for the rest of their lives! All you need are some brave students... and a couple of hamsters (in the spirit of Rhino in the new movie Bolt).

Get all of your students to sit on the floor in a circle with their legs crossed. Then put the hamster(s)...

You've heard the buzz about it... now it has finally arrived!

A Note from Jonathan:

"4-Minutes" is a chance for us to give you a quick glimpse of different aspects of ministry... in just four minutes. We interview youth ministry authors and speakers, discussing current hot topics and issues. We'll even take a peek at some youth workers on the front lines. The sky's the limit... well... actually... four minutes is the limit!

In this SECOND episode: I decided it was time to get some answers from Marko about this Youth Ministry 3.0 book! So I went to the place where I knew I could find him... well... see below!

You'll always find the newest episode of "4-Minutes" on the front page of our web site www.TheSource4YM.com, or at www.YouTube.com/TheSource4YM

Enjoy!

Jonathan McKee
President, The Source for Youth Ministry

Get the book that Fuller Seminary's Chap Clark calls "The best single volume on pragmatic programming I have ever seen. This is a must on every youthworker's shelf!"

Enjoy not only the best of Jonathan's games, video clip ideas, and weekly curriculum ... but also the basics in programming, small groups, building an effective team of volunteers, and developing a student leadership program.

Recommended by Jim Burns, Chap Clark, Kurt Johnston, Fred Lynch, Laurie Polich, Wayne Rice, and more!

© 1999-2009 The Source for Youth Ministries           Site Disclaimer