Waving or Drowning?

I hope that readers will understand the hyperbolic nature of your comments. I'll start out by making it clear (at least in my understanding) that you don't think spreading the gospel is bad (or even unecessary).

What April said is significant. In the parable Jesus, having agreed that "love your neighbor as yourself" is one biggies, is asked, "who is your neighbor?" In classic Jesus style, he changed the subject from "who is?" to "are you?" Mike's new heresy sounds Christ-like to me.

It's certainly possible to spread a gospel without living The Gospel. I'm not sure it's possible to live The Gospel without it spreading.

Hey...

Please don't limit your heresies to only one a month. We need more than that.

After spending the weekend with Robert Webber (have you read "Younger Evangelicals" yet?), I am sinerely ready to engage you in the "mysterious" conversation I mentioned last week. I think you are an important link in a growing chain.

Blessings...

Wes

Yes Cory, "hyperbole" is my middle name. I don't much care though if people get that or not - as long as it gets them talking.

And right on, Kevin! The "spreading" should be a biproduct of the "living". Focus on living it, and it will spread. Unfortunately I think we are trained to focus on spreading it, and we have no idea how to live it.

In this culture that will not fly.

"I think we are trained to focus on spreading it, and we have no idea how to live it."

Exactly, Live a good gospel life and people will see that. Therefore the gospel will spread through your living and example to others. I like it.

Tim,
but part of the "gospel life," if you mean life as was modelled for us in the Gospels, or even living a life as if it was touched by the Good News, involved spreading it - not just by example, but the nuts and bolts, in-the-trenches kind of Gospel spreading. That Gospel life seems to have a little bit of everything for us to do, not too heavy an emphasis on any one thing.

Now before anyone gets all excited, I must also say that what our churches these days might call "gospel spreading" doesn't always look a whole lot like Matthew-Mark-Luke-John kind of Gospel spreading.

I agree with you Jocelyn. I should have added an extra wee sentence with my comment. As part of living the Gospel, is 'spreading it' as well as being a good example. I just feel its such a good comment, because it is something that some of us are guilty of, but yet, such a hard comment to use without offending anyone.

I was just gettin over excited about it. I think it stems from frustration of seeing people 'frontin' themselves. Not actually living the gospel, just trying to tell people how to live it.

I'm going to stop here, cause I can never get whats in my head fully into words, so most likely someone will add something else here that I will agree with to finish off my point/blabber.

Cheers

Tim - yup, I get you.
I guess it's an important balance, to maintain a focus on both aspects of Christian life: the "living-it-out" and the "spreading-it-around."
I'm probably splitting hairs here, but I wonder if the fine point is that some people have too narrow a view of what living out the gospel means... because as it's just been said, part of living out a gospel-centred life would involve a focus on "spreading it," as well as moral living, etc etc.
Like my friend Tyler always says: "It's all about the balance."