An Interesting Conversation

Michael Spencer has an interesting conversation going on here with Frank Turk. He documents it in this post. Here is my favorite paragraph:

It should be said that a lot of “solid Calvinists” have nothing to say about missions other than to post pictures of William Carey. I could, but won’t, name major reformed pastors who almost exclusively write on the subject of doctrinal discernment, and almost nothing on church planting or missional methodology. Their “method” is to announce theology, and to act as if they don’t have methodological or cultural issues in their own setting. I would suggest that every effective missionary sending agency knows that theology must be put into some kind of church planting expression, and that expression needs to be thought through for effectiveness. I would also suggest that constant discernment-orienting preaching can’t be the front end of new church planting. Perhaps some “solid conservatives” ought to consider that younger SBC pastors don’t see drawing lines between themselves and other Christians as the primary thrust of doing Great Commission church planting in their culture. Yes, it has a place, but a never ending recitation of who differs from us is not the way to build a church. Again, I mention Tim Keller and ask you to note the difference between Keller and many other mainstream reformed leaders.

Read the whole post here.