Episode 69

#69. Recovering a Missionary Perspective on the American Church

Seven years on the mission field gave Dr. Matthew Bennett the opportunity to see the American church with fresh perspective. As a missionary and professor at Cedarville University, he invites American evangelicals to look at the American church like someone on the outside looking in. Without the sentiments or idealizations that can come with familiarity, he shares a Hope for American Evangelicals: A Missionary Perspective on Restoring Our Broken House.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

  • Why it’s important to survey the broken places in American churches
  • The gospel and the implications of not understanding the worldview of your neighbors
  • Spiritual lessons from Christians in places that are usually hostile to the gospel message

ABOUT THE GUEST: 

Matt and his wife Emily spent several years living in North Africa and the Middle East prior to returning to the US where Matt teaches Missions and Theology at Cedarville University. Matt is the author of 40 Questions about Islam, The Qur'an and the Christian and his most recent book, Hope for American Evangelicals.

SCRIPTURE RELATED TO EPISODE:

RELATED LINKS:

Hope for American Evangelicals: A Missionary Perspective on Restoring Our Broken House

Matt Bennett Books

Matt Bennett on Twitter

Dad Jokes on Twitter

TIMESTAMPED SHOWNOTES:

00:40 - Topic: Hope for American Evangelicals: A Missionary Perspective on Restoring Our Broken House

01:45 - Family on the Mission Field

03:36 - What is American Evangelicalism?

06:54 - Looking at the House with Fresh Eyes

09:39 - Looking at Today's American Church from a Missionary Perspective

11:33 - What is a Missionary Perspective?

13:45 - Sexuality in the Church

14:20 - What's the Church's Vision of Sex?

17:11 - Surveying the Broken Places

18:18 - The Neighborhood: Understanding Our Neighbors' Worldview

19:58 - Racial Reconciliation and the Dividing Walls Abolished in Christ

23:45 - Contextualizing the Gospel and Telling the Entire Story of the Bible

28:16 - Global Christians Contributing to the American Church

30:21 - Government and Practicing Faith

33:44 - The Gospel In the Middle of a Revolution

35:50 - Comforts, Persecution and the Global Church

40:17 - Citizenship in Heaven

41:50 - How Shall We Live?

43:44 - Contacting Matt Bennett

44:32 - Dad Jokes Abounding

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