“ There must be a return to bibli cal supernaturalism. There must be a recovery of the Gospel, the un adorned Gospel of a gracious God meeting man’s need— by the death of His Son and by the realities of a divine fellowship in the Holy Spirit. There must be a re-ordering of the ethical and moral life according to the sanctions of the Word. And there must be a new and reverent scholarship based upon a hearty allegiance to Scripture, an alle giance that crowds out doubt and releases the light of Scripture to shine through the bloom of an anxious and disoriented age. “ Seminarians, sem ina ries , and the Church must recapture the vi sion of what God in te n d s His Church and His ministers to be. And then they must become that, quickly and conscientiously, before it is too late.” KB Dr. Glenn O’Neal is Professor of Practical Theology at Talbot Theologi cal Seminary.
that one keeps in close touch through prayer and the Word with the one whose message we are re lating. Only in this way can we de velop His heart for people. Sincere seekers for God are led into all kind of false system s because someone demonstrates a sincere concern for them. The one who has experienced the gospel of the grace of God should be a living demon stration of that grace. An editorial in Christianity Today sums up the need in the church today when it declares: “ With seminaries in tension, stu dents in confusion, and the Church in the doldrums, is there no hope, no way out? This we must not sup pose. The Church, the clergy, and the seminarians have endured dark er days. They have gone through long and difficult periods of doubt and unbelief. The sovereign God of the Bible has quickened and re newed His people from age to age, and He can do it again.
where everyone knows everyone else and call deacons, choir mem bers, and Sunday school teachers to repentance and he will need to remember the words of Joseph Parker: “ The man who preaches re pentance sets himself against his age and will be mercilessly battered by the age whose moral tone he challenges. There is but one end for such a man, ‘off with his head!’ You had better not preach repentance until you have pledged your head to heaven.” The third test of relevance will be the heart that the servant of God has for people. Everywhere Christ went there is evidence that “ when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them” (Matt. 9:36). It is absolutely essential, if one is effectively to proclaim the Word of God, to care about the needs of people. He must wrestle with their intellectual problems. He must sym pathize with the weakness th a t makes it difficult to take God’s side on moral issues. He must be sensitive to family and other inter personal problems that require pa tient u n d e rs ta n d in g and loving counsel. Live where the people live. Learn to listen. Only then are you qualified to speak. Then you will find that, as you speak, your illus trations will come from life and people will listen. The fourth essential to relevance is a sense of urgency. This comes from a realization of your lofty pur pose as it is stated in II Corinthians 5:20: “ Now then we are ambassa dors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us.” It is possible to have the diagnosis of man's need correct, to be assured of the answer from God’s Word, and even to be sympathetic toward the needs of people and still not make the proper impact. How can this be? The message can be presented in such a drab manner that no one feels it is vital. There needs to be a constant re minder that as one speaks he is dealing with the eternal welfare of souls; that he is literally speaking in place of Christ as His delegated representative. It is thus essential OCTOBER, 1970
A b le to escap e from prison, but not himself. Crime . . . imprisonment . . . terror— the story of Phil Thatcher’s life. In and ou t o f p r is o n s— Folsom, San Quentin— enough experiences for a television series.
‘IVIafiaiipe?
A convict’s crim inal career as he lived i t . . . en dured it . . . escaped it.
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A senior student at the university, yes. But who was she really? And just how could she fit in this world marred by war and riot and racial conflict? There was
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