Episode 94 - Engage and Resist

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Episode Video

Show Notes

Reviewish

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Book Referenced

Prophetic Untimeliness by Os Guinness, https://www.amazon.com/Prophetic-Untimeliness-Challenge-Idol-Relevance/dp/0801065607/

Quotations

Resistance Thinking is a term adapted from a 1945 essay by CS Lewis on “Christian Apologetics.“ It is a way of thinking that balances the pursuit of relevance on the one hand with a tenacious awareness of those elements of the Christian message that don’t fit in with any contemporary age on the other. Emphasize only the natural fit between the gospel and the spirit of our age and we will have an easy, comfortable gospel that is closer to our age than the gospel – all answers to human aspirations, for example, and no mention of self-denial and sacrifice.

But emphasize the difficult, the obscure, and even the repellent themes of the gospel, certain that they too are relevant even though we don’t know how, and we will remain true to the full gospel. And, surprisingly, we will be relevant not only to our own generation but also to the next, and the next, and the next. CS Lewis observed that the same principle holds true in both faith and science: “progress is made only into resisting material.“ Resistance thinking, then, is the way of relevance with faithfulness.

Guinness, Prophetic Untimeliness, page 20.

Thinking and acting Christianly in the blizzard of modern information and change requires the courage of a prophet, the wisdom of a sage, and the character of a saint – not to mention the patience of Job and the longevity of Methuselah.

ibid, 56.

Is the culture decisive and the audience sovereign for the Christian church? Not for one moment. God forbid. The client and the consumer may be king for free market enterprise. Serving the shareholders may be obligatory for the directors of corporations. But the church of Christ is not under the sway of market totalitarianism – even in America were capitalism is king, pope, and emperor all rolled into one. From the prophets’  “This is the word of the Lord“ to the reformer’s “Here I stand; so help me, God, I can do no other,” the message, not the audience, is always sovereign, and the culture is always potentially the world set over against Christ and his kingdom. (Sojourning in Babylon) To think and live otherwise is the recycle the classic error of [theological] liberalism and to court the worldliness, irrelevance, and spiritual adultery that it represents.

ibid, 66.

Scripture Referenced

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. - Ephesians 6:12

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. - Colossians 2:8

Reid S. Monaghan

Reid Monaghan received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science with a minor in Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While at UNC he also competed on the wrestling team for the then perennial ACC Champion and top ten Tarheels. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Apologetics, a multidisciplinary degree involving Philosophy, Biblical studies, and Theology.

After college, he spent eight years serving alongside his wife Kasey on the college campus with the ministry of Athletes in Action. He pioneered the Athletes in Action campus ministry at Virginia Tech and was the director there from 1998-2004. During his final two years on AIA staff Reid also served as regional director for the Mid-Atlantic and Ivy League schools. From 2004-2008 Reid was on the staff of Fellowship Nashville where he started a work with young adults called Inversion, preached in the Sunday rotation and taught classes in theology and Christian Apologetics.

Along with a team of friends, Reid planted Jacob’s Well, a theologically driven and culturally engaged church in Central New Jersey. He also pioneered the Acts 29 Network in the state of New Jersey, served on the Northeast lead team, and as director for church planter assessment for the US South Central Network. Reid continues to consult and coach church planters as part of his ministry.

He is a traveling speaker where he addresses students and athletes on various campuses throughout the United States. He has spoken to college students at such institutions as Brown, Princeton, Yale, Wake Forest, Rutgers, UNC Chapel Hill, and Virginia Tech. In addition to his campus work he has spoken in chapel services for the Tennessee Titans, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the New York Football Giants.

He has long been engaged with the task of bringing the gospel to people in culture in clear, relevant and compelling ways combining theological vision, apologetics, Christian thought and popular culture.

Some of his greatest joys in life are from the gifts God has given him in his wife Kasey (married 1996), and his kiddos Kayla (arrival 2001), Kylene (arrival 2003), and Thomas Reid (arrival 2006).

Reid has a limited number of dates each year to speak in various venues. His areas of strength are with Christian apologetics, athletes, biblical preaching, family life and worship, college students, and ethnically diverse audiences. Please contact us via our Speaker Request Form if you would like Reid to come and serve with your church or campus ministry.