Last night I had an awesome time with a group of community developers (CD’s) or prospective and active church planters through the Vancouver Focus group here in Vancouver. Our CD training presents a strategic cycle of processes people seeking to gather a group around Jesus Christ needs to do. One of the six components is evangelism. We had a great discussion about “What is the Gospel?” In the discussion I heard questions behind the conversation like “What does a person need to know to be saved?” or “What is going on when a person ‘crosses the line’ to be an identified Jesus follower?” What part does justice, living well, nature have do with the essence of the Good News? What part does “getting saved” have to do with broader parts of the Good News and Jesus’ mission as stated in Luke 4? How do we take this mission as ours: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19)?

In the strategic cycle we include as essential elements: prayer, service, relationship, evangelism, leadership development, and new churches. These need to be common to the movement. So what troubles me about the discussion is whether or not we are making a “clear invitation” to “cross the line.” And are planters in the emerging movement developing a praxis of reproducible Gospel proclamation for their new groups?

In my late night Bible reading and meditation of this question I ended up in First Peter after reviewing again the church’s confession that “Jesus is Lord” in both Romans 10 and Philippians 2. In my own sharing with people in the last year, this confession has been the most basic cornerstone for the foundation of a journey with Jesus. “He is Lord–He is Risen from the dead.” So with this confession as the cornerstone, every decision as a disciple can be traced back to the reaffirmation of that. People hanging out with us at Cityview are then identifying with Christ publicly in baptism on the basis of this confession. The Holy Spirit and the Scripture seems to continually take believers back to that bedrock conviction. So what of conversion and salvation? Ah, First Peter. I ended up there because I was intensely interested in what one so close to Jesus and to the equipping of new believers–emerging believers– had to say about their salvation. Peter sees “crossing the line” or conversion as an act of obedience to the truth. He writes, “To God’s elect strangers in the world, scattered throughout … who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood (1:1-2).” He weaves a lifestyle of holiness, service, and suffering into an understanding of a grace-salvation (1:10). Peter had a clear understanding of what the good news is and of its implications for life. But what was his understanding of salvation and the Gospel?

Just a note: I was fascinated to see this morning that Scot McKnight is camped out in the same book, exploring First Peter as a word to the emerging church.

In 1 Peter the emphasis of the Gospel as good news and of salvation seems to be that the cross of Christ and His Resurrection bring about a new spiritual exchange that had not been possible before.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, and into an inheritance… (1:3-4)”

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1:8-9).”

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (1:10-11).”

“You were redeemed from an empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers… with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1:18-19)” “You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God (1:23).”

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls (2:23-25).”

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit…(3:18)”

The message of Peter is that salvation through Christ launches us into a new way of life. The Gospel that we can extract from 1 Peter is that God calls people into a new life made available through the grace of the Cross and Jesus’ resurrection. The Gospel is that they can have enter into a life with God because of the death and resurrection of Christ. “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God (1:20-21).” This new life is now and to come. Peter indicates that the power of his and the apostles’ ministry was the enduring word that they preached/proclaimed–”And this is the word that was preached to you (1:25).”

So my concern: Will emergent evangelism in my own life and congregation be faithful to this word of God?

I think the emerging evangelism praxis can be helped by viewing evangelism as a service to humanity by the church that has three components: presence, proclamation, and persuasion. The emerging church seems to be intent on creating a permeable fellowship and life that is open for people to pass through and be a part of whether they have declared allegiance to Christ or not. Wonderful presence! But, we can and must faithfully witness to the common need of all humanity to receive God’s grace through Christ. We must include in our conversation the revelation of God through the cross and resurrection of Christ. Revelation tells me a lot about God and His love and it tells me a lot about my need for Christ and grace. That message is what Peter calls “this salvation” (1:10).