Ed Dobson
February 4, 1999
10:30 am
Message Summary
Ed Dobson began by introducing two couples from his church: Gene and Karen Wiley and Mike and Ruth Bodkey, who shared their testimonies about how God miraculously revealed himself to each of those four individuals. Following the testimonies, Dobson shared his heart for evangelism. He explained that there are three obstacles to evangelism for many Christians.
- Theological politeness: Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). Our world likes political tolerance and allowing room for others to find their own way to God. This is totally contrary to the gospel.
- Cultural isolation: Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. Yet we have almost created a Christian subculture of our own. As Dobson put it, "That’s good for us but bad for the world around us." We need to break away from our little social circles and reach out to the secular world.
- Cultural war: As Christians we try to wage war on our culture in a few different ways. First of all, we use the gospel for political activism. Many Christians have married the gospel and politics. By doing this, one reduces Christ to being a democrat or republican. In actuality it doesn’t matter; if you die without Jesus, you are lost for eternity. The second thing we do is proclaim the truth without accompanying it with active love. We have bumper stickers and other things yet we don’t simply communicate love to our world. We need to love our gay neighbor, our rude neigbhor, our sick neighbor, etc. Dobson pointed out that we will never save our country from the top down – we need to concentrate on the individual.
Dobson concluded with an analogy by Samuel Moore Shuming. He compared God’s love to a great big house. Some people like to go deep into the house and explore the cellar and the attic. He explained, though, that his place was at the door. He’s near enough to hear God’s voice yet he’s still there to help those on the outside to find the door and the way in. He ended with a challenge: "Where are you standing?"
Student Response
Dobson presented the material very clearly yet he did it with passion and expertise. It left a lasting impression on my heart. I think he challenged us all to be "doorkeepers" and not just those exploring the cellar.
—Susanne Eadelman, Freshman, Communications/Print Media major