Notes Session 3 – #elephantroom

Compassion Amplifies the Gospel vs. Compassion Distorts the Gospel
Mark Driscoll and David Platt

How important is it to express the compassion of Christ in tangible ways as pre-evangelism? In what ways is compassion ministry an ‘easy out’ and safe haven from the offense of proclaiming Christ? What is our obligation to express the compassion of Christ beyond the household of faith? Are we really responsible to affect change in every needy area of the world simply because technology allows us to know about it? Are we supposed to reach cities or individuals? What have you done that elevated compassion in your people without drawing them away from evangelism?

• Dramatic music!
• MacDonald: “Compassion, a neglected priority.” Now an emphasis, an over-emphasis?
• David Platt
• Compassion is inextricable from the gospel and evangelism
• Compassion amplifies the gospel in us
• If there is no compassion in our lives, we should question whether Jesus is in our lives
• Platt laying a great scriptural foundation for compassion being an outworking of the gospel
• Care for other Christians in need, don’t ignore the dire physical needs of those who don’t know the gospel
• Compassion helps advance the gospel
• Believing the gospel and sharing the gospel means we cannot run past meeting physical needs
• Greg Laurie
• “I’m against compassion!” Funny.
• Compassion is what motivates us to do what we do – Jesus looked on the multitudes with compassion
• “There’s nothing David said that I disagree with.”
• Don’t let relief ministry take the place of proclamation
• Acts of compassion are important. 100 years from now, all the people we help are going to be dead.
• If I have not given them the gospel, I have failed in my mission
• If I use the gospel as a bridge to bring compassion, then amen!
• Acts of compassion are an expression of the gospel but should not replace the gospel
• Platt: Of course. (Hmm.. not much disagreement here. Hard to disagree with what both of these guys are saying.)
• “You couldn’t tell there was a gospel in us by the way we were ignoring the poor around us.”
• That hits home.
• “I’m not saying we are responsible for ending poverty around the world.” At this moment there are brothers and sisters dying of hunger around the world. The gospel should drive us to take care of them.
• We have said to our brothers and sisters, “We are not with you, you are on your own.”
• Laurie: “Amen to that.” (Yep, more agreement.)
• If I do something for you, a gesture of love, that earns me the right to share the gospel with you.
• Compassion ministry can not be disjointed from gospel ministry.
• “There’s no such organization as Heathen Vision. It’s always Christians who are there.”
• Christians are always on the front line but let’s not forget the gospel. If we’re there, we’re firing on both cylinders.
• MacDonald: I think ministries like Samaritan’s Purse are just pushing food out, they’re not really sharing the gospel. They’re pushing out of blankets and band-aids is not that different from World Vision and Red Cross.
• Laurie pushing back on that idea. His church built buildings for people after tragedy, Franklin Graham went in for a crusade.
• MacDonald: “As a matter of practice, the box of Christian relief is not passed out in a way that is different from how relief agencies do it.”
• Platt: What I don’t want to happen, they’ve been worshipping all these other gods and here come the Christians with water so they are bringing a new water god to us.
• The conversation is turning to become an encouragement to not forget clear preaching as relief is shared around the world. What about a local context? What about cities and neighbourhoods that need “compassion”?
• MacDonald: If we keep presssing the priority of compassion, are we setting the stage for wandering away from the centrality of the gospel. Using Salvation Army, World Vision and Red Cross/Red Crescent as examples.
• Asking Platt how afraid he is that compassion becomes elevated above gospel
• Platt: It’s a fear for the future and it’s a fear for today. In radio interviews, the gospel must be brought in to the explanation of WHY we are doing this.
• MacDonald: Nobody’s upset about getting a cup of cold water, they can get upset about hearing the gospel.
• Platt: Don’t find a balance. Be extreme on BOTH sides – be extreme in showing compassion, be extreme in preaching the gospel
• Off to the panel…
• Driscoll: What do you say to people who say that serving just leads to liberalism?
• Platt: It does. So keep the gospel FIRST and make compassion flow out of that.
• Driscoll: If you give people a cause, they get excited about THAT. Do you really think that what the younger generation is following is going to remain theologically gospel-centred? Or will dilution happen?
• Platt: I wouldn’t embrace poverty theology. But.. there is a desire to keep the gospel at the centre of all that and I want to be OVERT. At the same time, I feel like even a step towards meeting social need leads to “you are a social liberal.” I think we are way far out of balance when it comes to caring for the needs of our brothers and sisters.
• MacDonald: Too much proclamation, not enough compassion?
• Platt: Not too much proclamation, definitely not enough compassion.
• Noble: I’m a  big believer that the church should be the compassion organization that takes relief to the world. We can’t be the organization that rescues people from the hell of the world but doesn’t save them from the hell of eternity.
• Chandler: I’m afraid the word ‘gospel’ is becoming this junk drawer that nobody can really define. Anyone who believes that what they proclaim won’t be diluted, they don’t know their Bible and don’t know history. “History and fear determines my ministry rather than the word of God determining my ministry.”
• Question – Every passage in the NT talks about the family of God, the church. So much of what compassion ministry does is evangelistic strategy.
• Laurie: I definitely agree with that, that’s a very good point. We must care for one another.
• Platt: There are 6,000+ people groups who have never heard the gospel. They need more proclamation AND more compassion.
• MacDonald: Compassion ministry is extended as MEGA for lost people. In scripture, take care of the family of God worldwide and if some of it goes to lost people that is fine, too.
• Platt: The fact that we have all the resources we have and there are these people groups where no one has heard the gospel, we need to go with them with the gospel AND with compassion.
• MacDonald: What passages inform your understanding that compassion must accompany proclamation to unreached people groups?
• Platt: Great commission, love your neighbour as yourself. People who are starving and who have never heard the gospel, you are not going to ONLY share the gospel. You’re going to be clear in gospel proclamation and along the way feed, clothe, come alongside people who need help. “Simply because this is the overflow of Christ in us.”
• MacDonald: Whether that person comes to Christ or not, God is glorified in the meeting of the physical needs of that people. I’m giving you a cup of cold water because Jesus changed my life.
• James is bringing both priorities together.
• Both of them matter, both of them are a way of displaying that Christ is at work in me.
• Laurie: Feeding of the 5,000 in all four gospel. Jesus sees people, has compassion on them, meets physical needs. The bottom line was “Follow me. Believe in me.”
• Noble makes a joke about playing Highway to Hell as an act of compassion. Great!

That session was good but didn’t really start from a place of conflict. Lots of agreement and great discussion!