The Gospel and Class: Six Struggles
The six struggles he highlights are:
1. Ignorance of the emotions behind the “us” and the “them.” They run deep, and whether you notice it or not, they run deep on both sides.
2. Underestimating how long it takes to earn people’s trust. Impatience for quick results can kill ministry to working class communities.
3. Building a church based on just preaching and teaching, without also eating and drinking. “You’ll never enjoy having someone to the Lord’s table for the first time, if you’ve not had them around your table.”
4. Seeing everything as black and white, and being unable to handle grey. “Your ministry is going to feel more like the book of 1 Corinthians than the book of Romans. Deal with it.”
5. Naivete to the power of a dominant culture. “If you don’t think that your church has a dominant culture, it means that the church’s dominant culture is your culture.”
6. Over-leading because you are aiming at peak efficiency. This is so challenging (and helpful): “over-leading may mean an efficient church in this generation, but it will mean a dead church in the next generation.”
It’s a super message. You can watch or download all the sessions here.