Journal: Southeastern Theological Review
Volume: STR 09:2 (Fall 2018)
Article: Bow Ties And Blue Jeans: Philosophers And Missionaries Partnering To Evangelize In A Post-Christian Culture
Author: George G. Robinson

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STR 9:2 (Fall 2018) p. 15

Bow Ties And Blue Jeans: Philosophers And Missionaries Partnering To Evangelize In A Post-Christian Culture

George G. Robinson

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

What do we do with the masses in this post-Christian era who are not overtly asking the epistemological questions? Those masses are unanchored in a sea of ideas, adrift and rudderless. A lighthouse, like Schaeffer’s L’Abri, is only effective when a ship is approaching the shore. It offers no hope to those adrift in the open sea. This rudderless, distracted generation necessitates a rescue mission. We should look to Newbigin and Schaeffer together as complementary prophetic voices. Schaeffer provides an intellectual apologetic for the skeptic, while Newbigin provides a missiological strategy to equip Christians for that open sea rescue mission. I embark on this endeavor, then, by weaving the complementary wisdom of the philosopher Schaeffer together with his contemporary Lesslie Newbigin, a renowned missiologist. I am convinced that it is going to take both bow ties and blue jeans, academics and practitioners, philosophers and missionaries working together in obedience to the Great Commission.

Key Words: apologetics, evangelism, missiology, missionary encounter, Newbigin, post-Christian, Schaeffer

I am blessed and honored to provide a response to the essay “Evangelism in a Post-Christian Culture,” authored by my esteemed colleague, Dr. Bruce Little. Little is a brilliant Schaeffer scholar, and I have learned much from both him and his muse. To frame my complementary response, I will go back to a Schaeffer quote referenced in Little’s essay: “It is so easy to be a radical in the wearing of blue jeans when it fits in with the general climate of wearing blue jeans.” Here I sit in my office, a missionary wearing worn jeans—the dress code for the common man. On the other side of our campus, Dr. Little is most likely donning his fashionable suit complete with bow tie, not uncommon in the academy. Though our dress and our overall style may seem quite dissimilar, what we have in common beckons us to work together. Both “radicals,” Little and I have devoted our lives to the spread of the gospel in this increasingly complex post-Christian culture.

STR 9:2 (Fall 2018) p. 16

I embark on this endeavor, then, by weaving the complementary wisdom of the philosopher Schaeffer together with his contemporary Lesslie Newbigin, a renowned missiologist. The apostle Paul made clear in Col 4:3 that we need to pray for an open door to communicate the gospel. Keep in mind that doors serve two purposes: to invite the seeker in, as Schaeffer did so well, and to beckon the Christian out, lik...

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