The Church and the World

We live in a wildly pluralistic world, and the growing diversity shows no sign of slowing down. As a result, Christians increasingly finding themselves living among people, as neighbors, colleagues and co-workers, who do not share their deepest convictions and values. Many believers feel uneasy in such a setting, with a tendency to feel defensive and perhaps even withdraw into their own subculture. This need not be. We will explore the nature of being discerning instead of merely reactionary, identify a model for faithfulness in Scripture, and show how the gospel provides us with a way to demonstrate simple grace in the ordinary things of daily life.

Following the lecture there will be a panel discussion featuring Margie Haack, a popular speaker and author of Notes from Toad Hall and the weblog Toads Drink Coffee; Ithaca area artist Karen Brummund; and Mark Baker, a professor of Linguistics at Rutgers University.

Denis Haack is the Director of Ransom Fellowship, and editor of Critique. Formerly Denis served as a pastor and area director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Denis is the author of The Rest of Success: What the World Didn’t Tell You About Having It All and has written articles for such journals as Reformation & Revival Journal; Eternity; Covenant; and World.