The third reply from Jim Richards author of Anatomy of a Miracle
Wayne,
I am thankful for your response. I understand your deep concerns and respect your desire to hold to the truth.
I led hundreds of hippies to Jesus, because I spoke their language. I have gone into many cultures and gained audience because I learned what they valued and expressed truth in language that made sense to them. I once led a Jehovah’s Witness to Jesus using his bible. I have led many Chinese to Jesus using the words of Lao Tzu to gain their respect and communicate on their level. In fact, I have had the door opened to me by some of the most respected Chinese leaders in the community to share Jesus with Buddhist priests. In our health clinic, I introduced numbers of new Agers to Jesus, because I could talk their language and showed respect for their beliefs even when they knew I disagreed strongly with those beliefs. The list could go on and the point could be lost.
As a student of the word, hopefully you are a student of history and current trends. The church is losing ground daily. You are correct when you have concerns about believes defecting to New Age and other cults, it is happening at an alarming rate. Approximately 5000 evangelical churches are closing their doors every year. Among the many issues facing the church today is our lack of relevance, the failure to live (model) what the Bible teaches, and an unwillingness to communicate in a way that connects with the very people we attempt to reach. It like fishing without bait. It seems that much of the church is more comfortable letting millions slip into eternity without Jesus than we are stepping beyond our comfort zones. We can’t keep doing what isn’t working, what hasn’t worked for a long time and abandon the world Jesus died for.
I have no intention of ever departing from Biblical truth, or Jesus as my Lord. Truth is absolute, but the application and expression of truth is dynamic. I have and will spend my life reaching beyond the walls of the church to a world without Jesus. In The Anatomy of a Miracle I have used the language, the terminology and even the scientific data that is being used to denounce the miraculous and turn people away from God. I have taken the very language that others have used to disprove and have pointed people back to God the Creator of all things. And if the statistics hold true 86% of the people who buy one of my books buys another within 30 days. They will hear a very clear and very bold message of the cross, faith righteousness, the Lordship of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. In so doing the door is opened to me to millions of people that otherwise would not listen. And for millions of believers, the miraculous, will be conceptualized in language that makes sense to them, and facilitates faith coming alive in their heart. They will turn to God and true faith in the Lord Jesus. Their intellect will no longer lead them from the miraculous, but to it.
Will I be misunderstood and vilified for this? Yes, by some! Is there a risk of people misunderstanding the goal? Yes! Did I calculate this risk? Most certainly! Will the risk I run and the price be worth it? Only time will tell. So far, it looks as if I will do what I have set out to do. Both of the previously mentioned things are happening! And reaching the lost and strengthening the body has what I have been effectively doing for a very long time.
When I am back in Denver, or should our paths cross, if you desire to visit face to face I will more than gladly do so, with no predetermined animosity or agenda, other than open communication. Sometimes words on a page, fail to communicate as effectively as the words being spoken for our own ears to hear and eyes to see.
Thank you for your time and willingness to communicate.
Sincerely,
Jim Richards
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